By Patrick May (Armidale Express, 15/05/2006)
The New England Nomads have snatched a controversial win from the Inverell Saints, and Tom Hunt was the hero at the last chance saloon.

Hunt, who has been one of the Nomad’s most consistent performers in recent years, kicked a long-range goal to the sound of the siren to secure a 78-76 victory.

The Nomads have now claimed two wins and a draw from the opening rounds of the TAFL competition, and their accuracy was the edge they needed to beat Inverell 11.12.78 to 10.16.76.

The Nomads lead throughout most of the game, but Inverell were never going to go away in front of their famous home crowd.

The Saint’s home ground is one of the strongholds of the competition, and the local team came out hard in the final quarter to level the scores before taking the lead with very little time left on the clock.

But the Nomads kept their cool under the lights, and eventually left the locals disappointed at the result of the night time game.

Hunt’s winning goal was all the more dramatic, as his first and wayward effort was handed back after a Saints player over-stepped the mark.

New England coach Adrian Walsh was pleased to see his side come through a test of skill and nerve, as the unfamiliar slippery conditions made the players work for every opportunity.

“The game finsihed a bit after nine, the ball was a bit slippery and they’re very different conditions playing under lights: we’ve never played at night before,” he said.

“I was really happy to win against Inverell at home, we came through a test of fire there.

“We had to regroup and the boys did, we were going to get a score eventually and we did what we had to do.”

Walsh believes that the brave display from the Armidale side is evidence of the wellspring of belief and team spirit in the squad.

“It’s a team who work together, they get across, they push, they shepherd and they help each other out: there’s a really good spirit in the club so I think that’s getting us through.

“In previous years we might have lost that game but the boys did it.

“The team was very hard at the ball, the guys on the ground, particularly in the middle, were hard on the ground: the guys didn’t back off,” Walsh stated.

Walsh named Solomon Hanks, who kicked five goals, as a standout, and also mentioned impressive efforts from Matt Maxwell, Dylan McGrath, Weston Whitby and John Mahy.

Not for reproduction except by permission of the Armidale Express.

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