Nomads get over the line

By Michael Morrissey, Armidale Express (18/06/2007)
The New England Nomads have finished easy winners 118-42 over the Narrabri Eagles at Bellevue Oval on Saturday.

The Nomads kicked 15.18.118 to the Eagles’ 6.6.42 to guarantee an easy win and help them keep third on the Tamworth Australian Football League ladder.

After getting out to the match-winning lead the Nomads took their foot off the pedal and let the Eagles get away with some easy goals.

Rich Malone proved his worth at full-forward by slotting eight goals for the day.

Traditionally in th ebackline, Malone stepped into forward position after Mark Handley was sidelined with a hamstring injury.

“He’s really done a good job for us up there. He took a lot of strong overhead marks,” Nomads coach Adrian Walsh said.

“Rich has turned out to be a pretty good alternative.”

Despite managing a good win after two weeks Walsh had his complaints about the Nomads performance.

Walsh was disappointed his team let away the easy goals and with some lazy performances in front of goal.

“They kicked a few more goals than I would have liked. I suppose it’s one of those things where the intensity dropped off a little,” he said.

“The forward line was too crowded with just too many people taking potshots.

“It wasn’t so much bad kicking as hurried kicks.

“On the whole it wasn’t a bad win given we had as many players out as we did have.

“We were a bit rusty. It was good to have a run around but there’s still lots of work to do.”

Walsh named Malone, Glen Northway, Anthony Reid and James Boundy as among the Nomads best.

He also gave credit to Peter Welton and Kendal Lang for stepping in after several players were injured.

The Nomads are now heading into a trouble patch for the season as the university holidays get set to take their toll.

“We just looking to get through this period. It’s not just the holidays, we’ve got injuries,” Walsh said.

“We’ve had a really bad run with injuries, but it’s given the opportunities to the other guys.

“It’s a matter of everyone coming together by the last three or four weeks and working hard together.

“I’m still pretty confident we can go the whole way if we’ve got the full team.”

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