By James Polson (Armidale Express, 10/09/2007)
The New England Nomads have hung up their boots for 2007 after going down by 41 points against the Roos in their Tamworth Australian Football League elimination final at Bellevue Oval on Saturday.

The Tamworth side were simply too good for the Nomads, winning the match 14-12-96 to 8-7-55.

A tight first quarter saw the Nomads lead by six heading into the first break, but the Roos were able to fight back, kicking five goals to two in the second quarter to take a 13 point lead into the long break.

After halftime the Nomads continued to try hard but were unable to match it with the free-scoring Roos, who kept the scoreboard ticking over on their way to a 21-point lead at three-quarter time.

The Roos kicked a further five majors to the Nomads’ two in the final quarter on their way to a showdown with the Muswellbrook Cats next weekend.

The winner of that match will advance to the grand final where they will meet a rampaging Inverell Saints outfit.

Nomads coach Adrian Walsh was understandably disappointed to end the 2007 season on a low note.

“It was disappointing to end the year like that,” he said.

“We just didn’t have enough depth, we were playing fairly well in the first half but the guys on the ball just didn’t have anyone to change with.

“The backline struggled valiantly but the Roos had changes available which I guess was our downfall.

“In the end you could say the injuries we’ve had through the year have really caught up with us, we had quite a few major ones this season.”

Walsh said the Nomad were now looking to 2008.

“We’re probably just a few good players short of a really good side,” he said.

“We won’t lose many for next year and I know we’ll pick a few up so it’s all about looking to next year now.”

Hamish Robertson was best on ground for the the Nomads, while Cameron Douglas took the honours for the Roos.

Dan Overeem from the Roos was the top goalkicker on the day, booting seven majors, while support was ably provided by Andrew Hawkins who kicked three goals.

In a reflection of the difficulty they had scoring after the first quarter, there were no multiple goalscorers for the Nomads.

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