By James Polson (Armidale Express, 11/07/2008)
The scourge of the university holidays will rear its ugly head one last time for the New England Nomads when they travel to Inverell to take on the Saints, last year’s Tamworth Australian Football League (TAFL) premiers.

In addition to the missing university players a number of other squad members will be unavailable through holiday or other commitments.

Coach Brendan Meehan said he would know more about the makeup of the side when the Nomads trained overnight.

“We’re looking at about 19 or 20 blokes so we’ll field a side and they’ll go up there and do the best they can,” he said.

“We’ve basically fielded a different side every week bit I thought last week showed what the boys can do when they start to play together.”

The Nomads have the bye next week, and most of the students should be back in town for the following round.

There were encouraging signs for the Nomads last weekend when they went down to 17-10-112 to 13-13-91 against the competition leading Tamworth Swans.

The Nomads had a sensational fourth quarter, booting five goals but unfortunately had been behind by eight majors at three-quarter time.

“We kicked one goal and six behinds in the third quarter,” Meehan said.

“So it’s not a case of not getting the shots, we just need to convert the opportunities that we get.

“It will be a hard game against Inverell.”

The defending premiers have won both the encounters so far this season, at home in round two and in Armidale in round seven.

In other TAFL action this weekend the Tamworth Kangaroos take on the Gunnedah Bulldogs, while Muswellbrook play host to the Swans at Werriman Field.

Not for reproduction except by permission of the Armidale Express

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