Disappointing result for Nomads after Inverell roadtrip
By Matt McLennan (Armidale Express, 18/05/2009)
The New England Nomads are locked in a four-way tie at the top of the Tamworth Australian Football League competition, despite a narrow loss to the Inverell Saints on Saturday.
The Armidale side squandered a first quarter lead at Varley Oval to go down 14-8-92 to 10-15-75, in a match coach Brendan Meehan said they should have done better.
“The boys will probably think they let that get away a bit, they managed to get back in front in the second quarter, and then they just got away from us again,” he said.
Missed opportunities hurt the side the most in the third quarter.
“We really dominated in that quarter, but I think we only kicked about one goal and five behinds in the entire quarter,” Meehan said.
“We just couldn’t take our chances, and resorted to long shots in the hope that they would go in. we didn’t stick to our game plan.”
Meehan said backline stalwart Clinton Ballagh was the standout for th Nomads, along with Matt Maxwell in the centre of the park.
Newcomer Paul Harris also played will in the centre-half position.
“He kept going all day,” Meehan said.
The Nomads face another tough assignment next week, when they head down the hill to take on the Tamworth Kangaroos.
Meehan said the key to the Nomads’ success is simple.
“If we can learn from our mistakes we will go alright,” he said.
“We have a few things we can work on in practice now.”
Match practice is an issue for most sides early in the season, with players keen to get some game time under their belts.
Things weren’t helped last week, when the Muswellbrook Cats forfeited their match to the Nomads.
“No-one wants that to happen early in the season, they don’t want to miss out on the match time,” Meehan said.
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