‘Down and out’ Nomads bound past Kangaroos
By Ben Murphy (Armidale Express, 18/06/2012)
Competition pacesetters New England courageously came from behind on Saturday to steal a thrilling 109 (16.13) – 108 (16.12) win over the Tamworth Kangaroos.
Trailing the Kangaroos by five points with a minute left in the match, Nomads star Simon Stubbs struck the winning goal to give his side another morale-boosting victory.
The Nomads were in trouble for much of the game as four players suffered injuries and captain Clint Ballagh struggled with food poisoning.
But they battled back from conceding three late Tamworth goals to secure a win Nomads coach Tom Granleese described as “one of the best I’ve been involved in”.
“It was a very gutsy win, we didn’t have anyone on the bench for most of the second half and we were pretty much down and out,” we told The Express.
“They probably deserved the victory, but that’s not taking anything away from our guys, we had our backs against the wall and were very courageous.”
Despite both teams going into the final quarter level on points, Tamworth looked to have gained revenge for their loss to the Nomads earlier in the season as they build a handy lead.
But Granleese quickly put his side back within striking distance when he grabbed a vital goal with 10 minutes to go.
Stubbs then put New England one point in front with his fourth goal of the match and the Nomads sat 10 men deep to preserve their narrow lead.
Granleese said the win was even more impressive given the difficult way trip and the different conditions.
“The grounds are much smaller there so the centre-half forward becomes non-existent really,” he said.
“So we had to quickly adjust to that, which I think we did pretty well.
“They came with a different game plan to when we last played them, they had a few more rotations and held posession much better, so it was tough for us.”
The Nomads will now travel to Gunnedah to play the fourth-placed Bulldogs this weekend.
Not for reproduction except by permission of the Armidale Express
Round 9 2012
| Roos def. by Nomads | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | B | P | G | B | P | ||
| Q1 | 5 | 3 | 33 | 4 | 2 | 26 | |
| HT | 8 | 5 | 53 | 10 | 7 | 67 | |
| Q3 | 12 | 12 | 84 | 12 | 12 | 84 | |
| FT | 16 | 12 | 108 | 16 | 13 | 109 | |
Team:
- C. Ballagh,
- V. Chakalisa,
- R. Connor,
- H. Cook,
- A. Cruickshank,
- C. Dobos,
- D. Dunlop,
- G. Elson,
- J. Frost,
- D. Graan,
- T. Granleese,
- C. Grigg,
- B. Julien,
- N. Lambie,
- W. Newchurch,
- D. Richards,
- K. Rowlings,
- S. Stubbs,
- J. Veall,
- A. Walsh,
- W. Whitby,
- M. Woodward.
Goalscorers:
- D. Richards (3),
- K. Rowlings (3),
- S. Stubbs (3),
- D. Graan (2),
- W. Whitby (2),
- J. Veall,
- M. Woodward,
- T. Granleese.
Award winners:
- W. Whitby (Players' Player),
- V. Chakalisa (Coach's),
- S. Stubbs (President's),
- J. Frost (Captain's),
- B. Julien (VC's),
- D. Richards (Red Rooster).
