First loss of the season for Nomads
By Dennis Chillingsworth (Armidale Express, 26/06/2013)
Older legs and bodies competed gamely for the New England Nomads, but ran out of puff in the club’s first loss of the season to the Tamworth Kangaroos in the TAFL clash at Bellevue Oval on Saturday.
Despite the loss, which coach Tom Granleese described as their worst performance in many years, the Nomads remain at the top of the ladder.
With up to 20 players absent because of the university holidays, Granleese was obliged to call on club old boys on pull on their boots, of whom seven responded.
“But I still believed we had the team to beat the Kangaroos, but slow starts in the first and third quarters cost us the game,” Granleese said.
“Our blokes were standing around waiting for someone to do something but it never happened. However, it’s to our players’ credit to that our scratch team almost beat the Roos at full strength, which was something of a silver lining.
“We hope to rectify those weaknesses in the coming weeks, with the return of the majority our top players.
“There are a few sore bodies in need of a rest. Training in Armidale’s sub-zero temperatures is not easy,” he said.
The few players to show some form included Riley Connor and Hoani Morrell. “Apart from those two, it was very hard to find anyone worth mentioning. Generally we were terrible.”
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