Nomads defeat Saints in hard tussle
The New England Nomads have defeated the Inverell Saints at Varley Oval by 58 point. The Nomads scored 14.12.96 to the Saints’ 5.8.38. It was a good hard game of football and the scoreline doesn’t really reflect the closeness of the contest. Especially pleasing was the work of the backmen, led by Economou, Granleese, Hanks and Wells. The win ensures that the Nomads remain on the top of the TAFL table.
The game was played in perfect conditions at Inverell with no breeze and bright conditions. The Saints won some early clearances but right from the outset the backmen held strong. Tom Granleese took 5 or 6 strong marks in the first ten minutes. The back line was strengthened by the return of old Nomad Solomon Hanks – and the team was pleased to see him back in the green. Sol and Wellsy and Zac Economou ensured that no ball got past the half back line. Up forward Matt Folpp and Isiaiah Graham were causing plenty of headaches for the Saints’ defenders. Shannon Macdonald was also gathering a lot of possessions on the wing. At the first change the Nomads were 13 points up.
The second quarter saw the Nomads kicking to the northern end. Marney Richards was up to usual nimble-footed tricks and was creating plenty of opportunities for his fellow Nomads. Chaks was holding strong in the middle and Matt “Media Star” Foley was everywhere. However, the Nomads were wasteful in front of goal and only kicked four for the quarter which, given the amount of ball the team had, was not a great result.
After the break the Saints came out hard, but an amazing run from the wing to goal by Isaiah Graham dampened the Saints’ spirit. The Nomads kicked another 3 for the quarter; one of those coming from the boot of debutante and former Auskicker and boundary umpire, Clarrie Barker. By three quarter time the Nomads were 44 points ahead and the game was for all intents and purposes over.
In the last quarter the Nomads consolidated their lead to run out winner by 58 points. Another debutante (and local boy) Andre Garraud kicked a banana goal from an impossible angle, making this goal-kicking thing look remarkably easy.
Overall it was a strong effort from the Nomads. There was a danger after the training-drill of a game the week before that the boys would not be ready for a good contest, but fortunately they were switched on right from the beginning. The back line was unbelievably strong. Tom Granleese well deserved his players player award and Zac Well and Solomon Hanks in particular were strong in defence. John Shirley also had a very good game back there and he is developing into a very dependable back line player. In recent weeks it has been the forwards who have shone but this week it was the backs’ turn to lead the way and when the time came they were very much equal to the task. Across the middle, Frosty and Shannan Macdonald, Matty Foley and the Katman gave the Nomads tram a lot of drive. And finally captain Weston Whitby did the hard things in the packs and in the middle and led the team with distinction.
Well done boys.
Round 3 2014
| Saints def. by Nomads | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | B | P | G | B | P | ||
| Q1 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 20 | |
| HT | 2 | 4 | 16 | 7 | 8 | 50 | |
| Q3 | 3 | 8 | 26 | 10 | 10 | 70 | |
| FT | 5 | 8 | 38 | 14 | 12 | 96 | |
Team:
- C. Barker,
- V. Chakalisa,
- D. Davies,
- Z. Economou,
- M. Foley,
- M. Folpp,
- J. Freund,
- J. Frost,
- A. Garraud,
- C. Graham,
- I. Graham,
- T. Granleese,
- S. Hanks,
- S. Macdonald,
- D. Richards,
- J. Shirley,
- O. Temoso,
- S. Walkom,
- A. Walsh,
- Z. Wells,
- W. Whitby,
- M. Woodward.
Goalscorers:
- D. Richards (4),
- M. Folpp (3),
- I. Graham (2),
- W. Whitby (2),
- A. Garraud,
- C. Barker,
- J. Frost.
Award winners:
- T. Granleese (Players' Player),
- Z. Wells (Coach's),
- Z. Economou (President's),
- S. Hanks (Captain's),
- M. Foley (Gleeson's).
