Nomads give Saints hell
Weston Whitby enjoying himself pinching the ball from under Dave Richards’ nose.
The Nomads had too much toe for Inverell on Saturday.
It wasn’t quite the mauling of last year’s grand final, but the New England Nomads again proved they are the side to beat in the Tamworth AFL competition after blitzing Inverell on Saturday.
The Nomads beat the Saints by 58 points in Inverell, winning 14.12 (96) to 5.8 (38).
Winning coach Zac Economou said the scoreline didn’t reflect the contest. ”They had a lot of the ball, but our defenders stood up really well,” he said.
”Tom Granleese at fullback would have taken about 20 marks. ”We rebounded pretty strongly from defence.”
That rebound also came from Economou, who was one of the Nomads’ best. New England made a solid start to lead by 13 points at quarter-time, but that margin was extended to 34 at the main break.
From there, the Saints faced an uphill battle.
”They have a really good midfield, but couldn’t convert that into goals,” Economou said.
”When we went forward we made the most of our opportunities.”
Dave Richards continued his stellar season in front of goals with four majors, while Matt Folpp booted three.
Skipper Weston Whitby and Isaiah Graham each kicked two goals.
”It was a pretty good team performance in the end, but it also showed us that we have room for improvement,” Economou said.
The Nomads go on the road again this Saturday when they take on Gunnedah.
The Bulldogs have yet to win a game this year and lost to Narrbari by 24 points on the weekend.
In the other TAFL match on Saturday, the Kangaroos defeated the Swans 134-79 in the battle of the two Tamworth sides.
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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).
