Nomads tested
Matt Folpp takes a mark with Dave Richards in support
By Ben Lonergan (Armidale Express, 04/06/2014)
Leading into Saturday’s match against the Tamworth Kangaroos, the closest any side had gotten to the New England Nomads was 58 points.
That was the Inverell Saints in round three and seemed the Nomads were going to cruise almost unchallenged to a third consecutive Tamworth AFL premiership.
But a challenger has emerged in the Kangaroos who pushed the Nomads right until the final hooter on Saturday.
The Nomads are still undefeated after an 84-62 win, but received a shock from the determined Kangaroos.
“It was a good challenge,” Nomads’ player-coach Zac Economou said.
“It was a nice change for us.”
The game was played in wet and windy conditions, which certainly played a part in the Nomads scoring under 100 points for only the second time this season.
Nomads and Roos contest the ball in tough conditions.
“It took a while for us to get used to the wet weather,” Economou said.
“The weather brought us down a bit.
“We weren’t able to move the ball like we normally do.”
The Nomads led 26-15 after the first quarter and extended that to 52-35 at half time. Both sides kicked three goals in the third quarter, but five Nomads behinds, compared to just two from the Kangaroos saw the Nomads again slightly extend their lead.
The fourth quarter was an even tighter affair, with only one goal each registered by the two sides, as the Nomads finished with an 84-62 win.
Dave Richards and Isaiah Graham were again in the thick of it for the Nomads, kicking two goal apiece.
Tom Hunt continued his strong start to the season with two more goals.
Economou said they were expecting a much tighter tussle heading into the match.
“The Kangaroos and Inverell are both good sides,” he said.
“But we knew they were going to be a good side.
“They have some fantastic players.”
The Nomads’ coach said only positives could come out of the match.
“It has done us a lot of good,” Economou said.
“It showed us some areas where we can improve.”
The Nomads have a weekend off more the June long weekend, before returning on Saturday, June 14, to host the Narrabri Eagles.
Not for reproduction except by permission of the Armidale Express
Round 5 2014
| Nomads def. Roos | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | B | P | G | B | P | ||
| Q1 | 4 | 2 | 26 | 2 | 3 | 15 | |
| HT | 8 | 4 | 52 | 5 | 5 | 35 | |
| Q3 | 11 | 9 | 75 | 8 | 7 | 55 | |
| FT | 12 | 12 | 84 | 9 | 8 | 62 | |
Team:
- C. Barker,
- V. Chakalisa,
- D. Davies,
- T. Dickson,
- Z. Economou,
- M. Foley,
- M. Folpp,
- J. Freund,
- J. Frost,
- A. Garraud,
- I. Graham,
- T. Granleese,
- T. Hunt,
- S. Macdonald,
- Z. Old,
- L. Raymond,
- D. Richards,
- M. Spencer,
- O. Temoso,
- A. Walsh,
- Z. Wells,
- M. Woodward.
Goalscorers:
- D. Richards (3),
- I. Graham (3),
- T. Hunt (2),
- J. Frost,
- M. Folpp,
- O. Temoso,
- T. Dickson.
Award winners:
- Z. Economou and Z. Wells (Players' Player),
- T. Dickson (Coach's),
- J. Frost (President's),
- T. Hunt (Captain's),
- Z. Economou (Gleeson's).
June 7th, 2014 at 12:19 am
Well done, Nomads! It seems the Roos are a strong side once again. Let’s all turn up for training and work hard all year for Zac.
All the best, Brendo in France