The Nomads first game of the new season saw the reigning premiers beaten by the Tamworth Roos by 56 points at the Belleuve. The Roos were stronger overhead all day and moved the ball into their forward line more quickly than the Nomads. It was a wake-up call for the home team and as good an indication as any that the competition will be more even this year.

The game began at 2.00 in warm autumnal weather – perfect for playing good skilled football. The Nomads’ new captain David ‘Modra’ Richards won the toss and kicked to the Uralla End. The game had hardly underway when newcomers Mitch Darton and Lockie Bessington were hurt, playing no further part in the game. The Nomads kicked an early goal thanks to Captain Modra but the Nomads were sluggish and being beaten in the midfield. The backline were continually under pressure. Impressive, right from the outset, was Armidale local Phill Mitchell, playing his first game for the Nomads. Zac Wells was also getting a lot of ball and Weston The Skip Whity was his usual hard-working self. Zac Econmou was marking strongly and looking dangerous up forward. Despite their efforts, the team was down 5 goals to 2 at the first break.

The second quarter saw the Nomads kicking downhill to the scoreboard end and there was some hope in the first few minutes, with some bright football on the part of the Nomads, that the Greenboys might be able to claw their way back. However, the Roos were winning in the air and made good use of the open spaces on the Bellevue. Nonetheless, there were plenty of good signs. Snowy Snowden, another newcomer, was hard as nails in the backline, stopping everything in his way and throwing himself into dangerous places to prevent the forward thrusts of the Roos. It looks like he was schooled in the Rowdy Ballagh College of Hard Ballgets. Zac Old was playing well on the wing and Andre ‘Arriba’ Garraud, the Galloping Gaul was providing lots of movement across the half forward line. Modra was also taking things into his own hands and a number of times moved the ball forward with lightning runs around the wings and multiple bounces. At half time, however, the Nomads were 6 goals down.

The third quarter came with the Nomads having a lot more scoring opportunities but failing to capitalise. Jabez Tito, who last played with us in 2012, made a number of amazing tackles – his rugby background showing in his tackling and his kicking was a revelation. Chaks was also very active in this quarter. But again it was too little too late. The Nomads went to the final break well behind.

The final quarter saw the Nomads run hard and to be honest looked much fitter than the Roos. Perhaps if we had played 6 quarters the Noeys Might have caught them up. The final margin did not really reflect the closeness of much of the contests. The Roos were just able to move the ball into dangerous places when they did go forward and were able to captilize on their strengths.

It was odd for some of the boys not to sing the song afterwards. Indeed, some players, such as Wellsy, have not in 2 and a bit years at the Nomads played in a losing side. But it is good to see tha the competition is alive and the Nomads now have something to prove.
There was much to be pleased about at the game. The performance of a number of the new-comers was very encouraging. The Nomads will need to regroup and be at their best for this week’s must-win match against Inverell. Best players for the Nomads were Captain Mod, Zac Old, Zac Wells, Shane Snowden, Phill Mitchell, Ompsy and Weston. Well done to all of those players and to the whole team who battled it out right until the end. And special thanks to all of those players who filled in at very short notice – it is much appreciated.

Round 1 2015

This entry was posted on Tuesday, April 14th, 2015 at 9:02 pm and is filed under Match report. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.