Nomads aim to redeem themselves against the Roos
By Ellen Dunger (Armidale Express, 02/08/2018)
The New England Nomads are hoping to build on their 27-point win from their last-start when they face Tamworth Kangaroos this Saturday.
The Nomads saw off an early threat by the Swans in round 15 of the AFL North West season to confirm their semi-finals intentions but a Roos outfit hoping to win and climb into fourth.
The Roos hammered the Nomads in their last encounter by 133 points with the New England side only fielding 16 players.
Nomads coach James Treweeke is hoping it will be a different scenario this time round with his side close to full-strength for the game against their 2016 grand final opponents at Armidale’s Bellevue Oval.
“This week we have got the Roos, who last time smashed us with an under-strength team, but we will be pretty close to full-strength this week so I am looking forward to it,” he said.
“This year I was expecting them to be up there again but it seems as though the Swans have overtaken them with their few wins over them in their rivalry match.
“They [Roos] will still be hunting for that fourth spot though so they will definitely be keen to play well against us anyway.”
The Nomads will aim to fire from the get-go.
“Probably start off by playing our brand of football and trying to get on top of them as early as we can,” Treweeke said.
“From there we can see what the scores are like but if we can put some points on I would love to just to help our percentage because if it comes down to the last match and we are on the same wins as Gunnedah, the percentage is probably going to be a big telling factor.
“Basically my philosophy from now on is that we have just got to win every match so I will take a win no matter what.”
New England will be without elusive forward Dave Richards while Treweeke has been ruled out for the remainder of the season.
They will otherwise be full-strength.
“Dave Richards, ‘Modra,’ is carrying a few little niggles,” he said.
“He won’t be playing this weekend, he is actually expecting his first child so I have given him the week off.
“Wulu Hall came back last week from a major shoulder injury.
“From now on it is just managing and making sure they get up for game day.”
The Nomads have been cruelled by university holidays rendering players unavailable this year.
With the semi-finals falling in yet another university break, there were fears the Nomads wouldn’t be able to make a tilt for their seventh-straight North West AFL grand final but Treweeke said all signs are positive in the lead up to the pointy end of the season.
“A lot of the boys are starting to get on board, especially getting closer,” he said.
“I think they are starting to feel that maybe we could win it.
“I think one or two have to go back home but the majority of the boys are probably going to stay.”
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