Nomads Need to Rediscover the Ancient Art of Traveling
On Saturday the 22nd of May the Nomads lost to the same Inverell team that they had beaten convincingly only a fortnight before. The difference was not only the home-town advantage but the number of players missing from the line-up. The team lost by over 50 points and were lucky that the Saints did not have their kicking boots on or the difference might have been far more substantial. For the Nomads Clarrie Barker, Phill Mitchell, Noah Connick, Charlie Paine and Wulu Hall battled valiantly all day. Patrick Sharp provided a target up forward with his strong leading and marking, kicking three goals and Monsieur Yep took the mark of the day, even shouting out his trademark call as he reached the peak of his astronomical leap.
The final scores were 15.20.110 to the Nomads 8.8.56.
It’s now Friday evening and another game is on the horizon and its hard to remember a game we’d rather forget (but it is the duty of your correspondent to recall all relevant events accurately and so here goes). All had been going swimmingly recently in Nomadland – with good wins over a number fo the premiership contenders. However, the trip to Inverell was just one of those days. The game started earlier than usual but that made no difference whatsoever. There were 10 players out from the previous week and so the Nomads were left with only 18 players including one Jilbi. In the absence of Modra and Tom Hunt, Harry Munday was voted captain for the day.
The Nomads kicked to the Northern end and hit the scoreboard early. It looked fro a brief time that, against all odds, that the team might knock the Saints off at home. Clarrie, despite the festivities in Tamworth, was killing it in the middle and Patrick Sharp took full advantage of it. The Saints were woeful in front of goal kicking 8 points in a row. The scores at the first break were the Nomads 3.1.19 to Inverell 1.8.14.
The second quarter saw the Nomads catch the kicking yips from Inverell kicking 1.5 for the quarter,. Given that the team only had 18 players and no bench to speak of, it was obvious that the Nomads legs would tire so scoring opportunities had to be taken. Unfortunately it wasn’t to be. At half time the scores were the Saints 4.10.34 to the Nomads 4.6.30.
It would be good to say that’s where things ended and we all went home but that wasn’t the case – and there is a limit to this kind of gonzo journalism when of course accuracy and integrity is what is required. Inverell dominated in the third quarter but kicked 9 behinds most of which were eminently gettable (as well as 3 goals almost as an after-thought). The Nomads kicked a point for the quarter. Clearly the lack of fresh legs was starting to take its toll. At three quarter time the scores were Inverell 7.19.61 to the Nomads 4.7.31.
The final quarter saw Inverell kick 8 goals and blow out the lead. But the Nomads to their credit didn’t give up and kicked 4 for the quarter. The final margin being 54 points.
Before we head off to Friday evening reveries, a big thank you should be sent out to Noah Connick’s mates Mitch Walls and Kai Offren who came up from Nelson Bay. We would have been really short if it hadn’t been for those two – who played their hearts out. So well done and thanks to Mitch and Kai.
Let’s hope next week sees a change of fortune.
Awards
Players’ player: P. Mitchell
Captain’s award: C. Paine
Coach’s award: N. Connick
Meehan’s Plumbing Award: W. Hall
President’s Award: J. Veall