Nomads lacklustre display against the Swans leads to a loss
In what was a very disappointing result, the Nomads lost to the Swans at the Bellevue. This was the first time the team had lost at home this year. The Nomads, on the whole, lacked any real commitment to the hard-ball-get. Perhaps it was a consequence of the late decision to change the ground and an ungrounded sense that the Swans would not show up. For the Nomads, the Sleaford Mod Charlie Paine battled hard all day while Clarrie.dot.Barker was his usual indefatigable self. Young tyro Daniel Boyd had a blinder and showed what he will be capable of in years to come and Noah the Iconic (3 goals) led strongly all day. Ira Sulzberger was a tower of strength in the backline as was Phill Mitchell. Pat Sharp kicked 5 for the game to keep his position at the top of the league’s goal-kicking competition. The final scores were Swans 16.13.109 to the Nomads 12.5.77.
It was a very windy day with the breeze blowing from the west as it often does at this time of year. The Nomads were buoyed by the return of Phill Mitchell to the ranks of the Green, Black and White (but unfortunately Conor Nest was away). The Nomads started well (kicking to the Uralla end) and were very quickly a couple of goals up but took the foot off the pedal and at the first change the scores were Nomads 4.1.25 to the Swans 4.4.28.
The second quarter was where it was lost. The Swans dominated in the middle and moved the ball quickly into their forward line, where the Noamds backs were regularly caught out of position. The Swans kicked 6 goals for the quarter and set up a 23 point lead. At half time the scores were Nomads 7.3.45 to the Swans 10.8.68. It was going to take something special to win from here.
Unfortunately, something special didn’t happen. The Swans continued to dominate all across the ground. The Nomads managed to slow the scoring to some extent, in large part due to Charlie Paine’s intercept marking. At the final change the Nomads were 30 points down with the scores being Nomads 9.4.58 to the Swans 13.10.88.
The Nomads didn’t fall away in the last quarter and to their credit kept fighting right until the end. However, the second quarter was the killer. Again fitness seemed to be an issue. Also injuries to Wulu Hall and Benji Dutaillis meant that the team lacked a bench.
Time to focus on brighter things. Let’s hope the next few weeks sees a turnaround.
Players player C. Paine
Coach’s award: T. Hunt
President’s award D. Boyd
Captain’s award N. Connick
Meehan’s Plumbing Award I. Sulzberger
