NEW England Nomads claimed the outright lead in the Tamworth AFL when they humbled Inverell Saints by almost 80 points at Armidale’s Bellevue Oval on Saturday.
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With the Tamworth Roos-Tamworth Swans game postponed when Tamworth Regional Council closed No 1 Oval, it left just two games to be played on Saturday, the Nomads kicking 15.14 104 to the Inverell Saints’ 3.7 25 and Narrabri Eagles swooping on the Gunnedah Bulldogs at Leitch Oval, Narrabri.
The Eagles won by 29 points, kicking 16.21 117 to the Bulldogs’ 12.16 88.
Todd Fagan was the Eagle star, the big full forward kicking eight goals.
Teammates Tom Denyer and Michael Miskle also kicked three apiece while Hamish Russell topped the Bulldog goalkickers with three goals.
In Armidale, Patrick O’Connell kicked five goals for the Nomads but the 79-point win wasn’t as easy it looked on paper, Nomads captain-coach Zac Economou said.
His club was struggling for numbers and had a number of players making their club and code debut.
One, Riley Connor, lobbed from the North Coast and was named the Nomads’ players’ player after an outstanding game in midfield.
“We were in a bad way at the start of the week,” Economou said.
“We had 12 players out from last week’s win over the Roos.
“We had just 13 players available at the start of the week but managed to get 22 together.
“It was always a tough contest too.
“The scoreboard never reflected the game.”
Omphile Temoso was outstanding for the Nomads, Wulu Hall also starred as well as Tom Hunt and Tom Granleese along with Connor.