The Bulldogs were far from disgraced considering they lost to the reigning four-time premiers by much bigger margins earlier in the season.

Last Saturday's game was just the fourth time this season that the Nomads failed to rack up a minimum of 100 points.

Zac Economou led the way in the goal-kicking department with six majors for the victors while coach Jed Ellis-Cluff was the next best with three.

Velani Chakalisa landed two goals for the Nomads while Clarence Patrick Barker, Mitchell Harriot, Thomas Lashlie and David Richards landed one apiece.

Oliver Neader kicked two of Gunnedah’s goals while Andrew George, Patrick Higgins and Ben Maher registered one each.

James Mack, Brad Jenkinson and Brent Hartley were among Gunnedah’s best performers, with Mack taking a number of intercept marks and using the ball well at centre half-back.

Jenkinson was very effective in the middle as his work rate was enormous, and like Mack he also used the ball well.

Hartley was heavily involved at half-forward, with Piggott later saying Hartley had “extremely good skills”.

Another triple-figure score looked a big possibility as the Nomads scored 5-2-32 to the Bulldogs’ 0-1-1 in the opening quarter, with the visitors registering three goals and one behind before the hosts opened their account.

Neader landed the home side’s first major during the second quarter before the Nomads led 8-3-51 to 1-5-11 at half-time, and then conceded a behind and a goal early in the third term as the margin lowered to 33 points.

New England took a 12-4-76 to 3-6-24 lead into the final quarter, which featured erratic kicking from both sides although the Bulldogs were unlucky that a long range shot for goal thudded into an upright.

Amazingly, the visitors squandered the chance to reach 100 points when a Nomads player touched a team-mate’s kick that subsequently rolled between the two main goalposts in the dying seconds.

Gunnedah player-coach Greg Piggott remarked that the result could have been closer had the Bulldogs been more accurate when kicking for goal.

Piggott nonetheless considered “it was a great effort” for the Bulldogs to restrict the Nomads to a total below 100, after New England beat Gunnedah 23-21-159 to 7-11-53 in round four, and 22-14-146 to 6-3-39 seven rounds later.

“Our back six and our midfield pressure were really good,” Piggott said.

“I thought we contained their midfield quite well.”

Piggott felt that the main difference between the two teams was that the Nomads were more efficient with the last kick to find a forward and to kick more accurately for goal.