The Gunnedah Bulldogs AFC had a triumphant return to finals action as they defeated the Inverell Saints 14-11-95 to 13-6-84 in last Saturday’s do-or-die battle at Inverell.
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Next on the agenda is a contest with the Tamworth Kangaroos this coming Saturday to determine who tries to prevent the New England Nomads from winning five straight Tamworth AFL titles.
Last Saturday’s fixture was relocated due to Varley Oval staging rugby league grand finals the following day, with the council making a decision on the venue change two days beforehand.
The surface at the Sporting Complex was a little uneven as well as wet underfoot, and the visitors jumped to an early lead.
The scoring and the flow of the game went back and forth for a while, with each side having turns at peppering the opposition goal.
The Bulldogs were unlucky in the second quarter when a kick thudded into an upright, before the visitors registered another behind as an accurate kick was touched.
One of many turning points came just seconds from half-time as a free kick resulted in a Gunnedah goal.
This enabled the Bulldogs to lead 9-6-60 to 7-1-43 at the main break, before the Saints returned vigorously.
A mark from Russell Brien enabled him to kick a goal, before a good kick from Keiran Te Velde trimmed the margin to just four points.
A great long range kick from Thomas McGregor put the Saints two points ahead before three consecutive behinds enabled the Bulldogs to creep back in front.
The Saints again paid for conceding a goal just before the siren sounded, with good play from Gunnedah enabling Mark Ewington to mark the ball and kick accurately.
Although the Saints registered far fewer behinds than their opponents on the day, the last quarter proved decisive as Gunnedah kicked four goals and one behind while Inverell landed three behinds and three majors.
Ewington’s second goal stretched the margin to three goals before a goal to Lachie McDonald revived Inverell’s hopes.
The Saints’ cause became harder as a kickable goal produced only a behind, and a Saints player was yellow-carded 11 minutes from the end while Ewington kicked his third goal.
Scott Hardy’s fifth goal extended Gunnedah’s lead to 22 points before a snap goal to Matt Harrison kept Inverell in contention.
The hosts couldn't reel in their deficit, with a late goal merely adding some respectability to the total.
Bulldogs captain Andrew George was thrilled with the result as most of Gunnedah’s players were in their maiden finals appearance.