By JO HARRISON
THE Inverell Saints were no match for a barnstorming New England Nomads who crushed the Saints by more than 50 points in Armidale on Saturday.
Last year’s premiers are proving once again that they are the form side in the 2013 AFL competition.
Assistant coach Adrian Walsh said the boys knew that they had to run the ball quickly against Inverell and not get bogged down in packs.
“In the back line our tall defenders punched the ball away with our small men in the back line mopping up so we made in hard for Inverell to gain good possession,” Walsh said.
“In our forward line they defended as well as attacked. Inverell had trouble getting the ball out of their back line because our forwards were putting them under defensive pressure all the time.
“It was just an excellent performance from the boys and we didn’t expect to dominate as much as we did.”
This year the Nomad’s are playing an aggressive style of football that is paying dividends in this year’s competition.
In recent years, the Inverell Saints had the measure of the Nomads, however this year they are not able to match the speed and height of the Armidale team.
“Over the years the Saints have been the team that we have had the most trouble with because of their physical style of playing,” Walsh said.
“But we have a lot of young fast guys who are not afraid of going in hard. Inverell have always been our bogey team over the last five years so it was really pleasing to beat them on Saturday.”
Round 12 results:
New England Nomads 16.18-114 Inverell Saints 8.13-61; Tamworth Kangaroos 20.13-133 Tamworth Swans 11.11-77; Muswellbrook Cats 14.11-95 Gunnedah District Bulldogs AFC 11.7-73.
This Saturday the New England Nomads travel to Muswellbrook to play the Cats.
