The Tamworth Swans 75 point win over the Gunnedah Bulldogs have seen them climb to 2nd on the Country Energy TAFL ladder. The first quarter was the closest quarter of this game, with both teams kicking 4 goals each, and the Bulldogs went into the break with a slender 1 point lead. After quarter time though, it was all the Swans as the Bulldogs got their first taste of defeat in 2009. The second quarter saw the Swans pile on 7 goals to 1 to set up the win. In fact the Swans restricted the Bulldogs to just 1 goal in each of the last 3 quarters while they piled them on, kicking 3 goals in the 3rd term and 5 in the last. Swans' coach, Rick Watt, would be well pleased with the improvement his team is showing as each round goes by, and with a little more commitment in round 1 they would have been on top of the ladder. For the Bulldogs their young pup, Farran Lamb, has continued his good start to the year kicking another 4 goals this week.
Swans 19-13-127
Bulldogs 7-10-52
Tamworth Swans
Goal Kickers: D. Hoy 5, J. Darcy 4, G. Knee 3, J. Atkinson 2, D. Butcher, A. Donohue, A. James, S. Shelton, R. Green
Best Players: L. Rowling, R. Green, T. Jones, D. Miller, J. McKenzie, J. Doughty
Gunnedah District Bulldogs AFC
Goal Kickers: F. Lamb 4, P. Christie, B. Middlebrook, S. Naismith
Best Players: P. Brown, C. Hayden, F. Lamb, D. Vidovic, S. Naismith, S. Hardy
At Varley Oval in Inverell the Saints finally opened their winning account with a good win over the top of the Country Energy TAFL Ladder leaders the New England Nomads. The first quarter started slowly with no score to either team for the first 5 minutes. Then the Nomads kicked into gear and burst away to a 19 point lead before the Saints clawed their way back into the quarter late to cut the Nomads' lead to 2 points at quarter time. The second quarter started with 2 quick goals to the Saints' Gary Hadland before Nomads' Skipper, Matt Maxwell, missed a gettable set shot. The Nomads then gained the ascendency in the middle part of the quarter before the Saints finished with a couple of late goals to lead at the main break by 11 points. The third quarter was all the Nomads and they should have set up a commanding lead. The Nomads kept the Saints to 1 goal for the quarter while kicking 1 goal 7 behinds themselves. Of the 7 behinds, 4 of them were from set shots close enough to in front and should have been converted. The last quarter saw the Saints take control and kick 4 quick goals to set up their win before the Nomads rallied, but it was not enough.
Saints 14-8-92
Nomads 10-15-75
Inverell Saints
Goal Kickers: C. Whitton 3, R. Gleeson 2, G. Hadland 2, P. Heath 2, T. Williams, J. Kimmince, J. Pay, J. Lawton, B. Lee
Best Players: T. Dasey, P. Heath, J. Kimmince, G. Hadland, D. Pithers, T. Williams
New England Nomads
Goal Kickers: W. Whitby 4, M. Maxwell 2, B. Page, A. Walsh, W. Redhead, A. Wright
Best Players: M. Maxwell, A. Wright, P. Harris, C. Ballagh, W. Whitby, S. Trotman
Down at the Cattery, the Muswellbrook Cats had to contend with the Tamworth Kangaroos coming off a loss to the Bulldogs a week before. The Kangaroos bounced out of the blocks keen to show that that game against the Bulldogs would not be repeated, kicking 5 goals to 1 behind in the first quarter. The damage could have been worse though had the Kangaroos kicked straighter, 6 behinds, and coach Tony Bishop will no doubt work on this. The second quarter was pretty much a carbon copy of the first but this time the Kangaroos kicked 6 goals 5 behinds to the Cats 1 goal, 1 behind. The third quarter was the best quarter of this game. Cats' joint coaches Byrce O'Conner and Brian Martin gave a good half time address to their players and it worked, with the Cats outscoring the rampaging Kangaroos by 2 points. The Kangaroos goal conversion rate did not improve kicking 5 behinds in this quarter, too. In the last quarter the Kangaroos took control again and kicked away to win by 104 points - finally kicking a straight 7 goals 3 behinds. The Cats have played well this year in patches but need to become more consistent if they hope go up the ladder.
Cats 4-5-29
Kangaroos 19-19-133
Muswellbrook Cats
Goal Kickers: S. Mullane, B. Howarth, A. Warner, C. Mayne
Best Players: N. Wilson, W. Gunn, A. Warner, B. Scott, S. McAdam, B. Howarth
Tamworth Kangaroos
Goal Kickers: A. Hawkins 6, T. Cotter 4, D. Overeem 3, B. Kennedy 2, C. Douglas 2, V. Woodgate, B. Snowden
Best Players: D. Overeem, I. Leys, B. Coombes, T. Cotter, R. Painter, B. Snowden
Last Modified on 25/05/2009 08:35