In Armidale the New England Nomads took on the Gunnedah Bulldogs. Both teams are assured of finals with the Nomads having a mortgage on second place. The first quarter was very even with the Nomads kicking 4 goals to the Bulldogs 3 goals. This gave the Nomads an 8 point lead at the first break. The second quarter was a cracker with the Bulldogs biting back and outscoring the Nomads and cutting their lead to just 4 points at half time. The third quarter is where the Nomads set up their win. Even though they only kicked 4 goals they keep the Bulldogs to just 1 goal and took a 23 point lead into the last break. The Bulldogs got their bite back in the last quarter again outscoring the Nomads kicking 5 goals to 4 goals. This reduced the Nomads winning margin to 17 points. Bulldogs Coach, Peter Chapman, while not happy with the loss would have been happy with the effort of his team as well as the fact that they were able to kick straight in front of goal. The Nomads best player was Nick Shultz and Dave Richards was again their leading goal kicker with 4 goals. For the Bulldogs their best player and leading goal kicker with 4 goals was Ryan Cooper.
In the battle for the Billy Holder Cup at No.1 Oval in Tamworth the bottom of the ladder Swans took on the top of the ladder Kangaroos. This was the last game of the year for the Swans as they have the bye in round 14 and they were hoping finish with an upset win over the Kangaroos. Alas it was not to be as the Kangaroos took control of the game in the first quarter kicking 7 goals 6 behinds to the Swans 1 goal to lead by 42 points at the first break. The second quarter was a little tighter score wise but the Kangaroos increased their lead to 56 points at the long break. The third quarter was the Swans best score wise but the Kangaroos still increased their lead to be up by 63 points at the last break. The last quarter was all the Kangaroos as they kicked 6 goals and 8 behinds to run out winners by 95 points. It has been a bad season for the Swans and one they will want to forget. It is only 2 short years ago that they were holding the premiership cup high. For the Kangaroos though it is just a case of waiting for the finals as they have the minor premiership sown up. The Kangaroos best player was Cam Douglas and their main goal kicker was Mitch Douglas with 4 goals. The Swans best player was Mark Verrall and they had 5 individual goal kickers.
The last game in Inverell saw the Saints take on a very determined Narrabri Eagles. This game was played at a high standard with both teams showing just cause to be in the finals. The Saints started the game with the first 4 goals before the Eagles hit back with 2 Goals. It was a very accurate quarter with Saints ending the quarter with 7 goals to the Eagles 4 goals to lead by 19 points. The 2 stars in this quarter were the Saints Mike Gould with 5 of their goals and Tim Cooper with 3 of the Eagles 4 goals. The second quarter was all the Saints as they piled on 5 goals before the Eagles scored their first. The Saints managed another 3 goals for the quarter and at one stage lead the Eagles by 46 points. The Eagles closed out the quarter hitting a purple patch kicking 5 goals and reducing the Saints lead to 34 points at half time. The Eagles started the third quarter with the first 2 goals before the Saints steadied with a goal. The Saints then went on to kick another 3 goals before the Eagles scored a goal from a controversial free kick just before the siren. The Saints had increased their lead to 37 points at the last break though. The last quarter was a hard fought affair with the Saints kicking 3 goals and generally controlling the game extending their lead to 52 points before the Eagles hit back with 2 late last quarter goals. In the end Saints won a very entertaining game by 40 points. The Saints best player and leading goal kicker with 11 goals was Mike Gould. The Eagles leading goal kicker was Tim Cooper with 8 goals and Andrew Irvine was their best player.
Last Modified on 14/08/2011 00:07