In the Major Semi Final at No.1 Oval in Tamworth the Kangaroos were waiting to prove the result of their last game against the Nomads was no fluke. And prove it they did with a emphatic 58 point win. The first quarter was all the Kangaroos as they Kicked an inaccurate 4 goals 5 behinds and keeping the Nomads to just 1 behind giving them a 28 point lead at the first break. The second quarter was a goal-a-thon with 11 goals being kicked. The Nomads managed to kick 5 goals but it was the Kangaroos with 6 goals that won the quarter and extended their lead to 36 points at half time. The all important third quarter is where the Kangaroos took the game completely away from the Nomads and it could have been worse for them had the Kangaroos kicked straight. The Kangaroos kicked 5 goals 7 behinds to the Nomads 2 goals 1 behind and it was a lead by 60 points at the last break. In the last quarter the Kangaroos took their foot off the pedal as the Nomads tried to regain some confidence to take into next week. The Nomads kicked 4 goals and held the Kangaroos to 3 goals. The Kangaroos will now host the 2011 Essential Energy Tamworth AFL Grand Final at No.1 Oval and the Nomads will return to Bellevue to again take on the Saints in the Preliminary Final. It will be the first time the Grand Final has been played in Tamworth since the Kangaroos won in 2008. For the Kangaroos Matt Hodge was their main goal kicker with 4 goals and Cam Douglas was their best player. And for the Nomads Hamish Pearce was their leading goal kicker with 3 goals and also their best player.
The Minor Semi Final was at Varley Oval in Inverell between the Saints and the Narrabri Eagles. The Eagles were quietly confident of being able to match it with the Saints and with their personal they were thinking they could cause an upset. Someone forgot to tell the Saints that though and they came out more fired up in the first quarter then the Eagles. The Saints had a couple of goals on the board before the Eagles knew what hit them. The Eagles steadied with a goal before the Saints added 3 more goals. It was then again the Eagles turn to score before the Saints closed out the quarter with another goal giving them a 25 point lead at quarter time. The second also went to the Saints as they scored 4 goals to the Eagles 2 goals to increase their lead to 38 points at the main break. The Eagles came out in the third quarter with renewed vigour and had the Saints slightly on the back foot for much of the quarter. They kicked 3 goals to the Saints 2 goals and reduced the Saints lead to 33 points. After some stern words form Saints Coach Nick Baird at the last break the Saints took control of the game again and kicked 4 goals, while holding the Eagles to 3 goals. In the end the Saints winning margin was 40 points, the same as the last time these two met. The Eagles should be proud of their first finals campaign and it will no doubt give them the confidence to go further when next year comes round. The Saints now have another battle with the Nomads in Armidale next week. For the Saints their best player was Jono Elphick and their leading goal kickers were Nick Baird and Gary Hadland with 4 goals each. And for the Eagles their best player was Mark Barrow and Tim Cooper, not surprisingly, was their main goal kicker with 3 goals.
Last Modified on 04/09/2011 11:04