The first road trip of 2011 was not a happy one for the Inverell Saints as they were comprehensively beaten by the Tamworth Swans by 50 points on Saturday. The match was hard fought and still alive with 20 minutes to go, however the dominance of the Swans across the ground finally told out as they ran away with the match late in the contest.
The Saints took a squad of 20 over to Tamworth, with 5 first gamers and another 6 playing just their second game of AFL footy. This was no excuse for the Saints however as they welcomed back premiership layers to the fold for the clash. From the opening bounce, the Swans took total control of the match and kicked a couple of early goals to put the Saints under alot of pressure. It was only some wayward kicking that was keeping the Saints in the contest, and despite some easy misses themselves, goals to Dick Gleeson and Nick Baird kept the Saints within 16 points at the first change.
The second quarter saw the Swans once again kick away early with the Saints having no answers to the onslaught. The Swans piled on the early majors and threatened to run away with the match at this point, but the Saints fought back and kicked the last couple of the quarter to bring the margin back to 33 points at the long change.
The theme of the day continued to be tough footy and once again the Swans got the jump early in the quarter. However some inspired work at the back from first gamer Scott Fermor and the leadership of veteran Matt Harrison saw the Saints again refuse to lay down, taking control of the match after being down by 8 goals in the third to bring the margin back to 27 at the final change and having all the running of the match.
When Captain Chris Whitton goaled early in the last the Saints were within striking distance of an unlikely comeback. However the bounce of the ball just didn't go the way of the Saints in one crucial foray forward, allowing the Swans to regroup and answer and not look back for the next 20 minutes of footy. The Swans piled on 6 unanswered goals to finish the match and in fairness the final scoreline reflected the domination they showed across the park.
Harrison, Fermor and Sam Kimmince were the Saints best in the back line, with Justin Pay providing his usual mountain of work in the ruck. First gamer Nick Thompson shoed plenty of flair on the wing, putting his body on the line against much bigger opponents. Dick Gleeson again belied his years with a stellar performance across half forward whilst Corey Borthwick continued his rise to Saints mainstay with another strong performance.
The Saints now look forward to two weeks rest with the bye and general bye in the coming weeks. This leads into a tough stretch of games, most pressing being the Nomads in Armidale next start.
Last Modified on 09/05/2011 09:58