In the first encounter the Cats and the Swans played out a close first half. The Cats were playing their first match for the year and looked rusty before clicking into gear and over-running the Swans in the second half of the game. The Swans put it to the Cats and kept trying all day but the more experienced Cats, led by their champion Adam White with four goals and Stewart McAdam also with four, proved too much for the re-building Swans - especially in the final quarter. The Swans Josh McCrea with 4 goals and Chris Walker with three didn't stop trying. The game showed that the Swans are re-building nicely after their post premiership exodus and that the Cats will be a handful for any team in 2007. The Cats ran out winners by 49 points.
In the second encounter, the Roos got off to a flyer before the Saints kicked into gear half way through the first quarter and piled on a quick fire 6 goals to the Roos 4 goals to take a narrow 9 point lead into the second quarter. The Saints continued to dominate up until half time and took a 31 point win into half time and threatened to blow the Roos away. The Roos came out firing in the 3rd quarter and clawed back 4 quick goals before the Saints steadied. The Roos Damian Buchanan was a standout for the home team with 4 goals. The Saints got well on top in the final term with Alex Walker, Stewart Walker and Tom Dasey putting in strong performances. Craig Gill was outstanding all day and after half time the Saints welcomed back Luke Selig, who started to win possessions straight away, and was stand out performer in the the last term when the game was there to be won. The Saints won by 40 points.
In the final game of the round, the Gunnedah Bulldogs gave the high flying Nomads a fright, with the Nomads struggling to a 20 point win over them. In a telling blow, the Nomads lost their in-form full forward Mark Handley to injury and they struggled to post points after he left the ground. Handley had kicked 5 goals up until that point, and was dominating the forward fifty.
Scores: Saints 17.12.114 Roos 11.8.74
Cats 17.13 115 Swans 10.9.69
Nomads 11.12.78 Bulldogs 8.10.58.
Please Note: The Nomads and Saints play at 5.30pm Saturday in Inverell.
Last Modified on 29/04/2007 17:16