The Inverell Saints have booked a spot in next weekends AFL North West Preliminary Final after knocking out the Tamworth Swans by 23 points at Varley Oval on Saturday.
Key forward Ben Gregory finished with four goals while captain Sam Kimmince foiled numerous Tamworth Roos attacking surges to etch out a wonderful 11.19.85 to 9.8.62 victory.
The Saints will now prepare for their Preliminary Final against the New England Nomads at Bellevue Oval this Saturday.
The visitors came out strong in the opening quarter to dominate play but could not put the Saints to the sword, going into the first break up by 6 points. Some Hayden Chappel brilliance late in the quarter, when he snapped truly from a pack, reduced the margin and swung momentum the Saints way.
The Saints suddenly looked likely to break the game open in the second term with Gregory and Mike Gould looming dangerous up forward while Justin Pay, Luke Selig, Kieran Te Velde and Anthony Pages began winning the ball from the centre. A Chris Whitton miracle goal from the boundary line and two majors from Gregory gave the Saints a slender 8 point lead at the long break, The margin should have been bigger if not an abundance of wasted opportunities in front of goal.
The Kangaroos started to feel the heat in the third team with players starting to cramp and tire in the warm conditions which restricted their rotations. When Gregory kicked his fourth for the game, signs looked ominous for the Roos.
To their credit, the Roos put it all on the line and began the last term full of run and threatened to make life difficult for the home side but Dallas Baldwin and Mike Gould sealed the deal for the Saints with goals in the last term, and in doing so, set up a Preliminary Final meeting with the New England Nomads in Armidale this Saturday.
The Saints may have to go to Armidale without Bailey Gardner and Chris Whitton who did not finish the game.
Gardner, who went into the game with a foot injury, looks set to miss this week while Whitton strained his hamstring and is likely to miss the rest of the season.
Toby Tollis, Chris Schneider Adrian Cox and Jake Cannon will need to impress at training to fight their way back into the side.
Goal Kickers: B. Gregory 4, D Baldwin, H. Chappel 2, C. Whitton, M Gould, Luke Selig 1
Best Players: S Kimmince, H Chappel, B Gregory, L Selig, D Pither, A Pages
WOMEN
The Saints women's team went down valiantly to the Tamworth Kangaroos by 12 points.
The Roo girls dominated early and could have gone into the first break leading the Saints but instead were down by 2 points.
Scores were tight throughout the contest but the Roos were slightly cleaner with the ball and started to show their dominance during the second half. The Saints struggled to have a functioning forward line and build scoreboard pressure.
In the end, the Roos girls were just a little more polished and ran out winners by 12 points.
The Saints hoped to regain Jamie Pay for their Preliminary final encounter against the Nomads at Bellevue Oval this Saturday
Goal Kickers: K. Hamilton 2, K. Sims, G. Strang, T. Afford
JUNIORS
The Saints Juniors have advanced to the Grand Final after edging out the Moree Suns by 4 points in a highly entertaining match.
Josh Desborough starred for the home side and was clearly best on ground, running amok around the ground and helping himself to three goals, while Lachie Martin was influential on the half back line. Will Mozzell helped himself with three goals as well while Cam Sparke-Gaukroger had an eye catching game in the midfield.
Score were level at quarter time with the Saints leading by 8 points at the main break, 1 point at the last break and 4 points at the final siren. They will now have a week off and prepare for the Grand Final in a fortnights time in Gunnedah.
The Saints and Suns are building a reasonable rivalry in the Junior grade as these two teams fought out last years Grand Final with the Suns winning the premiership after the siren.
Goal Kickers: J. Desborough-Graham 3, W. Mozzell 3, C. Sparke-Gaukroger 2, X. Gobbert, L. Martin
Last Modified on 27/08/2017 22:14