Tamworth Swans v New England Nomads at Number One Oval – 7pm start
The deferred Rd 13 match up between the Swans and Nomads sees a return to mid week footy for the TAFL. Due to the state of Number One and Bellevue last weekend, the match had to be postponed. It is a credit to both clubs to get this game up and running on Wednesday night, and it should be a great battle to boot. The Swans are coming off the short back-up after pushing the Roos for much of their clash on Saturday. They will take some stock from that effort as the Roos appear to be the form team of the competition right now. The Nomads had the benefit of receiving a forfeit last weekend, and should be fresh and raring to go for this clash. They may be a little rusty however, as it has been 2 and a half weeks since they last played in Gunnedah against the Dogs. This may be the advantage the Swans need here. The Swans enter this clash having not won a game since Round 3, but they still remain an outside chance of snatching a finals berth. They sit two games behind the Dogs, but have two games in hand and still have a match at home against the Dogs to come. They must get the ball rolling here though. They have beaten the Nomads this season, back in Round 1, and have been only narrowly beaten in the past month by the Saints and Cats. If they can produce a solid, four-quarter effort, they are in with a big chance on Wednesday. They will once again rely heavily on their veteran midfield of Knee, Wendt and Donohue, and the return of Joseph Atkinson will help out wide with his run and carry. Ross Fraser has arguably been the find of the season, and he will need to do a job on one of the Nomads many attacking weapons. The boys from Armidale have had a long period on the road over the past two months, and that has begun to show over the past month. They were beaten by the Dogs in Gunnedah, and then were comprehensibly outplayed in Inverell. They did get one back over the Dogs in their last start, but there could be some rust after two weekends without a match. Their biggest strength this year has been down back, where Tom Granleese loves his men to start their attacking raids. They are possibly the best rebounding team in the league, turning defence into attack quickly and efficiently. Their midfield has also been strong, with Cam Grigg filling in some rather big shoes in the ruck department. Their forward line has always been potent, and the Swans need a way of stopping the tall Simon Stubbs and the whippets in Dave Richards and Weston Whitby.
This match should be a wonderful exhibition of footy under lights. A fortnight ago, this tipster forecast a comfortable Nomads win. However, some rust can develop with a couple of weeks off, and the Swans will draw some confidence from last Saturday. The Nomads should still win, but it will be closer than most think.
TAFL Tipster – Nomads by 1 goal
Last Modified on 23/07/2012 09:35