But that didn’t stop the intrepid Suns from taking to Taylor Oval one last time for 2018.

Three of the boys laced up the boots for the first time this year to bring the Suns up to squad strength to take on an also depleted, yet confident, Narrabri Eagles outfit.

Having had a win over the Swans the previous weekend, the Eagles came ready to play, but it didn’t stop the Suns from taking the lead at the end of the first quarter, helped by the season debut of Josh Shone in the ruck, impressive speedwork from Danny Brown and Will Caccianiga and some versatile work in the forward by Kenny Smith, Daniel West and Bobby Smith, all scoring one major for the quarter.

A rejuvenated Eagles came out in the second quarter led by Irish imports Tom Mackey and Ray Nixon who managed to score seven goals between them.

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The Suns tried to maintain the momentum from the first quarter by the loss of Rhys Smith from the backline for the remainder of the match and injury to Jade Porter meant that the Suns lost the defensive ferocity with which they started the game.

The versatility of Wyatt Roberts shined through, but he was unable to prevent the handywork of the Eagles outfit, who were keen to follow up their hometown win over the fourth-ranked Tamworth Swans.

A half time break saw the Suns rally after shuffling in the back line and a further couple of goals from Bobby Smith.

Unfortunately some inaccuracies off the boot meant that the Suns were unable to claw back the deficit and the Eagles managed to maintain their lead for the remainder of the game, eventually coming off final victors 25.9-156 to 12.14-86.

“It was a good effort by our boys given the situation we were in,” Suns president Shane Hadley said.

“We were missing so many of our core players to injury and other commitments, the fact that we put a team together is testament to the dedication of our Suns players, and the hard work put in by Ash Jones every week to encourage guys to get out on the field in a Suns jersey every weekend.

“Had those guys been available, we would have almost had a full squad with 21 players on the team sheet for the weekend.”

The Suns senior men’s team have their final game for the season this Saturday, August 18 against the New England Nomads in Tamworth, who came off an impressive victory over the Inverell Saints by two points.

“They’re a tough outfit to beat,” Hadley said.

“They always are. We had a win over them earlier in the season, but they were down on numbers.

“I think beating the Saints on the weekend shows that you can never count them out as premiership contenders and it will have definitely inspired them for the remainder of the season.

“We can only focus on our game and giving the guys the best opportunity to play out their final game of the season.”

Looking to the year ahead, Hadley was optimistic

“Our goal for next season is depth and consistency,” he said.

“We have had a number of new players join our ranks and some of our juniors step up into the senior ranks this year.

“With further training and development of these players, and a bit of physical maturing for the younger boys, along with improved retention of existing players and some intensive recruitment, we’re hoping to field a stronger Suns side for 2019.

“AFL NSW/ACT are looking to support an AFL nines competition, as well as launching an Auskick program and appointing a development officer in Moree to help promote and engage people with the sport.

“Most people who give it a go find that they really enjoy it. The type of fitness and athleticism that you need for this game is very different to other football codes and I think a lot of people are quite surprised when they try it for the first time as to just what a great sport it is to play.”

Goal Scorers A Smith (3), J Porter (3), D Brown, W Caccianiga, A Jones, W Roberts, K Sampson, D West.

Players Player went to Danny Brown, where the coach’s award went to Will Lehman and captain’s award to Jared Lidgerwood.