A strong second half from the New England Nomads has taken away a second consecutive win for the Moree Suns, going down 10-14-74 to 5-5-35 at the Moree Showground on Saturday.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The Suns held a slender lead at half time but the Nomads kicked seven goals to the Suns' one to run away with the game in the second half.
The home side got off to a hot start, kicking four goals in the opening quarter to go into the first break with a 4-2-26 to 2-3-15 lead.
The Nomads slowly worked their way back into the match in the second quarter, but the Suns were able to hold onto a 4-4-28 to 3-7-25 lead at half time.
The Suns weren't able to keep their momentum going, with the Nomads's experience coming up large as they walked away with the 39-point win.
READ ALSO:
Despite the loss, coach Ashley Jones said it was still a solid effort for his side against a quality opposition.
"The guys are improving each week and we had a few blokes this weekend who played their first game and are adapting to AFL quite well," he said.
We started off strong and finished the first and second quarters off in the lead, unfortunately the fitness and the well-drilled skills of Armidale came through for them in the end."
It was a couple of those first gamers that Jones said produced strong performances on the weekend.
"We had some standout players with Byron Birch playing his first game for the Suns in the ruck and fitted in very well with our playing style," he said.
"Another first gamer in David Annis-Brown played great in the forwards for us and was handy in the backline when rotated as well."
Results didn't go the Suns way in their two other matches on Saturday, with both the women and under-17s also going down.
The senior women faced the Gunnedah Bulldogs who are impressing in their first season and suffered a 10-19-79 to 1-0-6 defeat.
The under-17s travelled to Glen Innes to take on the Celts and were defeated in an absolute thriller.
The Suns worked their way back from an 18-point deficit at half time but just missed out on a win, going down 9-16-70 to 10-9-69.
The juniors will take on the Roosters in Tamworth this weekend, while both the women and senior men will travel to Gunnedah to take on the Bulldogs.
It's a tough trip for the men, facing the defending premiers who have been in red hot form to start the season, but Jones is just hoping to see the team continue to improve.
Overall we just need to keep working on our skills and fitness," Jones said.
"The numbers at training the last few weeks have been really strong with 20 plus each session, if we can keep getting these numbers the guys will only continue to improve each week."
