NEW England Nomads take to the field this weekend vying for their fifth straight Tamworth AFL title after finishing the regular season as undefeated minor premiers.
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The side fielded an understrength team and were still too good for fourth-placed Gunnedah Bulldogs at Wolseley Park who qualified for the finals for the first time in five years.
For the Nomads, Zac Economou impressed kicking six goals while coach Jed Ellis-Cluff added three in the 15.7-97 to 5.11-41 victory.
The Nomads dominated the opening stages of the match, scoring 32 points to the Bulldogs’ two before the quarter time break.
The Bulldogs kicked into gear after the break and managed to close in on the Nomads.
Ellis-Cluff said it was a tighter game than what the scoreline said and the Bulldogs fought hard in the final three quarters for the match.
"We up by about 30 at quarter time and to Gunnedah's credit, they showed us why they have won a few good games this year and they really fought back,” he said.
"We only put about another three goals on them after quarter time and that was much more reflective of how it felt playing out there.
"It definitely felt closer than 50 points.”
The win sets up an exciting semi-final clash against second-placed Tamworth Roos at Bellevue Oval on Saturday.
The Roos were unstoppable in their match against Moree Suns on Saturday.
Dan Overeem stood out for the side and slotted eight goals in the 27.22-184 to 0.2-2 thumping.
The Roos were too strong throughout the match and held the Suns to nil until the final quarter.
Ellis-Cluff was impressed by the Roos dominance in the match and said it will be a tough challenge for his side this weekend to secure the first spot in the grand final.
"They had a good win on the weekend,” he said.
"We got to see most of the game because we got to play before them.
"They are looking pretty sharp.
"It is usually won through the mid-field for us.
"We have the forward line, if we can get it in there we can kick the goals so as long as the mid-fielder are getting it in and stopping them getting too many entries in their forward 50, hopefully it will take care of itself.
"They are a quality team all over the park.
“They have really good players on every line so we will certainly have our work cut out for us.”
The Nomads rested players for the match against Gunnedah and Ellis-Cluff hopes to have them back on the park for the semi-final.
"There are probably a couple that will be touch and go but we didn't take any risks on the weekend so there were a few blokes that didn't play,” he said.
The match commences at 2pm.