Any New England Nomads players who were hoping to spend their bye week with their feet up were given a rude shock by player-coach Zac Economou.
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Economou gave his troops a hammering in the training paddock over the past fortnight in an effort to pick up their conditioning in the run towards the finals.
“The boys have been pretty sharp the last two weeks,” the Nomads coach said.
“We tried to get some running in the legs.”
While it was all work at training, Economou said the side enjoyed a weekend away from football.
“It was a nice break,” he said.
“It gave us a chance to let some blokes recover.
“But hopefully we can pick up where we left off.”
The Nomads are back on deck tomorrow and will travel to Narrabri to battle the Eagles.
Sitting fourth on the table with five wins and as many losses for the season, the Eagles may not seem like a tough assignment for the high-flying Nomads, but Economou warned Narrabri are a different beast on their home track.
“Narrabri are always hard to play over there,” he said.
“Their ground is tiny, the smallest in the competition.
“They are very comfortable at home.
“It’s a matter of us using the space, or lack of space, as well as we can.”
Economou said his side will focus on shutting down Narrabri big guns Todd Fagan and Todd Dunn.
“They are fantastic footballers,” he said.
“Todd Dunn through the middle is a great player. Todd Fagan seems to kick a bag of goals ever week.”
The Nomads are almost back to full strength after struggling with injuries and player unavailability throughout 2015.
“We will go across with a good side,” Economou said.
“It’s all about concentrating on building towards the finals.”