THE New England Nomads may have fallen agonisingly short in their AFL North West grand final clash with the Gunnedah Bulldogs, but one player shone brighter than the rest.
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Midfielder Luke Raymond was adjudged by the three match-day umpires as the best player in Saturday's grand final at Wolseley Oval.
Affectionately known around the Nomads' playing group as "Rambo", Raymond said the award was little consolation for losing a grand final.
"We were behind the eight-ball there in the first quarter and when you are trying to play catch-up football in a grand final, it is always going to be tough," Raymond said.
"However, I think our defence held up really well and if the game had gone another five minutes, who knows, it might have been a different story.
"Full credit to Gunnedah though, they are a really good side."
Raymond said the side's defensive effort "helped keep us in" Saturday's clash.
"I thought our backline really stood up early and helped bring our midfielders and forwards into the game," he said.
"The backline was under a bit of pressure early, but by hanging in there like they did it allowed the forwards and the midfielders to get into the game.
"It nearly got us over the line, but unfortunately it wasn't to be."
Nomads' coach James Treweeke praised Raymond's efforts throughout the game and shed some light on the "Rambo" moniker.
"I think we call him [Raymond] Rambo because while he is one of the shortest blokes on our team, he is one of the toughest," Treweeke said.
"I made him captain this year for a reason, he's always been part of the leadership group, but this season I felt he would be the best person to lead us.
"He really stepped up today [Saturday], you could see it on the bus ride over that his head was in the game and he desperately wanted to win.
"I thought he was outstanding all day and nearly got us over the line, but it just wasn't to be."
Treweeke said Raymond's impact on "a pretty young midfield" was not to be understated.
"We do have a pretty young midfield and at times we do struggle with things like the university holidays," he said.
"However, we are really lucky to have blokes like Rambo and Modra [David Richards] around to help lead the team forward.
"Hopefully, we can keep this group together for the next couple of years and be back on a grand final stage again."