The pressure was off and the New England Nomads thrived to claim a victory against Inverell in the final round of the AFL North West season.
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The competition will head straight to a grand final, without a traditional finals series, with the top two spots - Gunnedah and Tamworth Swans - automatically qualifying.
Heading into the round 10 encounter, the Nomads were aware they couldn't make the decider but were still aiming to finish the season on a high. They surged past the Saints 15.14-104 to 9.5-59 do just that in what was player Sol Hanks' 50th game for the club.
There were a few key additions to the team, including Tom Hunt who was named best on ground, which helped.
It was also the first time the Nomads have posted more than 100 points in a match and coach James Treweeke said it "was the best footy we played all year."
There were "promising signs" for the future and Treweeke is hopeful they can keep the "core group" at the club for next year.
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"We always manage to pick up a few, I just hope uni comes back but most of the fellas will still be around, try and keep that core group together as much as we can," he said.
"I think if we can get most people back on board and add a few new fellas, we will be in pretty good shape again."
Treweeke noted Morgan Dunn is set to leave but "old heads like Modra, will probably never leave the club."