Gunnedah downs New England

The Eagles’ Nest turned out to be a happy hunting ground for Gunnedah Bulldogs on Saturday as they scored their second win of the 2023 AFLNW men’s season at Leitch Oval.

Gunnedah hosted Armidale-based New England Nomads in the round 13 clash and prevailed 12.23 (95) to 11.13 (79) in front of a crowd of about 100 people as senior Australian rules football returned to Narrabri for the first time since June last year.

Despite the visitors turning up two players short of a run-on side, their 16 players kicked them out to a 3.4 (22) to 3.3 (21) quarter-time lead as they proved early that they would not be pushovers.

However, Gunnedah went into the half-time break ahead by nine points after they kicked four goals and seven behinds to New England’s three goals and three behinds in the second term lead 7.10 (52) to 6.7 (43).

Gunnedah kicked another four goals and seven behinds in the third, while New England again kicked three goals and three behinds, as the scoreboard read 11.17 (83) to 9.10 (64) heading into the final quarter.

The Nomads outscored the Bulldogs 15 points to 12 in that final term, but it was not enough to overturn the deficit as the Gunnedah men prevailed 12.23 (95) to 11.13 (79).

Mark Ewington kicked three goals for Gunnedah, while teammates Adam Curgenven, Braydyn Finlay and Trav Oakley kicked two each, and Caleb Briggs, Chris Hoffman and Jakob Vearing finished the game with one each.

The Bulldogs’ best on ground votes went to James Mack, Curgenven, Alasdair Hewitt, Oakley, Daniel Pass and Vearing.

The match was played at Leitch Oval with an aim to reignite interest in the sport here town to help the Narrabri Eagles field a team in 2024.

The Eagles’ club president Alister McClenaghan, vice-president Corey Robinson, and two other Narrabri men including Callum Cragie and Josh Buckthought have played for the Bulldogs this season in the absence of an Eagles side in the competition, and so it was also a way for the Gunnedah club to give those players a real home game.

Robinson told The Courier that he thought the match had a positive impact, with a huge crowd turning out to support the match and cheer on both sides.

That included 10 former Narrabri Eagles players.

Narrabri’s Marlin Ryman also played his first game of Australian rules footy on the day when he lined up for the Bulldogs.

“It was really good to play a game in Narrabri,” Robinson said.

“We had an awesome crowd down there, about 100 people, which was a really good turnout.

“It was good to see a fair few former Narrabri players down there watching and helping out too.

“The occasion was even better than I expected.

“The goal next year is to get the Eagles back up and running, and I thought that the game had a really good impact.

“Even though Armidale rocked up short, they still gave it a red-hot crack.

“They had no subs and two players less on the field.

“They did really well and read the game really well. I think that the fact that they had no subs and we did was the difference on the day.”

The other round 13 AFLNW contest on Saturday saw Inverell Saints kick themselves out to an even bigger lead at the top of the table when they won 13.15 (93) to 5.5 (35) on home soil at Varley Oval against the Tamworth Swans.

The Saints have already wrapped up top spot as they are too far clear of second-placed New England, third-placed Tamworth Swans and fourth-placed Tamworth Kangaroos.

The Bulldogs are last in fifth place, and while they are unable to climb off the bottom of the ladder despite their win on Saturday, they will be hoping to go out with a bang when they host the Inverell Saints at Wolseley Oval in Gunnedah on Saturday, August 5, after they sit out with the round 14 bye.

Meanwhile, there was no AFLNW women’s match played at Leitch Oval on Saturday as the Nomads forfeited the round 13 clash against Gunnedah, Poochettes although several players from both Gunnedah and Narrabri did have a kick around before the men’s match.