For a long time the Tamworth Swans were in the sporting equivalent of a bog, where everything they tried seemed so damn hard.
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But after notching their third win of the season, a 39-point defeat of the Kangaroos at No.1 Oval on Saturday, the Swans believe that the worst is behind them.
“There has been a lot of hard work and a lot of frustration,” Swans coach Paul Kelly said. “But I think we’re just gaining more confidence, gaining more experience and the ball’s sort of bouncing our way a little bit.
“We kicked a couple goals yesterday [Saturday] where normally they wouldn’t go through for us.”
A five-goal first quarter gave the Swans a 17-point lead at the first break, and they were never headed from there – full forward Chris Walker providing the side with a talismanic target up front as he kicked eight goals.
In his first game for the side, Ben Jaffrey produced what Kelly described as the Swans’ best performance, operating on the half back flank.
Jaffrey is a sports journalist at The Leader. He played with the Werris Creek Magpies in Group 4 this season, but left the club and the sport in search of more game time.
“He was really good back there,” Kelly said. “He cut a lot of the ball off. He reads the ball really well. He was really good. He’s a good recruit.”
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The Swans led 8.3-51 to 5.5-35 at halftime, 12.10-82 to 5.5-35 at three-quarter time and 14.14-98 to 8.11-59 at fulltime.
Kelly rated it the Swans’ best performance of the year. He said the side was finally stabalising, with a core group of players available each week.
The side, he said, kept their “foot down” for the whole match – preventing the Kangaroos from surging, something they had been unable to achieve in any prior match in 2018.
“We played, for the first time this year, four quarters of footy,” he said. “So I was really happy with that.”
