After enduring a "week from hell", the Tamworth Swans have undergone a "complete turnaround" in producing their best result in a decade - a 34-point loss to the Saints at No.1 Oval, says Swans coach Paul Kelly.
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Kelly was "very pleased" with the side's performance against the reigning premiers, which followed a 94-point loss to Gunnedah the previous round.
The final score on Saturday was 10-16-76 to 5-12-42.
"I was very proud of the boys," Kelly said. "That's the best I've seen us play since the the '09 grand final."
Tamworth beat Inverell in that season finale.
On Saturday, it was only in the fourth quarter that the Saints kicked away - booting three unanswered goals.
Tamworth led by three points at the first break, it was all square at halftime and the Saints led by nine points at three-quarter time.
Five Swans booted a goal including their best player, Liam Dunn.
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Kelly said the Swans "really broke down coming out of our backline into our forward line".
"Like, they took too many uncontested marks across our half-forward line," he said. "That's something we've got to work on."
Elsewhere on Saturday, Gunnedah continued their unbeaten start to the season by defeating the New England Nomads 16-8-104 to 9-11-65 at Bellevue Oval.
In Moree, the Kangaroos game against the Suns was called off due to what Roos coach Tony Bishop labelled a "field issue".