The marching of Jordan Jeffriess-Tapper for umpire abuse late in the third quarter was a possibly a decisive factor in the Swans' 12-point loss to the Nomads at No.1 Oval, says Tamworth coach Paul Kelly.
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Tamworth led by five points a halftime and trialled by seven points at three-quarter time in the 12.17-89 to 11.11-77 loss on Saturday.
Kelly said the Swans "had a lot of the footy in the final term but the Nomads having an extra player "was just too much for us".
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"So I think that's where we lost it - just that one player short," he said, adding that the sending off "might have cost us the game" and was incongruous with how the Swans played footy.
"We pride ourselves on how we are seen on the field and our behaviour ... The boys were really good - it was just that one incident, that was possibly a bit of over-reaction with the send-off. But that's the way it is."
David Richards kicked six goals for Nomads.
Two Swans booted two goals: Jesse Verdouw and Dale Gericke.
Both sides kicked 3.4-22 in the first quarter.
The Swans went into the match missing three players through injury and then lost James Dunston (flu).
"So we really missed him - a bit of a body around the ball, on the ball," Kelly said.
"But I think the boys really stood up. And they knew they were one short [in the final term] and they really toughed it out," he added.
Elsewhere on Saturday, the Saints gave the Kangaroos a 179-point touch-up in Inverell - the final score 29.19-193 to 2.2-14.
Lachie White and Joseph Kimmince kicked seven and six goals, respectively, for the Saints.
