Despite not having all hands on deck in the early rounds of the AFL North West season, the New England Nomads are rapt with their standing.
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After succumbing to the Inverell Saints with just 16 players, the Nomads bounced back for consecutive wins against Gunnedah and then grand final rivals, the Tamworth Swans.
With regular player-coach Clarrie Barker absent for the recent fixture, assistant Fraser Menzies said they didn't even have their team finalised until the eve of the match.
"We were lacking a bit of strength but ultimately our game plan stood up and we were able to play the game plan we wanted to play," he said.
Scores were tight until the final quarter when the Nomads kicked away for the 13.11-89 to 9.8-62 win.
"In the fourth quarter, a few older heads and experienced heads had the composure to slow things down and actually work the ball through rather than having to get a goal from one end of the ground to the other," Menzies said.
Menzies himself kicked nine with David Richards chiming in with two and Noah Connick and Oskar Brookshaw kicking one each.
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"Probably the only disappointing thing was that we only had the four goal-scorers in the game and that's what we have ultimately trained towards this week; improving that," Menzies said.
"In the game last week it was probably needed but in the future hopefully I am not relied upon as much.
"If you have only have one goal-kicker, it becomes a bit predictable at times.
"Probably the only disappointing thing was that we only had the four goal-scorers in the game and that's what we have ultimately trained towards this week; improving that."
They'll face the Tamworth Kangaroos at Bellevue Oval this Saturday and welcome back Barker and Antonio Molinaro-Rathsmann.
Menzies said they are aiming to share the spoils across the park a bit more as well as solidify their game plan heading into the second round of the competition's fixtures.
"Hopefully with a bit of cattle back in this weekend we can make things a bit easier on ourselves," he said.
"They are very similar to us in terms of game style - they like to use their 45 kicks and use the corridor, manipulate plays and get the ball going forward.
"In an ideal situation, we need six goal-scorers a game because there's going to be times throughout the season where myself, Clarrie and other players are going to get a lot of attention and the goals are going to dry up eventually.
"We do need other people to come in and contribute so hopefully this weekend we can get more than six goal-scorers on the board."
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