History in the making in Preliminary Final

History is set to be made on Saturday at Varley Oval, Inverell with the North West’s first ever Under 14 finals clash.

The newest club in the League, the Glen Innes Celts, will take on rivals Tamworth Roosters in what is set to be a close game. Roosters Coach Ben Jaffery said, “The kids have come such a long way this year. Watching them grow as footballers has been a great thrill.  Co-Coach Greg (Vallender) and I just want these kids to have fun when they have a footy in their hands. Finals is a huge bonus.”

The Roosters certainly aren’t getting ahead of themselves with Jaffery pointing out, “If they can get a win on the weekend, that’s brilliant, but as long as they have a good time then that’s all that matters.”

Celts coach Aaron Harvey is proud of his new team and has high hopes. “It’s the first time the town has had an AFL team in a competition and the Celts go into the Preliminary Final hitting some good form.  I believe if the kids play the team footy that they have during the season we can get the win.”  Harvey will walk away a proud man irrespective of the result on the scoreboard. “Regardless of the outcome I am super proud to be coaching these guys & girls and watching them grow each game.”

The Celts v Roosters game will kick start the day’s action at 9:30am.

This game will be followed by the Under 17 clash at 11:00am between the Moree Suns and Tamworth Roosters.  The Suns will be heading into the match full of confidence having not lost a game to the Roosters all season.  The Roosters may be the underdogs, but after a 75 point demolition of the New England Nomads last week they may have hit their straps at the important end of the season.

The Women’s game is set to be a thriller with cross town rivals Tamworth Kangaroos taking on Tamworth Swans.  The Swans have continued to improve throughout 2019 under the guidance of AFL North West NSW coach of the year Andrew Donahue.  Donahue believes the Swans are “real contenders” having defeated the Kangaroos at their last outing.

Kangaroos president Craig Abbott is banking on the Kangaroos for the win “The Roo girls are full of confidence after losing by a solitary point in the last seconds of last week’s final. To come so close to the leading women’s team in the North West competition and at Varley Oval was a credit to the players and coaching staff.”

The Kangaroos have key players under an injury cloud, and they will have to pass fitness tests on Friday night before the final Kangaroos team will be named.

The Men’s Preliminary Final will be a blockbuster with the New England Nomads looking to knock the minor premiers, Inverell Saints, out of the Grand Final race.

The Saints line up after receiving a 45 point drumming from the Gunnedah Bulldogs in the Semi Finals.

The Nomads will hit the field full of confidence after downing the Tamworth Swans last week to the tune of 46 points.  Nomads coach James Treweeke said “We will probably have to play our best game of footy all year to get into the Grand Final but it is a challenge all our boys are up for and are all looking forward to it.”

Men’s Senior footy action will start at 2:40pm.

All winners this Saturday will proceed to the Grand Finals next week to be hosted by the Gunnedah Bulldogs.