It was a wet and miserable weekend of football with windy and rainy weather affecting all four matches.
Wanderers recorded a clinical 10-goal victory over Buffaloes on Friday night at TIO Stadium. The Eagles got off to a good start but failed to capitalise on all of its chances in front of goal. Their radar straightened in the second quarter as the lead increased to 33 points at the main change. The young Buffaloes tried hard but were struggling with the absence of a number of its key players including Phillip Wills and Jarrod Stokes. Despite their efforts the Buffaloes could not manage a goal in the second half and the Eagles ran out winners 11.13 (79) to 2.7 (19). Chris Kickett was excellent in his first Premier League game in a couple of months while Zelio Casimiro mopped up well in the backline.
Palmerston scored an upset win over Tiwi Bombers in the early game at TIO Stadium on Saturday. The young Magpies kicked 9.14 (68) to 8.6 (54) in soggy conditions to notch up their fourth win of the season. The loss will make it an almost insurmountable task for the Bombers to qualify for the finals. Palmerston got off to a great start and at quarter time lead by 27 points. Aaron Davey’s poise and use of the football looked a class above early in the contest. The Magpies stretched its lead out to 36 points at the main break as the Bombers were on the ropes. Tiwi emerged from the half time break looking the fresher side and looked dangerous during patches in the third term. Ross Tungatalum and Rupert Pupangamirri inserted their class on the game as the Bombers got back within a couple of goals. Palmerston steadied the ship late in the quarter to make it an even four goal lead at the final change. The Bombers kicked a couple of early goals through Tungatalum and looked a chance but it was a case of too little too late and the Magpies triumphed.
St Marys notched up another victory with a 14.13 (97) to 2.0 (12) win over Waratah in the late game. The Warriors had a strong side in and started the match well with a couple of early goals. The Saints responded to even up the contest and at quarter time only three points separated the sides. From that point on it was all one-way traffic with Waratah unable to register another point for the remaining three quarters. Scott Ward will face the NTFL judiciary after being reported twice and sent from the field during the second quarter. The Saints were restricted to only two rotations after losing Shannon Rioli to a shoulder injury early in the match and Jack Musgrove with neck soreness in the second quarter. Justin “The Ferret” Wilson was strong around the football and his courageous style of play suited the weather conditions. Justin Van Unen kicked four goals while William Rioli continued his purple patch of form with three majors.
Southern Districts made the most of the torrid conditions to beat Nightcliff by 10 points at Norbuilt Oval on Sunday. The win advances the Crocs to third place on the NTFL ladder while Nightcliff drops to fourth. Heavy rain throughout the day meant that the match was played in terrible conditions and it was hard for teams to string together good passages of play. Nightcliff made the most of the dry football at the start of the match to kick a couple of early goals. Districts responded through some smart forward play by James Sullivan and had regained the lead by quarter time. From that moment on scoring became extremely hard and the contest was played between the two forward fifty arcs. The Crocs slowly gained the ascendency and stretched its lead to a couple of goals. Nightcliff conceded a couple of early goals in the last quarter and made it an impossible task to come back from. Southern Districts’ ex-AFL brigade were invaluable on a day like today and their experience was paramount. Richard Tambling and Des Headland were terrific around the football while the returning Gerrick Weedon and Jake Roe-Duggan were solid.
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Ladder:
| 1 | St Marys | 14 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1590 | 794 | 200.25 | 52 |
| 2 | Wanderers | 14 | 11 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1213 | 907 | 133.74 | 44 |
| 3 | Southern Districts | 14 | 7 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1173 | 992 | 118.25 | 30 |
| 4 | Nightcliff | 14 | 7 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1236 | 1084 | 114.02 | 28 |
| 5 | Waratah | 14 | 6 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 957 | 1103 | 86.76 | 24 |
| 6 | Tiwi Bombers | 14 | 4 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 1297 | 1441 | 90.01 | 18 |
| 7 | Palmerston | 14 | 4 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 957 | 1326 | 72.17 | 16 |
| 8 | Buffaloes | 14 | 2 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 836 | 1387 | 60.27 | 8 |
About Jackson Clark
Born and bred in Darwin, Northern Territory, I am a young, aspiring football writer that lives and breathes the game of Australian Football. I'm also a keen player and coach.
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Your St Mary’s are 2 games clear and beat the fifth side by 14 goals on the weekend. Must be a good feeling. Has the ‘F’ word (Flag) been heard around the clubrooms, or are you just taking it one massacre at a time?
Enjoying your weekly updates a lot. Thanks Jackson.
Thanks for the comment.
St Marys have a rich history and have won 29 flags in its 61 years of existence. At the start of the year the general consensus is that anything but a flag is a disappointing season so it’s definitely on everyone’s minds at the club.
In saying that, the other clubs will strengthen and in no way do we think that it’s just going to happen for us and we continue to work hard on the training track.