2023/24 TIO NTFL Wrap: Men's Premier League - Round 12

Written by Grey Morris for AFL Northern Territory

St Mary's returned to the top of the NTFL Men's Premiers League ladder on the same day PINT beat Waratah for a second time in the TIO 2023/24 season and the Tiwi Bombers continued their rise up the ladder.

Round 12 matches were played under a heavy cloud cover with persistent rain and accompanying lightning, but it was St Mary's, PINT, the Tiwis and Nightcliff who braved the weather gods.

The Saints only kicked a single goal in the second half when Districts came back fr.om a 25-point deficit at half-time to lose a tough encounter by nine points.

And Nightcliff moved two spots from fourth to second with a classy 94-point win over a struggling Wanderers at the Tigers' home ground.

Saints' 6.7 (43) to 4.10 (34) win at TIO Stadium was enough to regain top spot with six home and away rounds remaining before the finals.

2022/23 Nichols Medallist Dylan Landt dominated through the middle of the ground, youngster Seth Harris again found plenty of the football and players like Sam Glover and Xavier Vallejo were prominent.

Coach Anthony Vallejo said his side had something to prove to the rest of the competition after back-to-back losses to Nightcliff and the Tiwi Bombers leading up to Christmas.

"Districts fielded a pretty good team and were fully loaded with two really good ruckmen and a potent midfield where we knew the game had to be won,'' Vallejo said.

"They came at us pretty hard in the second half when we only kicked one goal, so it was a pretty tough game where we were good enough to hang on.

"It was a character and team building win for us where we stuck tight and held them off.''

Nightcliff made a mockery of the old theory that cats of all sizes do not like the rain when they ran Wanderers off their feet at Darwin Mazda Oval.

South Australian recruit Cooper Dahms was a colossus around the ball in conjunction with the long kicking Brodie Filo, while Zach Moody's hard work across half forward and Brett Kennedy's five goals ensured a comfortable 18.14 (122) to 4.4 (28) win.

The Tigers have snuck quietly into second position on the ladder and will start warm favourites against the winless Palmerston and a rising Tiwi side in the next fortnight.

Coach Leigh Crossman said the percentage boosting win over a Wanderers side dogged by a pre-match hamstring strain to Shane Thorne and a first quarter hand injury to Henry White had plenty of positives.

"A slippery ball and a rainy night made it a bit tough, but we played some good footy in those conditions,'' Crossman said post-match.

PINT could not kick a goal in the first half against Waratah, but rebounded in a fruitful second half to kick six goals to one and inflict a second loss on the reigning premier this season.

Coach Shannon Motlop said his side could not get their game going in the opening half.

"I'm not sure what happened, it was like we were really rusty after not training through the break and made lots of errors, while Waratah looked like they had kept their group together and trained,'' he said.

"But from making a lot of skill errors and getting caught with the ball, but we found a way to kick goals after half-time after Ethan Penrith finally got us on the board really late in the third quarter.''

Steven Motlop across half back was a driving force for the Greenants, while Harrison Maher and Brad Ryan were key players in the back half.

The Tiwi Bombers continued their rise up the ladder with a convincing 55-point win over bottom side Palmerston at TIO Stadium.

The winless Magpies trailed by three goals after an entertaining first half of football but fell away in the second half against the pace and clever ball use of the Tiwis.

The 16.14 (110) to 9.1 (55) win was the Tiwis' fourth win in a season where self-belief has been a big factor.

First year coach Patrick Bowden said patient build-ups and forming team structures had been big factors in a season where his players had added more elements to their ball use and traditional leg speed.

"We're taking our time and playing good football and that's been good, the secret for us is to keep trying to improve in what we do as a footy club and getting things right week in, week out.''

Kim Kantilla's goalkicking continues to feature with the Bombers, his five goals against the Magpies could easily have been eight or nine.

Michael Thompson off half back, Henry Kerinaiua around the ball, Jerome Tipuamantumirri, Damien Dunn and the consistent Sam Darley all played their part in the win.

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