St Mary's grabbed a temporary hold of top position on the 2023/24 TIO NTFL Men's Premier League ladder with a comprehensive 43-point win over Waratah at Gardens Oval on Friday night.
Last season's preliminary finalists were without suspended spearhead Jackson Calder for the Round 16 clash and struggled to find the goals in the first half.
But that all changed in the second half when the Green Machine booted nine goals to three to silence the home crowd and set up their 11th win of the season.
Skipper Dylan Landt was the best player on the ground despite some close attention from a series of different opponents, kicking one of the goals of the season in the second quarter.
Forced on to his right foot from his trusty left and jammed up against the boundary line, Landt steered the yellow ball through a needle-like opening to earn some thunderous applause.
Nate Paredes around the ball, four-goal forward Sam Glover and Beau Tedcastle on a wing were other Saints players to shine.
Landt said there had been plenty on the line for the second and fourth-placed teams in the race for a top three position at finals time.
"That's why it was massive for us to come away with the four points and to their credit, everyone contributed and played their role,'' he added.
"That was despite some players going out and others coming in from last week, which means we're building a serious squad mentality at the club this season.''
Southern Districts took a big chunk of the first quarter to shake off the Tiwi Bombers at Gardens Oval before moving into top gear by kicking 19 of the last 28 goals.
The Crocodiles won by 64 points, 20.13 (133) to 11.3 (69), in a win that should consolidate a top three finish and the double chance at finals time.
Fourth-placed Waratah must beat the Darwin Buffaloes and Nightcliff in its last two minor round games and hope the Tigers beat Districts in their Round 17 game at Nightcliff Oval.
Coach Shannon Rusca said his players had produced a "nice'' brand of football after the early Tiwi burst, after which they closed the game down and got down to business.
"We were consistent in a lot of ways, our forwards applied a lot of pressure on the way in and fought on the way out while hitting the scoreboard.
"I also thought our midfield worked pretty well when we had a lot of players injured, part and parcel of footy, where we didn't have a bench for half the game.''
Stanley Waistcoast, Jed Anderson and Kayne Davidson all left the field in the last quarter.
Davidson was cleared of any major damage after landing on his head in a marking contest while Waistcoat and Anderson reported knee soreness.
Jye Bolton through the middle, seven-goal spearhead Jarrod Brander and defenders Jordyn Cotter and Zac Smith stood out for the Crocodiles.
Brander's seven goals took the former West Coast and GWS Giants forward to 61 goals, two clear of Waratah spearhead Jayden Magro in the race for the coveted Dennis Dunn Medal as the league's leading goalkicker.
Nightcliff strolled back to the top of the ladder following its workmanlike 34-point win over fifth-placed PINT in Saturday's game at Marrara's DXC Arena.
The Tigers held the home side goalless for the first three quarters before dropping back a gear in the last term to win easing up, 8.12 (60) to 3.8 (26).
PINT kicked the first three goals of the last quarter to close to within five goals of the Tigers, but the men in yellow and black always had the game under control.
First year Nightcliff coach Leigh Crossman expected PINT to fire some shots in front of goals.
"For three quarters we controlled the game and played really well against a finals side that didn't kick a goal against us in that time,'' he said.
"We would have liked to have finished a bit stronger but in the end we were pleased with the result.''
Luke Wines down back, Ryan Nyhuis in what Crossman called a "seamless'' return to defence and big ruckman Liam Buxton were the pick of an even spread of Tigers.
Darwin Buffaloes coach Cameron Stokes had a simple answer to questions on his side's finals hopes after beating Wanderers by 68 points at Palmerston's Cazaly's Arena.
"We just have to keep winning, it's that simple,'' Stokes said after his side's 15.17 (107) to 6.3 (39) win.
The sixth-placed Buffaloes have a tough run home compared to PINT, who they trail by 15 percentage points despite both sides sitting on eight wins.
Waratah and St Mary's at TIO Stadium in the next two weeks loom large for the Buffaloes, while PINT will start warm favourites against the Tiwi Bombers and Palmerston.
Stokes was pleased with what he saw against Wanderers after the Eagles led at quarter time.
A best on ground performance by on-baller Nick Yarran and four-quarter efforts by Victorian recruit Chase Loftus and defender cum goalkicker Bradley Stokes stood out.
Stokes kicked four goals to be a worthy replacement for absent forwards Daniel Stafford and Ishmael Palmer.
