St Mary’s v Wanderers
St Mary’s has won its 32nd Northern Territory Football League premiership with a commanding 54-point victory over Wanderers at Marrara Stadium on Saturday night.
The Saints didn’t have it all their own way however, a blowout in the final quarter, when the victors kicked six goals to one for a 14.7 (91) to 4.13 (37) result, belied the tight contest of the three-quarters before.
Led from the front by Darren Ewing with four goals and Peter Macfarlane with three and also from the back by Chaney Medallist Cameron Ilett and Karl Lhode, St Mary’s managed to increase its lead at each break – from 12 points at the first to 16 at half-time, 29 at three-quarter time and 54 by the end.
Ilett was at his consistent best throughout, repelling attacks when the match was at its hottest in the first half and putting his body on the line to do so.
It’s the fourth year in a row that St Mary’s and Wanderers have contested the grand final with the Saints winning three of them, including the last two.
Ilett said they’ve all been a struggle and he was relieved to have secured the latest.
“Oh mate, unreal, four years in a row and they’ve all been epic battles so just really good to be on the winning side, that’s for sure,” he said.
The 32-year-old was a key member of a determined St Mary’s defensive unit and says his task was pretty simple.
“Just to play down back, one of the six down there, we’re a really tight knit group down there and we only let four goals in and so that’s a real strength of our side,” he said.
Karl Lohde was another of that back six who was outstanding on the night while veteran John Anstess was another obstacle the Wanderers forwards had trouble getting around.
Jackson Geary might also have been named best on ground for his run and carry all over the field while Jaden McGrath and Anthony Wilson were also prominent.
Up forward, Captain Macfarlane and full forward Ewing made the most of their chances.
In their 100th year, it wasn’t to be the fairytale Wanderers were hoping for.
Mitchell Taylor in defence was one of the Eagles’ best along with Neil Vea Vea, who did plenty of physical work in the ruck and around the ground. Aaron and Marlon Motlop were also among their best.
Coach Dean Rioli said it had been a difficult build-up to the grand final after a cyclone warning forced the rescheduling of it’s semi-final against St Mary’s earlier in the series, which the Saints also won.
“It’s a hard one. Obviously three finals in 10 days, the boys fought well, the scoreboard isn’t really representative of how we performed today. We just let them get a lot of cheap goals late, but in the end, Saints were just too good,” he said.
Rioli said his side found itself playing catch-up footy throughout.
“I think the first and second quarter they kicked the first two goals very quickly and then it evened out. Letting them get away to a couple of quick goals early was disappointing.
“We lost the game, but I’m still very proud of the boys.”
Wanderers weren’t helped by former Gold Coast Suns forward Liam Patrick leaving the field after a heavy bump in the third quarter, but he’d been well held by Karl Lohde to that stage.
The Eagles will again have to review its plan to unseat St Mary’s as the dominant force of the NTFL.
“They do the basics very, very well,” Rioli said. “They’re a professional outfit, they’re always the benchmark and that’s what we need to strive to become. We’ll get there.”
As the Eagles’ scoreline of four goals 13 behinds suggests, they had their opportunities, including in the final term when they scored 1.6 to St Mary’s 6.1, but after trailing by 29 points at three-quarter-time Ewing’s two goals inside seven minutes of the last quarter seemed a lot like the sealers they turned out to be.
At least that’s when St Mary’s three-time premiership coach Ricky Nolan says he started to relax.
“They’d only kicked three goals to three-quarter-time and when we kicked two after that and pulled ahead to a five-goal lead I thought it’d be pretty hard to kick five goals when they’d only kicked three in three quarters so I thought we were pretty well there and we could probably structure up to stop it (if they mounted a come back),” Nolan said.
“At three-quarter time it still could have gone either way and that’s typical of a St Mary’s and Wanderers grand final, or game.”
Nolan said his side’s winning formula is a pretty simple one.
“They’ve worked very hard and deserve everything they get because they’re extremely professional and work very, very hard,” he said.
Scores
St Mary’s 3.1, 5.3, 8.6, 14.7 (91)
Wanderers 1.1, 2.5, 3.7, 4.13 (37)
GOALS
St Mary’s: Darren Ewing 4, Peter Macfarlane3, Ben Rioli 2, Jackson Geary, Francis Kinthari, Henry Labastida, Jaden McGrath, Anthony Wilson.
Wanderers: Hugo Drogemuller, Davin Ferreira, Thomas Motlop, Daniel Weetra.
BEST
St Mary’s: Cameron Ilett, Jackson Geary, Karl Lohde, Luke Bath, Jaden McGrath, Peter Macfarlane.
Wanderers: Mitchell Taylor, Neil Vea Vea, Aaron Motlop, Marlon Motlop, Daniel Motlop, Brodie Martin.
Chaney Medal for best on ground: Camern Ilett
