Written by Grey Morris for AFL Northern Territory
Waratah and Southern Districts will renew a 16-year grand final rivalry when the two sides meet to decide the 2022/23 TIO NTFL Men's Premier League champion on Saturday night.
The 2006/07 grand final was one of the toughest grand finals in years, with Southern Districts prevailing by nine points on the back of a five-goal haul from Chaney medallist Kyle Archibald.
Both 2007 grand finalists had made their way to the Big Dance in a remarkably similar way they have this season. A big Tahs win in the major semi-final and a preliminary final recovery by the Crocodiles.
The two clubs had played one of the great TIO NTFL finals nine years before when Districts beat Tahs in a pulsating 1997-98 preliminary final under the guiding hand of coach Mark Motlop and the brilliance of Kelvin Maher, 'Jedda' Atkins and 'Crummy' Taylor.
It's history now that Districts won their first flag a week later when they ended a four-year premiership run by St Mary's and big marking spearhead Atkins secured the Chaney Medal with an eight-goal haul.
Districts coach Shannon Rusca said his players rediscovered the form that steered the Crocodiles to this season's minor premiership with their 23-point defeat of St Mary's in the preliminary final.
"Our captain (Dean Staunton) did a fantastic job on (Nichols medallist) Dylan Landt in the middle of the ground and we got great service from Matty Dennis in the ruck, Frazer Driscoll and Luke Smith,'' Rusca said.
"Now we go back to doing what we do best like hunting in numbers and moving the ball fluently, including the foundation stuff we do very well at training that prepares us for what is ahead of us on Saturday matchday.''
Rusca said his players had seven days to prepare for the preliminary final and used every one of them after the 56-point semi-final drubbing at the hands of Tahs.
Districts last won a flag in 2018, but Rusca preferred to use the 2007 premiership win as a guide to what might happen on Saturday night.
"There was a final in 2007 when they beat us by 50-odd points in the same final and the Crocodiles came out and beat them in the grand final, I might have played in that one,'' he grinned.
Waratah coach Ryan Ayres is in his fifth season at Gardens Oval and knows the time is right to snap a 23-year premiership drought.
Bill Martin's back-to-back premiership sides of 1998-99 and 1999-2000 seem a lifetime ago for the Waratah faithful, a gap in the club's trophy cabinet Ayres and his players are desperate to fill with the silver TIO trophy.
Jake Bowd, lionhearted ruckman Arnold Kirby, Tom Cree, Will Collis and South Fremantle bound Rob Turnbull were outstanding in the semi-final win, combined with a dual-pronged forward line of Darcy Hope and Jayden Magro.
"It's not so much about myself wanting to win a flag, I know the footy club in general has been doing a lot of work behind the scenes to make it happen,'' Ayres said.
"It's been a long 23 years without a flag and to deliver it to Gardens this week is something that's well overdue.
''The old saying 'you've got to lose one to win one' probably applies in our case and this season the players are a lot more experienced than a year ago in what it takes to win a grand final.
"So we're pretty confident, our minds are definitely on the job at the moment and we know Shannon (Rusca) will have his boys switched on for the grand final after they were pretty impressive against Saints.''
