Game 1
Nightcliff 3.4 6.6 10.9 12.11 (83)
Tiwi Bombers 0.1 3.7 6.11 10.16 (76)
GOALS
Nightcliff: Cameron Illett 3, John Butcher 2, Micheal Hagan 2, Liam Holt-Fitz 2, Hugo Drogemuller, Faron James, Shaun Wilson
Tiwi Bombers: Liam Wale-Buxton 2, Dionysuis Munkara 2, Harley Puruntatameri 2, Ross Tungatalum 2, Christian Burgess, Max King
GAME ANALYSIS
The game between Nightcliff and Tiwi Bombers showed a massive effort from both teams. Nightcliff narrowly beat the Tiwi Bombers by just 7 points at the end of the round. Tiwi's newbie Liam Wale-Buxton showed off his impressive skills on the field, leading him to winning this weeks Play of the Round!
It was a very fast start from both teams under the blazing Darwin sun. The midfielders worked overtime in the early part of the quarter as both teams found good room in their forward 50s but were missing targets and opportunities. Bombers' defender Sam Dyke left the field to receive attention to his left leg and while off the ground in the 11th minute, the Tigers used a series of handballs and second efforts at the top of the 50 to get the ball out to Faron James whose snap on goal sailed through for the game's first major. Less than five minutes later Hugo Drogemuller received a free kick from a Tiwi Bombers rushed behind and kicked the Tigers' second, which was followed up by a nice set shot from Liam Holt-Fitz to make it a 22-point lead. By the end of the quarter, Nightcliff had won most of possession.
The Bombers had the ball in their forward 50 for the first four minutes of the quarter but were unable to capitalise. A minute later, the ball transitioned out of Nightcliff's defence cleanly and reached Dion Munkara who was up against the boundary heading towards goal, when he did his usual silky pickup from the ground and run around his opposition to keep running but his shot sailed right, and it was Tiwi's third point for the term. Withstanding the Tiwi pressure for 10 minutes, it was a sneaky ball over the top of the pack that had the Tigers' Michael Hagan swooping, his snap on goal accurate. At the 12-minute mark, some confusion from a boundary throw-in saw Harley Puruntatameri paid the advantage to get the Bombers' first goal of the game. In the next couple of minutes, Austin Wonaeramirri started to insert himself on the game, first intercepting a Nightcliff kick-in that lead to a Dion Munkara goal, before a perfect pass to Ross Tungatalum had Roco kicking a set shot. That was wayward, but the Bombers were coming at the time, only 10 points behind. Harley Puruntatameri made it four points after another running shot on goal went through but that was quickly undone when a free-kick for a high tackle saw Shaun Wilson keep his feet and kick Nightcliff's fifth goal for the game. A lucky bounce that went over Sam Dyke's head just before the point post fell perfectly for John Butcher to goal in his second game for the Tigers. By the end of the half things seem even, had the Bombers kicked straight in the second it would be even closer.
Liam Wale-Buxton opened the goal which scored in the second half with a set shot from directly in front getting the Bombers within 11 points only five minutes in. When Harley Puruntatameri went for a run along the wing, looking to set up the Bombers' second goal in a couple of minutes it was Gavin Greenoff that kept pace with him and forced some pressured disposal. From the backline Nightcliff was then able to work it forward, Michael Hagan hitting Cam Ilett cleanly who got the Tigers first major for the term. Ilett made it two identical goals from similar transition, this time Simon Deery leaving his man in defence to intercept a Bombers' ball which Nightcliff was then able to work forward. Max King stood tall with clean hands to kick the Bombers' second goal but who other than Ilett to get the quick reply, his third goal for the quarter, justifying his move from defence to the forward. Moments later Michael Hagan did some hard running to make it 27-points, but the highlight goal would have to be Dion Munkara's left foot snap from just inside the right boundary.
The Tiwi Bombers went coast to coast in the first three minutes, with Ross Tungatalum kicking his first goal of the game after a series of behinds earlier in the game. A few minutes later and some luck started to go the Bombers' way also. When Christian Burgess pulled down a beautiful mark a tick over six minutes and kicked a difficult set shot it was only eight points the difference but up the other end of the ground John Butcher did a similar thing two minutes later. Enter Tungatalum whose fancy footwork and run around goal in the 10th minute really had the crowd going. A couple of minutes later and not to be outdone, Liam Holt-Fitz worked his backside off to first pick the ball up on the wing, run forward and beat his Tiwi opponent to a linking ground ball, which he followed up with a quick handball over the top at the 50m arc before getting it back and kicking Nightcliff back out to a 15-point lead. In the case of the double-barrel surnames stepping up to the plate, Liam Wale-Buxton managed to jump to keep the ball in front of him, outreached two opponents and his left foot snap went through to bring it back to only nine points. At the 22-minute mark, Austin Wonaeramirri marked truly but his set shot hit the post, which was followed up by another running ball that hit the post, the Tigers holding on to win an exciting contest.
Game 2
Wanderers 4.0 7.3 9.4 12.5 (77)
Waratah 4.2 7.6 12.7 16.8 (104)
GOALS
Wanderers: Davin Ferreira 5, John Tipiloura 3, Simon Bates, Joel Cubillo, Marcus Totham
Waratah: Cameron Barrett 6, Raven Jolliffe 3, Kim Kantilla 3, Samuel Weddell 2, Brendon Minkulk, Jordie Mckenzie
GAME ANALYSIS
Waratah showed an amazing effort during their Round 9 clash with Wanderers FC. Waratah beat their rival during the competitive game, showing off their impressive skills during the whole match, beating them by 27 points.
It was a quick start to the afternoon's action but Waratah got on top quite early, managing to control the play with clean, fast hands. When the ball fell on the ground just outside the Waratah’s goal square it was Brendon Minkulk who picked it up, danced around a few and slammed home the first goal. The Waratah’s continued to go inside 50 putting the Wanderers' defenders under pressure and when Tyler Brimacombe was penalized for his contest on James Wray, he handed it off to Daniel Simpson and gave Waratah a 13-point lead. Davin Ferreira was able to get the Muk Muks going with a beautiful set shot from near the boundary, set up with nice transition play which was followed up moments later from a Daniel Weetra kick out of defense that ended with a Tomas Motlop soccer towards goal, and Marcus Totham cleverly soccerred it in an upwards direction and through for goal. And just as quickly as that move forward, Waratah had an answer through Kim Kantilla to give them some breathing space. But Simon Bates, in his return from injury, drew it back to two points with his hard running and goal before Tyrrell Lui was paid a mark at the top of the 50 which he converted to give the Muk Muks their first lead of the day. A few minutes later into the game and Waratah wrestled the lead back when Cameron Barrett took a strong contested mark in front of Mitchell Taylor and kicked truly.
Wanderers hit the front in the first five minutes of the term, through youngster John Tipiloura and extended its lead to nine points when Joel Cubillo snapped off the back off some lucky bounces and quick play and Ali Bond beating four Waratah players to kick the ball inside the 50. Experiencing a bit of their own luck, the Waratah’s got a fortuitous bounce and goal through Raven Jolliffe and were back in front by the 17th minute when Cameron Barrett waltzed to only 40 meters out and marked a short pass from Henry Kerinaiua, which he then converted for his second goal for the game. The next goal went towards the way of the Waratah’s, this time the team worked it out of defense, with it linked up beautifully along the boundary through five players and some hard running before finding Sam Weddell in the goal square by himself to finish off the excellent work. And just as the Waratah’s seemed to have used all the space and getting on top, Wanderers did ran from half back, working the ball up to Tipiloura who stole it off his opposition and kicked his second fluke-goal for the quarter just before the siren.
Waratah kicked off the third quarter with a great snap goal to Daniel Simpson after he was left unchecked at the top of the goal square. The Muk Muks responded with a goal to John Tipiloura, his third for the game after some great body work on the boundary line by Simon Bates to keep the ball in play. Brendan Minkulk kicked his second goal for the Waratah’s after some clever crumbing. Kim Kantilla pushed forward, twisted and turned for another Waratah’s goal, making it a little bit harder than it probably needed to be but the crowd loved it. Cameron Barrett then kicked another for the Waratah’s and the margin was in danger of blowing out. Wanderers were running out of legs, but Mitchell Taylor and Joseph Salmon kept working hard in defense pushing down field to apply body pressure and the ball finally made it forward to Davin Ferreira who kicked a lovely set shot. But after the siren sounded it was Sam Weddell with footy in hand who had a set shot from the pocket and kicked truly, much to the delight of his red and white teammates.
There was a fantastic chase down tackle by Marcus Totham in the opening minutes set the tone for the Muk Muks not to give up in the final quarter, but Jordan McKenzie then kicked the Waratah’s 13th goal at the four-minute mark to answer back. Mabo Mununggurritj chased down his opponent in the midfield and worked with teammates to get the ball into the forward line where Davin Ferreira managed to mop up a dropped mark and kick his third goal for the Eagles. The Eagles’ Joseph Salmon did a great run through the centre to bring it out of the backline and Ferreira waited at the back and kicked an almost identical goal to his last one, bringing the margin back to 16 points. American big-man Alex Aurrichio provided strong hands to take a Justin Beugelaar kick out of the backline and with two kicks the Tahs were in the goal square but unable to score a major. Raven Joliffe made up for it just seconds later after roving a Henry Kerinaiua kick into the goalsquare to put the Tahs back out to a 22-point lead. Moments later Joliffe marked again to kick his second and extend the Tahs’ lead to the biggest of the game. Cameron Barrett followed up with his sixth for the Tahs as the Wanderers players started to look exhausted, down to only two on their bench. Not to be forgotten, Ferreira kicked his third goal for the quarter and his fifth for the game after some great body work by teammate Simon Bates who got the ball to him but it was a little too late as Waratah ran out 27-point winners.
Game 3
Darwin Buffaloes 3.3 5.4 8.6 11.7 (73)
St Mary's 1.4 4.7 6.10 8.14 (62)
GOALS
Darwin Buffaloes: Adam Sambono 3, Matthew Campbell 3, Javadd Anderson 2, Patrick Boles, Arnold Punch, Jarrod Stokes
St Mary’s: Tom Frawley 3, Mathias Liddy 2, Nathaniel Paredes, Maurice Rioli Jnr, Shannon Rioli
GAME ANALYSIS
The Round 9 clash between Buffs and Saints didn't fail to disappoint, with Buffs narrowly beating the Saints by just 9 points for the round. Even with the loss, St Mary's Maurice Rioli Jnr lives and breathes footy, showing off his natural talent on the field.
Adam Sambono took a lovely mark within the first minute of the opening quarter and kicked a set shot to get the Buffs off to a dream start. Sambono marked strongly in front of Jack Long was able to kick another goal at the five-minute mark. Nate Paredes got Saints on the board with a set shot from the boundary. Much of the first quarter then saw the ball going back and forward with Cam Stokes cutting everything off for Buffs up one and Ben Rioli doing the same for Saints down the other end. Sambono had a free kick on the siren after receiving a free kick for a high tackle and was able kick his third after a 50-minute penalty was also given to put a dent in the Saints hard working defence.
It was almost thirteen minutes into the second quarter before either team scored a goal after Saints full forward Mathias Liddy took a classic chest pass from a Simon Richardson kick and went back to kick a goal. It took Buffs just two minutes to answer back after Javadd Anderson had two attempts at a sliding soccer style goal and managed to poke it through on the second attempt. Saints Tom Frawley enjoyed kicking a goal in his first game back in celebrating with the ‘double cobra’. Frawley kicked another goal after Nat Paredes delivered the ball down his throat moments later to put the Saints in front for the first time all game. But Buffs had the last laugh of the quarter with Adam Sambono kicking his fourth goal as the siren sounded
Matty Campbell got the Buffs off to a great start kicking a sneaky goal early in the game. Saints were able to kick two goals to Ben Taylor and a great snap to Mathias Liddy but in a low scoring quarter. Buffs had most of the play with Matthew Campbell and Cameron Stokes were everywhere. Jack Long from St Mary’s continually stopped the ball in Saints defensive end and combined well with Jimmy Puautjimi. Javadd Anderson and Matthew Campbell again goaled for Buffs. Mathias Liddy had another goal scoring opportunity to close the gap but missed and Buffs went into the final break with an eight-point lead
Maurice Rioli put his submission in for Goal of the Year early in the final quarter kicking an amazing goal for Saints from the pocket and was swamped by his teammates as the goal brought them within 2 points of Buffs. Nick Yarran worked hard in the middle to get the ball to Tom Frawley who was relishing being back in the Premier League and he went back for a shot on goal but sadly missed to the left. Buffs then slowed the play down as they tried to work it into their forward line. Jarrod Stokes crumbed a long bomb into the goal square to run into goal and the Buffs went back out to a 7-point lead. Buffs then received a free kick downfield after a late hit to Steven Anderson and Patrick Boles was able to slot one from 15 metres out to extend their margin. Tom Frawley took another strong mark and went back for goal but was again wayward and Maurice Rioli had a running shot on goal but missed. Then his cousin Shannon Rioli was awarded a 50-metre penalty after a high hit and he finally kicked a much-needed goal for the green and gold. Bradley Stokes then crumbed in the goal square to goal. The Saints kept coming but the siren beat them, and the Buffs ran out 11-point winners.
Game 4
Southern Districts: 7.2 15.6 19.8 24.9 (153)
Palmerston Magpies: 2.1 4.1 4.6 5.12 (42)
GOALS
Southern Districts: Jess Koopman 6, Richard Tumbling 5, Clinton Gallio 3, Michael Mummery 2, Bradley Vallance 2, William Farrer, Josiah Farrer, Charles McAdam, Brandon Rusca, Dean Staunton, Izaak Wyatt
Palmerston: Samuel Autio 2, Broderick Church Jesse Marshall, Jacon Lampton
GAME ANALYSIS
The Crocs came out with guns blazing which set them up to for comfortable 111 point win of Palmerston on Sunday afternoon.
Thanks to cloud cover the over Norbuilt Stadium, the playing conditions improved during the entire game. The Crocs came out firing, booting the first four goals within the opening five minutes through Jess Kooperman, Will Farrer and Dean Staunton. It was Sam Autio for Palmerston in the 8th minute who kicked their first major of the game. The Crocs responded with Michael Mummery and Richard Tambing, managing to get their names on the goal kickers list before a quick snag by Jacon Lampton kept the Magpies scoreboard ticked over. Clinton Gallio finished the quarter off for the Crocs with another goal.
It was an 11-goal quarter and the Crocs continued to show their dominance, kicking nine of those majors to extend the lead to 76 points heading into the big break. Michael Mummery, Jess Koopman, Clinton Gallio, and Richard Tambling were the Crocs multiple goal kickers during Quarter 2. Young gun Izaak Wyatt kicked his first for the Crocs after an impressive mark in the pack. While Jesse Marshall and Sam Autio were the sole goal kickers for the Magpies during the second term.
The Magpies stepped up their intensity in the third quarter even though it didn't reflect on the scoreboard. However, it wasn't until the 13th minute that a goal was scored thanks to Brandon Rusca who was then swiftly followed by Charles McAdam, Richard Tambling and Jess Koopman to round off another strong quarter by the Crocs.
This game was decided well before the fourth quarter however it didn't stop both teams from putting in a final effort. The Crocs Bradley Vallance kicked two that quarter and Richard Tambling impressively booted his fifth major for the game. Broderick Church redeemed the Magpies of the goal drought since the second quarter after he slotted a goal from set shot. However, the Crocs were quick to respond through Charles McAdam for his second of the game.
