Triumphant PINT coach Shannon Motlop did not mince his words when asked how his Greenants would cope in their first 2023/24 TIO NTFL Premier League finals series.
PINT all but shut the door on the top five with its 19.17 (131) to 4.8 (32) win over the Bombers on Saturday, only hours after nearest rivals the Darwin Buffaloes lost a 37-goal shootout to finals bound Waratah.
The Buffaloes' 11-point loss means they must beat traditional rival St Mary's by a big margin next Saturday and hope PINT lose by a similar margin to the winless Palmerston.
Speaking after PINT crushed the Tiwi Bombers by 99 points in the penultumate round of the TIO 2023/24 season, Motlop was upbeat on his side's chances of doing some damage in the finals.
"I think we can beat anyone, I'm really confident of that with the side we've got,'' he said
"I don't think we've played our best footy yet and I'm sure we can take it up to anyone at finals time.''
PINT has found the Tiwis difficult opponents in their two seasons in the competition, but two big wins over the Bombers this season has seen them come out on top.
"Last season they troubled us with their pace, but this win is probably confirmation we're not the slow side we were 12 months ago.'' Motlop said.
In-form PINT ruck Connor McDonald was the best player on the ground, ahead of five-goal forward Rory Taggert and Steven Motlop in a free wheeling role across half back.
Waratah coach Ryan Ayres watched his side struggle to subdue a spirited Buffalo outfit before prevailing by 11 points in the game of the Premier League season to date when 37 goals were scored.
Lachlan Cassidy and former skipper Brodie Carroll were superb around the ball for the red and whites, while former Sydney Swan Ryan Clarke sparkled in his return to the side.
The 19.17 (131) to 18.12 (120) win also means Tahs can still finish third and grab the double chance in the finals by beating beachside rivals and top-of-the-ladder Nightcliff in the last home and away round.
Ayres is focusing on the Nightcliff game as a means of getting the reigning MPL premier's working parts moving at full tilt before the finals begin.
"Obviously we're got to play a bit better with the end of the season near, but we'll be working on getting our processes right next week before we even look at finals,'' he said.
The Buffaloes threw everything into a game where the lead changed an incredible 14 times, leading at the first and last changes before a five-goal to three sealed the win for Tahs.
Spearhead Daniel Stafford was magnificent, taking 11 marks on the way to booting seven goals that almost won the game for the Double Blues.
Nightcliff's bid to win a fourth senior flag in six years and their first since the 2019-21 threepeat moved closer after a hard fought 10-point win over third-placed Southern Districts.
The Tigers' 11.9 (75) to 9.11 (65) win secured a top two spot on the ladder regardless of what happens against Waratah in six day's time.
A win will earn them a week's rest and a loss a qualifying final matchup with Districts.
First year coach Leigh Crossman said the game had been played in a finals like atmosphere, making the win even more creditable for his players.
"We were lucky to be up by 10 points when the siren went, it was a really hard fought contest where both sides played the game extremely hard, but also extremely fair,'' he said.
"It wasn't a pretty game or even high scoring, but both sides had a fair crack at each other and the pleasing thing was we were lucky to come out on top.''
The Tigers were best served by Zac Moody in a half forward, midfield role, while Luke Wines down back and boom first year recruit Cooper Dahms around the ball were other good players.
Districts were without several prime movers, including Jye Bolton and Matt Johnson and the league's leading goalkicker Jarrod Brander was held goalless by Tiger full back Mitch Norton.
The Nightcliff midfield played a big role in shutting down Brander's supply, something they will have to repeat when the two sides meet in the finals.
"Credit to Nightcliff's midfield, they put the squeeze on us, but there is a long way to go in the season and we can see a way through a loss like this,'' coach Shannon Rusca said
St Mary's did what they were supposed to do by beating the winless Palmerston by 155 points in a game that didn't finish until 10pm.
The 7pm start at TIO Stadium was pushed back half an hour after long quarters in the first two matches of the tripleheader on Saturday.
Better news for Saints was the continued good form of skipper and reigning Nichols medallist Dylan Landt, who went past the 40 possession mark in a game where he kicked six goals.
Jackson Calder's nine goals lifted him to within four of Dennis Dunn Medal leaders Jayden Magro and Brander (61 goals).
Nate Paredes and Joel Garner were other big ball winners as the Saints went to the top of the ladder and within reach of a week's rest in the first week of the finals.
