LAST weekend’s round of footy saw one upset in the Northern Territory Football League (NTFL) Women’s while the rest of the top teams crushed their opposition. The Buffettes showed the Wanderers no mercy last Saturday as the Darwin stampede proved too much for the Eagles. Meanwhile, the Saints roasted the Razorbacks after another disappointing result for Tracy Village. Nightcliff was the next to fall to Pint, the Queen Ants seem to have regained their competitive edge. On Sunday, however, the trend of favourites would fall to the underdog. The Palmerston Magpies defeated the reigning premiers Waratah in a thriller by two points.

DARWIN BUFFETTES 3.3 I 8.4 I 11.7 I 13.11 (89)
WANDERERS 0.1 I 1.2 I 1.2 I 1.4 (10)

When Darwin defeated Nightcliff the previous week, the damage could have been much more extensive. This time the Buffettes made use of every scoring shot they had. Zoe Anderson was the star with four goals to her name, Melinda Taylor kicked two with the rest of the Buffs being single contributors. Machaelia Roberts was electricity running through the ground, the Eagles had no one to who could catch her. Under 18 representative Authurina Moreen was the Eagles only goal kicker while the Buffettes had nine. Darwin has enjoyed a past few weeks of easy victories, but this week they will have to face the Magpies who have just toppled Waratah. Palmerston will be no easy kill as this match could prove to be the game to watch.

GOALS:

Darwin Buffettes: Z. Anderson 4, M. Taylor 2, M. Breed, M. Roberts, C. Whan, K. Duggan, K. Williams, M. Turner, T. Bullen.
Wanderers: A. Moreen.

BEST:

Darwin Buffettes: M. Roberts, C. Whan, Z. Anderson, D. Totham, K. Duggan
Wanderers: M. Billias, K. De Stage, P. Koulakis 

TRACY VILLAGE 0.1 I 0.1 I 1.1 I 3.1 (19)
ST MARYS 0.2 I 1.6 I 4.10 I 6.14 (50)

On Saturday, St Marys unveiled an arsenal of Adelaide Crows that took control of the midfield and left the Razorbacks in their wake. The group was comprised of Danielle Ponter, Jasmyn Hewett, and Irish talent Ailish Considine who got her first taste of Australian football. Considine contributed well and Ponter was outstanding, while some women looked clumsy Ponter was slick. Hewett was no different, as the tall timber contested well in the ruck and racked up disposals like a common rover. Alana Coombes was another who shined for the Saints kicking two goals for the day. Coombes would have kicked a bag if she was more accurate in front of goal. The highlight of the match saw Ponter and Kristi Irvine go head-to-head in the last quarter. Irvine’s clearance efforts were impressive, but Ponter’s composure and skill through traffic were nothing short of superior. The Saints now have a sniff and with the top five spots now deciding finals, the next few weeks very interesting.

GOALS:

Tracy Village: K. Irvine 2, J. Oxspring.
St Marys: A. Coombes 2, S. Maxsted, M. Gunderson, F. Frances, S. Edwards .

BEST:

Best Players: K. Irvine, A. Shepard, G. Young, B. McDougall, C. Wright, E. Lima
Best Players: A. Coombes, D. Ponter, J. Hewitt, M. Gunderson, J. Boundary 

NIGHTCLIFF 0.1 I 0.1 I 1.1 I 2.1 (13)
PINT 0.2 I 4.3 I 4.3 I 6.4 (40)

In a slow start to the first term, Pint clicked into gear during the second. Cassie Henderson continued her follow-up work from Tracy Village by racking up the disposals and booting two goals. Forward Louisa Bahen Wright slotted a pair of her own majors while Danielle Suddaby provided a good target as well. The Queen Ants drifted off in the third quarter, but with Nightcliff unable to inflict any real damage, the game was never in doubt. Pint’s inconsistency of not playing all four quarters may prove costly in the future. This effort against the elite teams of the competition simply will not do.

GOALS:

Nightcliff: J. Puautjimi, J. Hill.
Pint: L. Bahen-Wright 2, C. Henderson 2, D. Suddaby, E. Fittock.

BEST

Nightcliff: S. Hatzismalis, J. Blecher, H. Turnbull, J. Steppacher
Pint: Not Supplied  

PALMERSTON MAGPIES 2.1 I 5.1 I 5.1 I 7.1 (43)
WARATAH 0.3 I 3.4 I 5.4 I 5.5 (41)

Sundays was the heavyweight game of the round and it did not disappoint. From the opening quarter, the Pies started off with a bang kicking the first two whilst keeping Waratah goalless in the first quarter. Waratah would bounce back in the next two terms as the combined efforts of Lauren O’Shea and Sharona Bishop saw Warratah hit the front. It seemed like history was about to repeat itself, but Natasha Membury’s Pies fought back in the last quarter to win the match. It is a defining win for Palmerston, they have now beaten all top five teams, proving they are a real premiership threat.

Goals

Palmerston: Not supplied.
Waratah: S. Bishop 3, L. O’Shea 2, A. Love.

Best

Palmerston: Not supplied
Waratah: L. Roberts, A. Healy, T. Muller, A. Chittick, S. Bishop