ROUND 9 of the Northern Territory Football League Women’s (NTFLW) saw a mixed bag of results ranging from blowouts to narrow defeats making it an exciting round of action. It also marked the first draw of the season with Pint and Darwin Buffettes tied while top of the table Waratah continued their strong showing and pushed two and a half games ahead of the second placed Buffettes.

BIG RIVER HAWKS 0.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 (6)
NIGHTCLIFF 2.5 | 4.12 | 8.16 | 13.23 (101)

By: Taylah Melki

GOALS:

Big River Hawks: N/A.
Nightcliff: K. Simmons 3, E. Wolsey 3, J. Anyon-Smith 3, M. Ward 2, B. Richards, S. Miskin-Ripia.

BEST:

Big River Hawks: N/A
Nightcliff: M. Ward, S. Miskin-Ripia, E. Wolsey

It was another week of domination on behalf of Nightcliff who inflicted a wealth of pain on their opposition. Despite inaccuracy plaguing them throughout the entire game, Nightcliff still posted a hefty total and kept the Big River Hawks at bay denying them any opportunity to push forward and have a scoring shot. The Hawks were kept goalless in the opening quarter before nailing their sole major in the second term while Nightcliff continued to pile on the scoreboard pain. Shantel Miskin-Ripia imposed herself across the field once again nailing a goal and winning the ball time and time again while Katrina Simmons hit the scoreboard with three goals. Emma-Lou Wolsey and Jacqueline Anyon-Smith also converted three goals apiece with Mickayla Ward also popping up to contribute to the tally and being named in the bests once again. For the Hawks Zainab Mohamud and Crystal Browne were solid but could not do enough to quell the influence of their dominant opponents.

PINT 2.1 | 3.2 | 3.2 | 4.4 (28)
DARWIN BUFFETTES 1.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 4.4 (28)

By: Taylah Melki

GOALS:

Pint: J. Baksh, E. Greaves, J. Baumer, A. Pennefather.
Darwin Buffettes: N/A

BEST:

Pint: N/A
Darwin Buffettes: N/A

Neither side could be separated, ending with 28 points apiece in a match filled with half chances and plenty of excitement. Pint got off to a hot start establishing an early lead before the Buffettes fought back to get within striking distance but fell agonisingly short to come up with the first draw of the season. Neither the Buffettes nor Pint added to their half time total in the third quarter instead leaving the flurry of scoring opportunities until the final term thanks to the ball ping-ponging back and forth down the field. Jessie Baumer picked up where she left off from last round adding another goal to her growing tally, while teammates Emma Greaves and Amy Pennefather also contributed to the goal column. Kylie Duggan and Bianca Stokes were crucial for the Buffettes once again helping to lead their side back into contention. Youngsters, Dominique Carbone and Tayla Hart-Aluni were strong in their respective roles pushing hard across the ground to create options and pose a threat for the opposition.

WARATAH 4.4 | 6.10 | 9.14 | 14.18 (102)
TRACY VILLAGE 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 1.3 (9)

By: Sophie Taylor

GOALS

Waratah: L. O’Shea 5, T. O’Hehir 4, M. Campbell, M. Cooper, L. Roberts, A. Chittick, J. Singh.
Tracy Village: N/A.

BEST

Waratah: L. O’Shea, R. Pryer, I. Rapson-Staropoli, C. Fabris, M. Cooper
Tracy Village: N/A

Waratah proved once again they are the team to beat this season, defeating Tracy Village by a whopping 93 points. The ‘Tahs had the lead from the get-go against Tracy Village, with the Razorbacks ultimately unable to find their form against the top of the ladder. Waratah were clinical, peppering the posts with their number of forward options and once again proving that they do not need to be accurate as long as they have a volume of players forward. Lauren O’Shea earned best on ground honours for Waratah with a bag of five on Saturday, plying her trade inside 50 and creating opportunities for a further six players to get on the board – with Tarryn O’Hehir booting four goals to take her season tally to six. Rebecca Pryer and Isabella Rapson-Staropoli impressed also for Waratah, propelling the ball well down the field. 

SOUTHERN DISTRICTS 1.3 | 4.7 | 8.8 | 10.14 (74)
ST MARY’S 0.2 | 0.2 | 1.2 | 1.2 (8)

By: Sophie Taylor

GOALS

Southern Districts: T. Thorn 3, I. Hickling 2, C. Tielen , T. Maddock, C. Deegan, L. Niven, K. Patterson.
St Mary’s: N/A.

BEST

Southern Districts: C. Deegan, T. Holtze, T. Thorn, I. Hickling, M. Craufurd
St Mary’s: N/A

While Southern Districts did not have the best start in this matchup the second and third quarters saw the Crocs well and truly run away with their fifth win of the season, pulling into fifth and jumping ahead of Nightcliff with the victory. The side also got a nice percentage booster with the 66 point win. While St Mary’s had a slow start there was no excuse for their lacklustre performance, with the usual performers quiet and unable to spark the side into action against a strong Districts defensive unit. Tayla Thorn impressed once more with three goals this round after two last week, while Indianna Hickling put two on the board in her first match for the season. Charles Deegan was solid as ever with her kicking ability on show, cleanly finding the footy and putting a goal on the board of her own while aided by Tahlia Holtze who was also named among the best.

PALMERSTON MAGPIES 2.4 | 5.5 | 6.8 | 7.9 (51)
WANDERERS 0.0 | 1.1 | 3.3 | 3.4 (22)

By: Sophie Taylor

GOALS 

Palmerston Magpies: W. Barlow 2, S. Leedie, T. May, N. Medbury.
Wanderers: T. Davern, T. Bush, G. Halkitis.

BEST

Palmerston Magpies: T. Jeffrey, S. Kris, F. Puruntatameri, J. Brock, Y. Roe
Wanderers: S. Mauboy, L. Motlop, G. Halkitis, D. Totham, K. Anderson, M. Johnston

Despite a second-half effort from the Wanderers the Magpies were just far too good, putting on goals early and backing it up when the Eagles got back into the game to run home with a solid 29 point victory. For the Wanderers this is a frustrating chink in their so-far strong start to the season, however their second half effort proved the side has the capacity to build from this match where they may not have last season. Eagles’ Sophia Mauboy and Georgia Halkitis impressed with Halkitis booting one of the side’s goals alongside Tedisha Bush and Tishara Davern, while Wynona Barlow booted two for the Magpies in a solid effort up forward. Tulaha Jeffrey proved once more she has the capacity to carry a side with another key performance on the books, aided by Sodyla Kris in her first match of the season and Freda Puruntatameri who did not kick any goals in this outing but proved she can have an impact away from the posts.