IT was another round of ladder defining games in the Northern Territory Football League Women’s (NTFLW) with Southern District dropping their clash against Darwin Buffettes. Round 13 also saw a host of close matches paired with a couple of blowouts highlighting the variety of competition within the league. For a second week in a row the Big River Hawks forfeited gifting the Wanderers a win to cap off an exciting round of action.

PINT 2.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 (24)
NIGHTCLIFF 2.0 | 2.1 | 4.3 | 4.4 (28)

GOALS:
Pint: J. Baksh, R. Fecht , J. Baumer, E. Pechey.
Nightcliff: J. Steppacher, J. Anyon-Smith, E. Wolsey, S. Politis.

BESTS:
Pint: N/A
Nightcliff: E. Morrison, M. Ward, H. Turnbull

It was a tantalising battle between Pint and Nightcliff with the two sides going toe to toe for the entirety of the match. Pint looked to have got the jump on the away side in the second quarter establishing an 11-point lead before Nightcliff wrestled momentum back in the third to hold a three-point buffer heading into the final change. Despite neither side registering a major in the fourth quarter Nightcliff did enough to secure their seventh win of the year and create a two game gap between seventh while sitting one game out of the top four. Pint failed to score after half time credit to the increased pressure applied by Nightcliff. Jacqueline Anyon-Smith hit the scoreboard for Nightcliff while Jessica Steppacher booted another major in her sides win. Emma-Lou Wolsey continued her purple patch of form once again finding the scoreboard while the likes of Eliza Morrison and Mickayla Ward were named in the bests credit to their efforts against Pint. It was a tough loss for the seventh placed Pint who were looking to leapfrog their opponents, but despite the loss Rhiannon Fetch and Jessie Baumer played their role contributing to their overall score.

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WARATAH 2.1 | 3.2 | 5.4 | 11.4 (70)
ST MARY’S 1.1 | 1.1 | 1.4 | 4.6 (30)

GOALS:
Waratah: J. Singh 3, T. O”Hehir 2, S. Nalder 2, T. Cunningham 2, B. Martin, M. Cooper.
St Mary’s: N/A.

BESTS:
Waratah: L. Roberts, M. Cooper, P. Cox, C. Fabris, R. Pryer
St Mary’s: N/A

Despite the relatively even start to the game, Waratah blew their opponents away in the last term piling on a whopping 36 points to stamp their authority on the competition. Waratah held the lead from the get go with St Mary’s forced into chase position early and ultimately unable to peg the margin back. The Tah’s were accurate in front of goal making the most of their opportunities and most importantly sharing the load around highlighting their plethora of options inside forward 50. Jenna Singh has hit the scoreboard in her previous two outings and did not disappoint, once again contributing three goals. Her efforts were rivalled by teammates Tarryn O’Hehir and Sue Nalder who both slotted two goals. Meanwhile Timaya Cunningham continued her hot form from the previous round booting two goals to get her side well and truly over the line. Rebecca Pryer worked tirelessly while Lisa Roberts was consistent as ever named in the bests once again proving just how crucial she is to Waratah’s line-up. St Mary’s struggled to combat the power of Waratah but the likes of Aaliyah Bailey stood tall while Rachel and Shannon Ponter the sister of Adelaide’s Danielle Ponter also left their mark on the game.

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TRACY VILLAGE 0.3 | 0.4 | 1.4 | 1.4 (10)
PALMERSTON MAGPIES 3.2 | 5.8 | 8.12 | 13.15 (93)

GOALS:
Tracy Village: N/A.
Palmerston Magpies: A. Moreen 5, F. Puruntatameri 3, A. Seubert 2, I. Ronberg, T. Jeffrey, N. Medbury.

BESTS:
Tracy Village: N/A
Palmerston Magpies: B. Byers, T. Jeffrey, A. Moreen, F. Puruntatameri, I. Ronberg, G. Garling

The Magpies put on a dominant display against Tracy Village who simply could not match their opponents going down by 83-points. Tracy only scored one goal after half time adding salt into their wounds as the Magpies went on to add 55 points to their end total highlighting their convincing performance. It was always going to be a difficult task for the ninth placed Tracy Village up against the higher ranked Magpies and it showed with Palmerston capitalising on their opportunities despite being a bit wayward in front of goal. The Magpies were led by Arthurina Morren who booted five goals taking her tally to 10 in the past three rounds while Freda Puruntatameri proved she was no slouch winning plenty of the ball and converting three majors. The goal scoring options were endless with Alisha Seubert bagging two in her first game and Iesha Ronberg also inflicting scoreboard pain to make it a complete effort by the Magpies heading into the final stretch of the home and away season. Bonnie McDougall notched up her 11 game for the season while Lisa-Maree Toner made her presence felt in her sides crushing loss.

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DARWIN BUFFETTES 4.0 |6.1 |6.1 |8.2 (50)
SOUTHERN DISTRICT 1.4 | 2.5 |4.6 |6.7 (43)

GOALS:
Darwin Buffettes: E. Miller 3, M. Breed, M. Moussa, A. Lewis.
Southern District: N/A.

BESTS:
Darwin Buffettes:  B. Hayne, B. Clarke, T. Holtze, M. Breed, D. Lee-Feeney
Southern District: N/A

The clash of second versus fourth lived up to the hype with the game going down to the wire in the final game of the round. In the end, it was the higher placed Darwin Buffettes that prevailed against Southern District credit to their increased accuracy in front of goal. District will be ruing their missed opportunities peppering the goals but unable to hit the maximum. The Buffettes had control of the match from the very beginning skipping out a 14-point lead in the opening term before gradually extending it at half time. But District was not going to lie down mounting a comeback after half time to get within seven, the eventual losing margin. Ebony Miller has been unstoppable in the forward 50 for Southern District in recent weeks and this game was no different booting another three goals while youngster Mattea Breed also showcased her skills across the board nailing a major and being named in the bests. Maria Moussa and April Lewis also got in on the scoring action with one goal apiece but their efforts were not enough to push their side over the line. For a third week in a row Bella Clarke put her best foot forward earning a mention in the bests while Tahlia Holtze plied her trade. With yet another win under their belts the Buffettes will be able to sleep easy with the likes of Tayla Hart-Aluni, Dominque Carbone and Kylie Duggan all working tirelessly and using their skill to have an impact.