THIS weekend’s round of Northern Territory Football League (NTFL) Premier League action, there were some big scores posted across the competition. Three sides hit triple digits in their outings and were able to improve their percentage with some impressive wins. The round was headlined by a battle between two top-four sides, with the match resulting in a slight upset as St Mary’s were able to emerge victorious in their clash against Waratah.

Wanderers 7.5 | 11.9 | 13.12 | 26.15 (171)
Tiwi Bombers 1.1 | 1.3 | 6.5 | 6.6 (42)

The first match of the round delivered a dominant performance from the Wanderers, who were able to defeat the Tiwi Bombers to the tune of 129 points at TIO Stadium on Saturday afternoon. It was a commanding performance from the very first quarter, where the victors were able to boot seven goals to one. From there, they never looked back, and were even able to top this in the final term, where they were ruthless in booting 13 unanswered goal to seal a powerful win for their side.

For the Wanderers, it was a two-horse race for best-on-ground with a number of strong performances. The first came from Beau O’Connell who produced one of the most dominant midfielder games of the season. He finished with 41 disposals and two goals and seemingly popped up everywhere for his side. However, he was likely bested by teammate Edward Simpson, who booted 10 goals from 21 disposals in a herculean performance.

Southern Districts 3.3 | 6.3 | 10.4 | 17.7 (109)
Palmerston Magpies 2.2 | 5.5 | 7.8 | 10.10 (70)

A final-quarter blitz has seen the Southern Districts claim a comfortable victory over the Palmerston Magpies in their match at Norbuilt Oval on Saturday afternoon. The match was closely contested for the first half, and while the Districts claimed the lead at the main break, it was by a mere four points, so it could have gone either way. The third term saw the home side claim a slight advantage but the match was still for the taking. However, a seven-goal fourth term sealed the deal for the Districts as they claimed their fourth win of the season to distance themselves from the Magpies on the ladder.

For the Districts, it was an all-around team performance, and while no player racked up more than 18 touches, they were still able to get the win. However, they did lose the disposal count by one touch, which shows their efficiency with ball in hand. Magpie Daniel Stafford booted five majors in what was a terrific performance despite the close defeat, and will have lost no fans for his efforts.

Nightcliff Tigers 5.5 | 10.11 | 13.15 | 17.17 (119)
Darwin Buffaloes 2.1 | 3.4 | 4.4 | 5.9 (39)

Moving to the Darwin Mazda Nightcliff Oval, the Nightcliff Tigers have claimed top spot on the ladder with their 80-point victory over the Darwin Buffaloes on Saturday afternoon. With Waratah’s tough match-up against St Mary’s (which resulted in a loss), a move up the standings was Nightcliff’s for the taking, and they wasted no time in doing just this. The match was all but over in the first half, with the Tigers ruthless in their attack on their opponents. The eight-goal half time lead was only extended in the second half as Nightcliff cruised to the position of the competition’s leading side, while the struggles of the Buffaloes continued with their seventh loss of the season.

Nightcliff’s Brodie Filo led all-comers in terms of racking up disposals, finishing the match with 33 touches to go with seven marks and three clearances. He appeared everywhere while teammate Kyle Emery booted four goals up forward. The Tigers will be pleased with the number of contributors they had in the win, and will be looking to replicate this on a weekly basis moving forward.

St Mary’s 5.6 | 9.7 | 11.8 | 15.8 (98)
Waratah 4.0 | 7.1 | 9.3 | 13.7 (85)

The final match of the round saw quite the upset, with St Mary’s producing an impressive performance as they took down the top-of-the-table Waratah by 14 points at TIO Stadium on Saturday night. Waratah had produced some shaky form in recent weeks, and St Mary’s were able to take advantage of this, shocking the league to deliver a commanding performance and hold on to win their seventh win of the season. This match also saw a changing of the guard at the top of the standings, with Waratah bumped down to second place after sustaining their second loss of the 2021/22 season.

For St Mary’s, the side was well-led in the midfield by Nathaniel Paredes, who racked up 25 touches and extracted eight clearances in the guts in a commanding display. Teammate Nigel Lockyer Jr. was a serious threat up forward, finishing with five goals from 11 touches in a damaging performance. Waratah’s Dylan Collis racked up 21 disposals and rebounded the ball five times from defensive-50 as he tried to inject some spark into his side, but these efforts were unfortunately not enough.