IN what was a different looking schedule, the Northern Territory Football League (NTFL) Men’s Premier League held another batch of games recently. Round 15 took place over the span of four days to accommodate the recent representative clash, and the annual Australia Day match.

With finals just around the corner, the top four is locked in for season’s end. The stakes for these sides now comes in the form of jostling for best possible position in the finals standings by the time the first week of the postseason rolls around. Unfortunately, the Tiwi Bombers were forced to forfeit their clash with Nightcliff, so the Tigers were awarded the win. However, there were still three ripping matchups for fans to enjoy, starting with a battle between two flag hopefuls.

WARATAH 4.3 | 7.5 | 9.10 | 12.11 (83)
WANDERERS 1.2 | 5.3 | 9.4 | 9.5 (59)

In what was the most anticipated clash of the round, Waratah claimed a massive win in the context of their season, defeating Wanderers to the tune of 24 points at Gardens Oval on Wednesday afternoon. The two teams have each enjoyed strong seasons, cementing themselves in the top four, and heading into Round 9 Waratah was in second place, while Wanderers was just below them in third spot, so there was plenty of hype around this game.

The home side burst out of the gates to take a three-goal lead into quarter time. The next two periods saw a fightback from Wanderers, as the margin tightened up in the third quarter. Just eight points separated the two sides heading into the final term (it could have been a lot more had Waratah kicked straight), before the victors were able to break away in the fourth to claim a four-goal triumph.

For Waratah, Thomas Cree was a driving force through the midfield as he fought tooth and nail to give his side some valuable territory. He finished with 22 disposals, seven clearances and a goal in a classy showing through the middle as his side looks to continue its form to close out the season. The Muk Muks were belted in the disposal count (256-190), but Brodie Newman was still able to find the ball 15 times and drive it inside his side’s forwardline four times in a standout showing.

ST MARY’S 5.2 | 6.2 | 12.8 | 14.13 (97)
SOUTHERN DISTRICTS 3.2 | 3.5 | 5.7 | 6.8 (44)

Moving to the weekend’s action, St Mary’s was able to climb to third spot on the ladder with a win over Southern Districts at TIO Stadium on Saturday night. The home side entered this match as favourites given their cemented spot in the top half of the standings, but Districts had shown a bit in recent weeks, pushing the ladder-leaders to the limit in Round 13 before backing it up with a win over the the Buffaloes the following week.

They were unable to keep that form rolling, with St Mary’s leading for all four quarters of this match thanks to their relentless pursuit of the ball and strong work outside of the contest. The inaccuracy of the victors prevented the margin from getting out of hand, but it was still a crucial win for St Mary’s who are setting themselves up for a big finals series.

For the victors, Nathaniel Paredes delivered yet another strong outing, racking up 30 disposals, eight clearances and was able to send the ball inside 50 a whopping nine times. He was also unlucky not to have more impact on the scoreboard, finishing with four behinds in what could have been a mammoth day for the consistent performer. Up forward, Jackson Calder slotted five majors in another dominant outing for the talented tall. For Districts, Michael Bowden found plenty of the ball in the defensive half of the ground, racking up 16 rebound 50’s from his 31 touches.

PALMERSTON MAGPIES 2.0 | 3.2 | 7.2 | 8.5 (53)
DARWIN BUFFALOES 5.1 | 7.6 | 7.10 | 11.11 (77)

The final match of Round 15 saw the Darwin Buffaloes emerge victorious over the Palmerston Magpies when the two sides went head-to-head at Cazaly’s Arena on Saturday night. The two sides were ruled out of finals contention prior to this matchup, but there was still pride and bragging rights on the line in this clash. The Buffaloes shot out to an early advantage thanks to a strong opening half, before the Magpies produced a stunning third term to trail by just eight points and make things very interesting heading into the final quarter. Unfortunately for the Magpies, the Buffaloes found their first-quarter form and were able to once again break away and claim a 24-point win.

The Buffaloes had a strong number of contributors in their win, with 15 players racking up double-digits in the disposals column. Jarrod Stokes led his side in said category, racking up 22 for the match and able to boot a major to cap off an impressive day. For the Magpies, Eric Guthrie was able to rack up a game-high 27 touches with a whopping 19 contested possessions, as he battled hard all day at the coalface to try and give his side an advantage wherever possible.