WITH the long weekend finally here, so is the latest round of the Northern Territory Football League Women’s (NTFLW) Premier League, and this week will see just the one game go ahead, but the stakes are as high as ever. This week will see the competition hold its preliminary final, and the winner of this match will face the Darwin Buffaloes in next week’s decider. The Buffaloes went straight through to the big dance with a big win over the Tigers, and this week’s winner will have their work cut out for them.

Nightcliff Tigers vs. Waratah
Saturday, March 12 @ 4:30pm
TIO Stadium

In what is set to be a cracking contest, the ladder-leading Nightcliff Tigers are set to take on Waratah at TIO Stadium -on Saturday afternoon. The two sides have displayed some seriously high-quality footy throughout the season, and it is hard to pick a clear winner for this matchup. Regardless of the result, fans will likely be treated to an absolute pearler of a contest at the state’s finest ground.

The Tigers were convincingly beaten by the Buffaloes last week, in one of the more surprising results we have seen this season. Darwin was able to do as it pleased for all four quarters, as Nightcliff produced a subpar performance to say the least. They will be looking to bounce back this week, but there is no room for error this time around. Last week’s result may be attributed to a bit of rust given they had an extra week off, but regardless, there are clear areas that need to be improved if they are to take down a ruthless Waratah side. The Tigers will be keen to get the most out of Eliza Morrison‘s experience, which will prove vital in big matches like this.

The Warriors were simply outstanding in their win over PINT last weekend, and fully deserve their place in the final three sides of the season. They had no problems dismantling last year’s premiers, and will have plenty of momentum heading into this clash. Nightcliff did get the better of them twice throughout the home and away season, but finals are a different game, and given the high number of scoring opportunities they were able to generate last week, why can’t they knock out the Tigers in straight sets? The dynamic duo of Stephanie O’Brien and Lisa Miceli up forward will likely have a big say on the outcome of this game.