A NEW season of the Northern Territory Football League (NTFL) Women’s competition kicked off over the weekend, with the players returning to the Spring and Summer competition that will run from October through until February. A new side entered the league for the first time in Tiwi Bombers, having struck up a partnership with the outgoing Tracy Village. The Bombers came up against Palmerston Magpies in what was effectively a bottom two clash from last year, but could not overcome the Magpies who got up 7.6 (48) to 4.7 (31).

In the match, the Bombers raced out to a 22-point lead before the Magpies had got on the board, before Palmerston kicked seven of the last eight goals to run away with the contest. The star of the show was Tatyana Perry, with the 16-year-old making her NTFL Women’s debut. Perry is the daughter of teammate Hayley Davey, and the niece of former AFL players, Alwyn and Aaron Davey. She was the focus of our Round 1 wrap, with a deep dive into her performance.

TATYANA PERRY (Palmerston Magpies)

DOB: 28/02/2006
Position: Midfielder/Forward
Strengths: Clean hands, kicking, aerial ability, goal sense, speed
Improvements: Endurance, strength

Tatyana Perry should be a name that comes as no surprise to underage AFLW Draft watchers in the Northern Territory. Though only making her senior debut in Round 1 of the 2022/23 season, Perry has already represented both the Northern Territory and Allies at representative level in previous years, and as recent as the Under 18s carnival this year. Perry is a highly skilled midfielder/forward, who does not quite have the endurance to fully run out four quarters, but has bursts of brilliance that make her such a damaging player. She is a 2006-born talent which means she has another two seasons until she is draft-eligible.

QUARTER 1:

Stats: 7 kicks, 1 handball, 8 disposals, 3 marks, 2 inside 50s, 1 free for, 1 free against

Tatyana Perry made a remarkable start to her debut with a busy opening term working hard at half-forward and pushing up the ground. Her clean hands and getting into ball-winning positions was obvious from the start with her first touch an effective kick on the wing just 30 seconds into the contest. Her next touch not long after saw Perry pinged for holding the ball trying to get around a second opponent inside 50, but it did not worry her as she kept working hard.

She was outmuscled at half-forward being worked under the ball in a marking contest, but was soon able to win the ball in space, setting her up for a big day of doing exactly that. Her hands at ground level throughout the first term were superb, and she usually hit the ball at speed, cleanly took it and then kicked to half-forward with great technique. Though her quarter still featured a few rushed kicks going forward, when given time and space she hit teammates lace out. In a late passage of play, Perry marked on the wing, hit a target at centre half-forward then ran hard inside 50 to mark 30m out. Unfortunately her on-target set shot after the siren fell just short of scoring.

QUARTER 2:

Stats: 6 kicks, 1 handball, 3 marks, 1 hitout, 2 inside 50s, 1 tackle, 2 goals

Perry started the second team on-ball and though her influence at the contest was not as great as when in space, she again had a productive quarter with another seven disposals. She laid a good run down tackle three minutes into the contest, but it was her second efforts after winning the ball in the middle that caught the eye. She would intercept mark in the forward side of the centre square and kick to the top of 50, then run forward and receive again to put the ball into a scoring position, helping Palmerston get on the board, albeit with a behind.

Her best was yet to come, as Perry had a purple patch of a few minutes, rewarded for her hard running by slotting two goals with in a few minutes. The first came after an intercept mark inside 50 from 30m out which saw her play on and slam home the goal off a few steps, then took an uncontested mark just two minutes later and slot her second from the set shot. Remarkably, Perry showed her versatility by moving into the ruck for the next centre bounce and even winning the hitout then following up with a kick off the deck.

HT stats: 13 kicks, 2 handballs, 15 disposals, 6 marks, 1 hitout, 4 inside 50s, 1 tackle, 1FF, 1FA, 1 tackle, 2 goals

QUARTER 3:

Stats: 5 kicks, 2 marks, 2 tackles, 2 inside 50s

After a busy first half, Perry had a quieter third term as it was evident she was starting to tire a little. The midfielder/forward still spent the first half of the quarter in the middle before resting forward late, earning five disposals – all kicks – as well as a couple of marks, tackles and inside 50s. She had most of her touches in the first six minutes of the game, and was able to win the ball via mark or loose ball and kick forward, often to a contest either just outside, or inside 50.

Not having a disposal in the final 10 minutes of the term, Perry’s highlight moment was a huge fly at the 16-minute mark, but unfortunately could not bring it down. Upon landing she stayed down despite the ball still being in the area, cramping up quite significantly. The attempted mark showed her ability to compete aerially and not just on the ground, which is something for defenders of the future to be aware of, not to give her an easy run and jump.

3QTR time stats: 18 kicks, 2 handballs, 20 disposals, 8 marks, 3 tackles, 6 inside 50s, 1 free for, 1 free against, 2 goals

QUARTER 4:

Stats: 6 kicks 1 handball, 7 disposals, 3 marks 1 tackle 3 inside 50s 1 goal 1 behind

In the final term, it was definitely a case of overcoming both the cramp late in that third term, and the tiredness of running out a full senior women’s game for the first time. She laid a strong tackle at half-back to start the quarter after being on-ball at the first centre bounce, and continued to apply pressure there. Her first disposal of sorts came with a terrifically clever soccer off the round at the top of the goalsquare under pressure to slot her third goal and put her team up by six points, five and half minutes into the quarter.

She was outworked by Maria Rioli in the middle competing for a ground ball in the ninth minute, then had her second disposal for the quarter in the 13th minute, which was a clean pickup off the deck and effective quick handball inside the forward 50. The final five minutes of the match saw her pick up a flurry of stats to make it statistically another good quarter, taking two intercept marks in the space of a minute, with one brilliant lace-out kick to a leading forward inside 50. She had another outstanding pass later in the term after marking on the forward side of the centre square, then kept running to mark 30m out straight in front. Her set shot missed marginally to the right for her first behind, and would finish with one more touch to end the term with another seven disposals.

FT Stats: 24 kicks, 3 handballs, 27 disposals, 11 marks, 1 hitout, 9 inside 50s, 4 tackles, 1FF, 1FA, 3 goals 1 behind

AROUND THE GROUNDS:

Reigning premiers Darwin Buffaloes dominated their first outing after unfurling the premiership flag, slamming on 27 scoring shots to zero against a hapless Wanderers outfit to win, 17.10 (112) to 0.0 (0). Johanna Gregory slotted six majors for the Buffs, as Lee-anne Allia and Kerrie O’Connell each kicked four. Gregory and Machaelia Roberts were named the best in the win, while for the Wanderers, Lai-Yee Chow was named best in a losing side.

It was not as promising for last year’s runners-up St Mary’s, as the Saints could only watch on as Waratah completely obliterated them. The Tahs’ slammed home 13 goals after half-time on their way to 32 scoring shots to six and a 21.11 (137) to 3.3 (21) win, with Jenna Singh slotting eight majors in an unstoppable effort. Young gun Annabel Kievit booted two goals and was named among the best in the win, wth fellow teenager Kierra Zerafa also hitting the scoreboard twice. Tikesa Docherty-Cole was named St Mary’s best, with Saints teenager Ciaralii Parnell also among the better players.

Meanwhile in the other match, PINT proved too good for Nightcliff in a low-scoring struggle, with just three goals kicked in the match, and only one after half-time. The Queen Ants came back from a seven point deficit at quarter time to not concede another score, whilst booting 2.7 in the final three terms to win, 2.8 (20) to 1.2 (8). Casey Morris was named best on in the win, with the captain slotting a goal alongside Amy Chittick, while Megan Adcock kicked the Tigers’ sole major, and Hannah Turnbull was named best-on for the losing side.