NIGHTCLIFF has taken out the 2025/26 NTFL Men’s Premier League title after thumping St Mary’s to the tune of 72 points in Saturday’s Grand Final. In what was the third decider between the two sides in six years, the Tigers took home their sixth top flight flag to cap off a rampant finals campaign.

Across three postseason appearances, the Tigers conceded just nine goals, including two on Saturday. They knocked off the Saints by 23 points in their qualifying final bout and followed through to defeat reigning premier Southern Districts, before their latest thrashing secured premiership glory.

Ex-AFL midfielder Brandan Parfitt polled a maximum 15 votes to claim the Chaney Medal as best on ground for the victors. He headlined a dominant Tigers midfield which beat St Mary’s at its own game, controlling the engine room with suffocating pressure and a rock-solid defensive third.

The likes of Mitchell Trewhella and Riley Baldi helped set the tone in a muddy midfield battle. Signs were ominous as Zack Derksen booted the first of his four goals within 90 seconds, signalling Nightcliff’s intent. At the other end of the ground, St Mary’s went goalless after half time.

Nightcliff’s six-goal scoring surge set up the lopsided scoreboard in term two, before adding another five unanswered majors out of the main break. Lachlan Tardrew was terrific all game and finished with two goals, along with Boyd Bailey. The Tigers ended up with eight individual goalkickers.

Things quickly unravelled for the Saints with star skipper and three-time Nichols Medal winner Dylan Landt relatively well held. Josh Smithson was clearly the Saints’ best. Meanwhile, the result marked a happy milestone for Tigers co-captain Ryan Nyhuis, who celebrated his 100th game in style.

The celebrations didn’t end there. Champion Tiger Nathan Brown capped off his career on the sweetest of notes to claim a fourth flag, and it somewhat atoned for the club’s losses in the Reserves and Women’s grades. It was a case of Nightcliff peaking at the right time, producing a flawless finals run.

NIGHTCLIFF 2.4 | 8.7 | 9.10 | 13.14 (92)
ST MARY’S 0.3 | 2.4 | 2.6 | 2.8 (20)

GOALS:
Nightcliff: Z. Derksen 4, B. Bailey 2, L. Tardrew 2, B. Kennedy, S. Linke, M. McGregor, P. Politis, L. Rinaldi
St Mary’s: L. Davies, C. West

BEST:
Nightcliff: B. Parfitt, L. Tardew, B. Kennedy, R. Nyhuis, R. Baldi
St Mary’s: J. Smithson, L. Davies, K. Parnell, B. Rioli, C. West

Chaney Medal: Brandan Parfitt (Nightcliff)