SOUTHERN Districts will rest up in the first week of the NTFL Men’s Premier Division finals after securing the minor premiership with two rounds remaining. The Crocs saw off one of their title contenders Tiwi Bombers courtesy of a second half blitz that saw the ladder leaders boot eight goals to three and run out 15.14 (104) to 9.3 (57) winners.

The Crocs have been the benchmark side for the most of the season, but the Bombers were among those sides looking to chase them down in the run home. However leading at each break, Southern Districts did what it does best, and went to another gear when required.

It looked over before it began early when Southern Districts piled on four goals in a couple of minutes. To the Bombers’ credit however, they were not going to go away easily and crept back into the contest. By half-time the margin was just 12 points and very manageable with Karlson Kantilla and Michael Thompson providing some headaches for the ladder leaders.

However the Crocs just proved too good in the end, with Daniel Murphy slotting a game-high four goals, well supported by Will Farrer (three) and the experienced Steven Motlop (two). They extended the lead out to 26 points by the final break, and any doubt of finishing off was quickly erased and by the final siren had added five more goals and topped the triple digits.

Jed Anderson and Jack Sexton were standouts for the Crocs, with youngster Brodie Lake and ruck Wyatt Ryan also stepping up in big moments. For the Bombers, Kim Kantilla did his best booting a couple of majors, while John Tipiloura managed a trio of goal in defeat.

Following the result, Tiwi dropped back to fourth spot on the ladder and will now battle St Mary’s and Nightcliff for the two double chance spots. The Saints easily destroy PINT by 70 points in Round 16, while Nightcliff won by 26 over Waratah. In the other result, Darwin Buffaloes beat Palmerston Magpies in a bottom two battle by 11 points for their second win of the season, and critically got the Buffs off the bottom of the ladder.

SOUTHERN DISTRICTS 5.4 | 7.7 | 10.9 | 15.14 (104)
TIWI BOMBERS 3.0 | 6.1 | 7.1 | 9.3 (57)

GOALS:
Southern Districts: D. Murphy 4, W. Farrer 3, S. Motlop 2, M. Bidmade, T. Clarke, B. Schwarze, J. Sexton, M. Shannon. D. Staunton
Tiwi Bombers: J. Tipiloura 3, Kim Kantilla 2, M. Walley, E. Darcy, S. Tipiloura

BEST:
Southern Districts: J. Anderson, J. Sexton, B. Lake, J. Ross, W. Ryan
Tiwi Bombers: Karlson Kantilla, M. Thompson, K. Dunn, J. Broadbent, J. Tipiloura