NTFL 2024-25 live stream: Watch Southern Districts v St Mary’s men’s grand final
Southern Districts have completed an almost near perfect NTFL season with a hard fought victory over St Mary’s to claim its first flag in five seasons. Watch the REPLAY here.
Northern Territory
Don't miss out on the headlines from Northern Territory. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Southern Districts have completed their dominant season by topping the reigning premiers St Mary’s in a thrilling grand final contest.
Crocs have been the benchmark side for the entire season, with their ultra-consistent list of stars, but Saints the only side to have beaten them all year brought it to them after a big finals series.
Districts midfield stepped up with the towering Wyatt Ryan winning the Chaney medal for his services in the ruck contest.
And when Saints faded late Districts kept running to see out a 9.12 (66) to 8.3 (51) victory and claim their first flag since the 2017-18 season, claiming redemption for two grand final losses since.
Districts proved their ability to play the ball out from half back and their play put the pressure on the Saints defensive players such as Kieren Parnell and Lachlan Flagg.
The early efforts were repelled well, but a winning ruck battle from Wyatt Ryan allowed a busy Matthew Johnston to collect the pill and kick true for the opening goal.
St Mary’s had the ball trapped in Districts zone for a long period, but found their routes forward heavily congested by a very involved Southern Districts defence.
It took skipper Dylan Landt pulling something out of nothing bombing the ball out of the contest for the side to finally make an impact on the board with a goal.
The Saints pressed their momentum from there and the ever-electric Nick Yarran emerged with some clean air and curved the ball through the posts for his sides second in quick procession.
For as much effort as the Green Machine found going forward Districts found space with more ease as Jonathon Ross gifted Steven Motlop the ball at pace in the forward 50, which he nailed through.
The huge Matt Shannon boot and a swift goal from Josiah Farrer either side of quarter time had the Crocs in charge owing to some brilliant midfield play from Jake McQueen and Jack Sexton.
Skipper Michael Bowden was another having a huge impact pairing up with Jordan Johnston in the backline to disrupt the play of their foes.
Just as soon as it seemed they were on the up Saints returned the favour with Landt and Joel Garner combining well and ensuring their side had a run of their own.
Their accuracy in comparison to Districts, who had more shots on goal, and some big marks from Jackson Calder ensured the side went up at half time.
A mass melee broke out as Jack Landt and Jed Anderson got into each other in the midfield drawing in players from across the ground.
Saints had plenty of space through the centre as a result with Xavier Vallejo out on his own and soon after Dylan Landt won at 50m free kick for another goal.
Confusion followed in the next few minutes as a tension boiled over again and nobody seemed clear on who or where the free kick had been won until vice-captain Beau Schwarze belted it through.
Jonathon Ross and McQueen were both rewarded for their brilliant efforts throughout the contest with goals of their own and all of a sudden the Crocs had the largest lead of the match at 13 points.
Calder had an opportunity on the siren to claw back a goal and snap the momentum, however the crucial moment on the siren of three quarter time instead resulted in a behind.
Saints showed they were still in the contest as Jack Landt crumbed off a Matt Dennis ruck in the forward 50 to score the first of the fourth quarter.
But again it got away from them whether through inaccuracies around the contest late in the piece and as fatigue set in all the Crocs needed to do was lock the Green Machine out.
PREVIEW
While Southern Districts may have lost just one game in the 2024-25 season and are favourites for the flag, they need to overcome reigning premiers St Mary’s who enter the clash in premiership-calibre form.
The NT News and KommunityTV will stream every moment of this showdown clash from 6.45pm on Saturday.
The Crocs have been thereabouts for the past few years, losing the 2022-23 grand final to Waratah before being knocked out in the prelim last year against eventual premiers Saints.
But this season they’ve looked the goods from round 1, and while their only loss may have come against St Mary’s back in round 8, they’ve proven to have all the makings of a premiership side.
That’s largely due to the quality across every line of their list including former AFL stars Jed Anderson, Steven Motlop and Thomas Clurey.
The signing of Motlop from PINT ahead of the season was a statement of intent from a side looking to add to their haul of three flags, the last of which they won in 2017-18.
Connor Giddings down back has been another huge signing while any of the midfield brigade, from Matt Shannon and Jack Sexton to ruck man Wyatt Ryan, have proven themselves in the outfit.
Coach Shannon Rusca said the side had done great to come this far but now needed to jump the final hurdle in what promises to be a spectacle of a match.
“We’ve had a solid season and worked really hard on the track, it’s been a long six month process for us beyond the 20 weeks of play,” Rusca said.
“It’s been going since we concluded last season to make ourselves get better from missing out and being knocked out in last year’s prelim final.
“The Saints are a very accomplished side, they’ve been at this stage a number of times and have completed it, so we’ve been making sure we put our best foot forward to compete against them.
“In the past we haven’t been able to complete our journey, but this year we have been able to get on the front foot early and finish first to give us time to prepare and make sure we’re 100 per cent.
“There’s quality battles across the ground, it’s 22 against 22, they’ve got a quality midfield and that’s what we’re going to be able to put on show for the Territory community, it will be a spectacle.”
Captain Michael Bowden, who brought up 200 games for the side this season, played down his side’s favouritism leading into the big one stating it was all even heading into the final.
It follows Districts most recent showing in a belter of a semi-final against Nightcliff, in which the Tigers had the run late and only lost by three as Districts went into the grand final.
“I wouldn’t call us the favourites, we finished top but grand finals are a different game,” Bowden said.
“When we get out there it’s just a game of football and it’s equal between us.
“We’ve been able to enjoy it on the track, we’ve been able to have a bit of fun lately but we do have a job to out there.”
Meanwhile, the Saints have taken perhaps a different route to what they’re used to after a mid-season slump of four losses saw them finish fifth and enter finals on the elimination route.
They overcame Waratah, Tiwi and then Nightcliff in an impressive finals run that proved they continue to rise above other sides come finals.
The midfield in particular has dominated whether it’s skipper Dylan Landt, former West Coast player Connor West or the likes of Joel Garner, Chad Harris and Josh Smithson.
Their high possessions and speed at the contest have helped the side surge and given the likes of the league’s leading goal kicker Jackson Calder plenty to work with.
Kieren Parnell, who played his 100th game in the prelim, has been immense all finals series in the backline, while Jack Landt has kicked 10 goals in the finals.
“You have a different lead up into every grand final (and) this one’s been different again coming from outside the top three,” Landt said.
“The expectations weren’t on us to make it this far so we’ve been of the mindset of focusing on each final as it comes.
“We won three years ago and then lost the prelim the year after, which disappointed the players in the way we bounce back from winning one, so the focus this year has been staying motivated and not dropping the ball in trying to get back to the top.
“The midfield group have been great for me this year. The experience (Connor) West has brought, and throw in a few others, has given me more flexibility and strengthened our group beyond a couple players.
“Jack’s been good too, we’ve been getting into him because he hasn’t kicked as many as he hoped this year, but he’s doing it now where it matters and hopefully he kicks another bag.”
Coach Anthony Vallejo was also impressed by the way his side had adapted to the occasion of finals and said previous close games between the two sides had given his outfit confidence.
If Saints do come out on top they will be the first side since the 2014-15 Wanderers outfit to have done it from fifth place.
“It’s been around for a while, people just think we put on a guernsey and sort of click come finals,” Vallejo said.
“But it’s a lot of hard work that our players put in and we have great volunteers and a leadership group that have put in a mountain of work since pre-season that helps us click at the right time.
“We played Districts on their home deck in Round 18 and came pretty close with a weaker side than what we have coming this weekend.
“We know they’re a great side that are really well coached, they’ve got superstars on each line and we’re going to have to be on the ball to actually get the win in this one.”
The full match replay will be available at the conclusion of the game.
The NT News and AFL Northern Territory have come together in a partnership to live stream both the men’s and women’s Premier League games for this TIO NTFL season.
More Coverage
Originally published as NTFL 2024-25 live stream: Watch Southern Districts v St Mary’s men’s grand final
Watch replay: Saints win final-kick grand final thriller against Nightcliff
A thrilling NTFL women’s grand final went down to the last kick of the game, with a heartbreaking finish for one side and a historic victory for another. Watch the REPLAY here.
Bus stop wait ends in recapture for alleged Top End fugitive
A man whose alleged prison break led to a 90 hour manhunt across the Top End has been recaptured after he was spotted waiting for a bus.