Tiwi Bombers beat a feisty Wanderers side to grab the coveted double chance

TIWI will go into the 2019-20 NTFL finals with a 13-point win behind them after surviving a shootout with a spirited, young Wanderers side which had nothing to lose

Harley Puruntatameri was a prime mover in the Tiwi Bombers’ win over Wanderers. Picture: Glenn campbell

TIWI will go into the 2019-20 NTFL finals with a 13-point win behind them after surviving a shootout with a spirited, young Wanderers side which had nothing to lose.

The Bombers started strong with Harley Puruntatmeri running 60m to boot the opening goal of the match, but they didn’t have it all their own way.

A quick return from Muk Muk Robert Howard put Wanderers back in the contest, beginning a back-and-forth goalfest which would define the next three quarters.

Young Eagles Beau O’Connell and Joel Jeffrey ran and kicked well all game to keep their side in the fight once again, proving they will be ones to watch for years to come.

Tiwi captain Patrick Heenan knew the early exchanges would be difficult for his Bombers with both sides favouring a quick, running game.

“We made it a bit hard for ourselves to begin with,” Heenan told the Sunday Territorian.

“Going into two game we sort of knew we couldn’t give them a lot of space because they play a similar style of game to us and like to run a lot as well.

“We just had to fix up a few things such as running back more and taking our opportunities in front of goal.

“We know we have to turn up if we want to win finals because the top sides will punish us for slow starts.”

Tiwi finally managed to pull away in the fourth quarter, with Gerrard Cunningham taking advantage of good support to notch his last two of the match.

Wanderers fought back late putting everything on the line for their final outing of the season, but late goals for Mark White and Ronald Fejo were not enough to claw back the scoreline.