NTFL 2022-23: Watch Nightcliff Tigers vs Wanderers Round 13 livestream

The Nightcliff Tigers have climbed back into the finals berths after clinching a tight win over Wanderers. WATCH THE REPLAY.

The Nightcliff Tigers have bounced back into the finals berths after pulling off the tightest of victories against a defence orientated Wanderers unit.

Nightcliff and Wanderers both came into the match with the opportunity to snatch fifth from the Palmerston Magpies.

But it was the Tigers who got the job done grabbing the lead late in the piece to beat the Muk Muks 6.10 (46) to 6.8 (44).

Neither side have been able to truly assert themselves in front of goal in the 2022-23 NTFL season which setup an interesting matchup with both sides looking to their defences.

The Tigers looked to have the ascendency early with the experience of Cam Ilett and Shaun Wilson winning the ball and getting it down to their forwards.

But pressure from Wanderers’ established defensive duo Brodie Newman and Mitchel Taylor meant Nightcliff’s forwards including former Western Bulldog Andrew Hooper were unable to captalise.

In attempts to take the game on for Wanderers’ Steven Motlop showed his skill and pace to burst downfield, but it was 2019-20 Nichols Medalist Beau O’Connell who scored the first major.

However, it was still Nightcliff who dominated the scoring shots with Hooper busy, and it was only a little bit of time later that Aidan Robinson got one back for Tigers.

Andrew Hooper was busy for the Nightcliff Tigers against Wanderers in Round 13 of the 2022-23 NTFL season. Picture: Glenn Campbell

O’Connell continued to be a menace breaking out of the Wanderers midfield booting from deep to show why he’s so highly rated in the NTFL.

But still neither side could really break free or go on a scoring run with Newman and Taylor ran the show for Wanderers, and Ryan Nyhuis marshalled the backline for the Tigers.

Shortly into the fourth quarter the Muk Muks pulled out on top on the back and forth encounter and it looked as if they were on the way to the win.

But it was then that the fitness and experience of Nightcliff came to the fore, Ilett everywhere while young guns Ryan Mu and Petros Politis were also busy.

And it was a late goal from Hooper which finally put the side on top by just a matter of points.

However, Wanderers didn’t stop coming and Tigers needed all their courage to defend the margin, made even harder with Nyhuis forced to limp off the field injured.

A clearing kick from Jackson Bowen proved all-important while the entire squad applied the pressure all over to run out the clock blocking Wanderers from scoring ahead of the siren.

“It was a scrappy game from both sides, but the boys put in the hard yards coming back from the break and the important thing is we got the four points,” Hooper said.

“It goes to show we have the fitness and can run the game out right to the end, the boys just showed the courage to take it down to the wire to get the win.

“Wanderers defended pretty well, and we didn’t captalise early when we got down there, but we held on, continued to work hard knowing those points would come.

“It was hard, but to get those late goals when we were able to kick into space and get on the end of it was what eventually got us the win.”

Score:

Nightcliff: 1.5 3.7 5.8 6.10 (46)

Wanderers: 1.2 4.4 5.6 6.8 (44)

Goals:

Nightcliff:

Andrew Hooper 2

Liam Evans 2

Aidan Robinson

Bailey Edwards

Wanderers:

Beau O’Connell 3

Jobastin Priest

Jack Burke

Keelan Fejo

Best:

Nightcliff:

Cam Ilett

Ryan Nyhuis

Andrew Hooper

Ryan Mu

Aidan Robinson

Wanderers:

Beau O’Connell

Brodie Newman

Mitchel Taylor

Jobastin Priest

Steven Motlop

LIVESTREAM PREVIEW

Wanderers and Nightcliff could both revitalise their season with a win to kick off 2023 when they clash at TIO Stadium.

And the NT News will be there to livestream the game exclusively for you from 7pm, Saturday.

Nightcliff ended 2022 on a high note, beating Palmerston after a dismal losing run, to put themselves back in contention to make a run for finals.

However, in order to get there the experienced side will need to squeeze as many wins as they can out of the remainder of the season.

It’s a similar dilemma which Wanderers find themselves in after letting a few matches slip through their fingers early on.

Wanderers take on Nightcliff Tigers in Round 13 of the 2022-23 NTFL season. Picture: Tymunna Clements / AFLNT Media

For both sides kicking goals will be the focus, which should lead to an exciting encounter with both giving it their all to grasp the win.

If you are attempting to cast the livestream or replay to a television, the best result can be achieved by either using a laptop/computer or a mobile phone.

The NT News and AFL Northern Territory have come together in a partnership to livestream Men’s Premier League games for this TIO NTFL season.