NTFL 2022-23: Watch Palmerston Magpies vs Darwin Buffaloes Round 6 livestream

Palmerston Magpies remain on top of the table after grinding out an important win against a strong Darwin Buffaloes unit. WATCH THE REPLAY.

Palmerston Magpies grinded out an important win over a Darwin Buffaloes side, who never went away, to preserve their spot on top of the NTFL table.

Both sides have had a strong start to the season, and facing off in Round 6 proved they’re both teams who have a real chance of a finals shift.

But ultimately it was the high-flying Magpies who came out on top thanks to their strong midfield to win in a tight 15.7 (97) to 13.9 (87).

Buffaloes skipper Jarrod Stokes injected pace into the match from the off, racing out of the midfield on the hunt for some early points.

His target up front was former North Melbourne player Matt Campbell, who after a big season in the CAFL was playing his first game of the year for the Darwin Buffaloes.

But it was Palmerston who grabbed the first major with Jonathan Farrer exposing an overlap booting the ball into space for an unmarked Travis Varcoe to run a goal in.

The Magpies midfield caused all sorts of problems for their Darwin opposition with Eric Guthrie, Baxter Mensch and Tristen Waack constantly battling for the ball.

However, it was almost impossible to deny Stokes his own time on the ball with the talented captain delivering his touch of class with a snap individual goal to level the scores.

Palmerston Magpies’ Travis Varcoe races for the ball against Bradley Stokes from Darwin Buffaloes Picture: (A)manda Parkinson

Campbell impressed up front early on putting his hands up for every chance coming his way.

But Palmerston showed they had plenty of goal scorers of their own with Varcoe alongside former Croc and multiple leading goal kicker winner Will Farrer piling on the points themselves.

Ashton Hams and Neville Jetta, once again, proved decisive in the backline rebounding the ball back towards their midfield as it came their way.

Tempers flared when Farrer was put on report for a knock on Aaron Stokes, with the latter coming from the field after the altercation.

That inspired a monumental shift from Bradley Stokes, who has been enjoying one of his best seasons for the Double Blues.

But Buffaloes were unable to take full advantage of their momentum falling short in front of goal as Palmerston locked down Campbell.

Though a goal to former Carlton and Brisbane player Mitch Robinson got the crowd on their feet and looked to spark the Buffaloes resurgence.

However, Palmerston held out with Varcoe showing his class time after time while young gun Jonty Patrick contributed two important goals to keep the scoreboard ticking over.

And a captain’s goal to Guthrie, who had put in a massive shift all day in the midfield, sealed the deal for the Magpies.

“It’s great to be on top of the ladder and getting a few wins under our belt, we’re playing some good footy at the moment,” Guthrie said.

“It’s just confidence. We started at the bottom and now we’re succeeding. It means a heap to the club and we’ve got good supporters so it’s great to do it for them.

“We’ve put a lot of hard work in, getting the right blokes in the right spots and it just comes down to team work across the board.

“(Against Buffs) we just knew we had to grind and grind, which is what we’re good at. We’re just good at our one percenters and doing the basics right, that’s what wins games.”

Score:

Palmerston: 2.1 6.6 12.5 15.7 (97)

Buffaloes: 2.3 6.3 10.9 13.9 (87)

Goals:

Palmerston:

Travis Varcoe 5

Will Farrer 4

Baxter Mensch 2

Jonty Patrick 2

Kain Proctor

Eric Guthrie

Buffaloes:

Matt Campbell 5

Jarrod Stokes 2

Kokwam Niki 2

Hassan Ahmat-Watkins

Chris Atkinson

Tanner Coulthard

Mitch Robinson

Best:

Palmerston:

Eric Guthrie

Travis Varcoe

Tristen Waack

Baxter Mensch

Ashton Hams

Buffaloes:

Jarrod Stokes

Bradley Stokes

Matt Campbell

Mitch Robinson

Ryan Pendlebury

Livestream Preview

Expect excitement aplenty when Palmerston Magpies and Darwin Buffaloes go head to head at TIO Stadium in Round 6.

And the NT News will be there to livestream the game exclusively for you from 5pm, Saturday.

Palmerston are currently sitting pretty at the top of the table following an important win over Wanderers in Round 5.

The star-studded side has fired in the 2022-23 season with their AFL stars, state league standouts and home-grown juniors performing week after week.

They, however, do have a tough challenge coming up against a Buffaloes contingent fresh off their bye round.

Palmerston Magpies and Darwin Buffaloes will go head to head in Round 6 of the 2022-23 NTFL season. Picture: Celina Whan / AFLNT Media

Buffaloes have looked in good form when we’ve seen them so far and with Mitch Robinson in the side have no shortage of firepower.

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.