NTFL 2022-23: Watch St Mary’s vs Darwin Buffaloes Round 9 livestream

St Mary’s celebrated the 200-game milestone of veteran ruck Ryan Smith with a win over Darwin Buffaloes. WATCH THE REPLAY.

St Mary’s ensured veteran ruck Ryan Smith had a 200th match to remember after charging past Darwin Buffaloes in a Round 9 goal-fest.

The 18.12 (120) to 13.14 (92) win was the fourth in a row for the Green Machine after a slow start to the season, and marked their return to the upper rungs of the NTFL ladder.

There was nothing to split the two sides early on with the first quarter turning into an absolutely goal feast.

It was the Buffaloes who struck first as 2020-21 Nichols Medalist Dom Brew drove in for the ball and smartly delivered it off to former Carlton and Brisbane player Mitch Robinson.

A second followed shortly after as Round 8 Rising Star nominee Antonio James made full use of the afternoon breeze to slot the through from the sideline.

However, Buffs may have counted themselves slightly lucky for their early lead as Saints winning the midfield battles thanks to the height and experience of 200-gamer and ruck Ryan Smith.

His hit out threat gave the ever-dangerous midfield pair of Dylan Landt and Nate Paredes plenty to work, while Josh Smithson also busied himself.

And while the first few chances were jumped on by Buffs, it was Saints who found their way back in using their twin towers up front in Brandyn Grenfell and Jackson Calder.

The duo towered over the players in the Buffaloes’ backline and were able to make easy work of marking the clearing kicks gifted by their midfield.

St Mary's Ryan Smith has played 200 games for his club. Picture: Celina Whan / AFLNT Media

But the threat of Brew and Robinson continued to cause problems for Saints, and the Buffaloes did not go away as Kokwam Niki constantly offered himself as a scoring option.

Saints settled quicker in the middle half of the match with their backline of Matthew Green, Luke Oborn and Kieran Parnell amping up the pressure, while Jacob Long was the key rebounder.

And as they settled they showed their clinical edge clearing the ball to their tall forwards, while smalls Nick Yarran and Joseph Salmon also played important roles.

“It’s pretty special, it’s pretty limited edition at a club like St Mary’s, and it allows me to leave a bit of a legacy here for my kids,” Smith said.

“St Mary’s prides itself on not losing milestone games, so it was good the boys got up to give us our fourth win in a row.

“We’re just trying to build something, we started slow but now with five wins we’re trying to let the league know we do have a good side and hopefully we continue to win and push up the ladder.

“We’re our best side each week at the moment, (Coach Anthony Vallejo) is getting pressure each week from the reserves because our depth is improving.”

The Green Machine at one stage almost held a 50-point lead over their traditional rivals, but Buffaloes struck back late to put some respectability on the board.

Robinson did what he could to spark the comeback, while Nathaniel Cooper was a constant threat, but the comeback was not enough to get the win.

Score:

St Mary’s: 7.2 11.4 15.9 18.12 (120)

Buffaloes: 5.4 6.8 7.10 13.14 (92)

Goals:

St Mary’s:

Brandyn Grenfell 7

Jackson Calder 4

Joseph Salmon

Nick Yarran

Mitch Musgrove

Nate Paredes

Blake Cooke

Jay Boyle

Dylan Landt

Buffaloes:

Nathaniel Cooper 2

Kokwam Niki 2

John Vrodos 2

Mitch Robinson 2

Antonio James

Joseph Collinson

Hassan Ahmat-Watkins

Dom Brew

Xavier Grant

Best:

St Mary’s:

Dylan Landt

Matthew Green

Jacob Long

Brandyn Grenfell

Luke Oborn

Buffaloes:

Mitch Robinson

Dom Brew

Bradley Stokes

Joseph Collinson

Kokwam Niki

Livestream Preview

It’s going to be a massive match when old rivals St Mary’s and Darwin Buffaloes clash at TIO Stadium.

And the NT News will be there to livestream the game exclusively for you from 4.30pm, Saturday.

St Mary’s have recovered from their slow start to the season winning their past three matches, all against sides above them on the table at the time.

Nate Paredes and Dylan Landt have begun to find the ascendency in the midfield which helped the side to a premiership last season.

But there’s still a long way to go for this side, and against Buffaloes they will once again have to play a side who sit above them.

The Double Blues have no shortage of talent across the ground from Mitch Robinson and Jarrod Stokes in the midfield to Bradley Stokes and Hayden Brown down back.

St Mary’s and Darwin Buffaloes will face off in Round 9 of the 2022-23 NTFL season. Picture: Glenn Campbell

Both sides will be licking their lips at the prospect of taking on an old rival while both are in-form sides.

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.