NTFL 2022-23: Watch St Mary’s vs Waratah qualifying final livestream

Waratah sent an early finals statement in a composed and dominant win over reigning premiers St Mary’s. WATCH THE REPLAY.

Waratah have sent an early finals statement dominating reigning premiers St Mary’s with an all-round solid performance in the NTFL qualifying final.

Saints and Tahs have been entangled in an enthralling rivalry over the past two seasons, with Saints winning last year’s grand final, only to be dominated in Round 1.

Then in Round 17 St Mary’s struck back against a Waratah let down by discipline, winning by a single point, but in the qualifying final the see-saw swung back to Tahs who won 13.8 (77) to 7.7 (49).

Waratah took charge almost immediately taking advantage of Saints recent habit of starting matches slowly.

Darcy Hope, who kicked seven goals in this matchup in Round 17, was once again the danger man in front of goal early on kicking the first two goals of the contest.

The big man first took advantage of an interference from defender Matthew Green to slot his first, and moments later he had his second due to a smart delivery from Robbie Turnbull.

Saints finally had a chance midway through the opening quarter when Brandyn Grenfell made a charge setting up a Dylan Landt punt which landed in the hands of Jack Landt.

Waratah captain Brodie Carroll had a massive influence in the win over St Mary’s. Picture: Celina Whan / AFLNT Media.

However, the shot on goal went awry and instead found a Waratah defender who rebounded the ball and within half a minute Will Collis claimed a goal.

It was a moment indicative of Saints evening as the reigning premiers found themselves hampered by inaccuracies and sodden conditions.

Meanwhile, Tahs made the most of almost everything that came their way, and their back six were particularly dominant throughout.

Arnold Kirby was a force in the ruck, Tom Banuelos was busy across the ground, while Brodie Carroll and Will Collis set the tone surging out of midfield to set up their forwards.

Saints finally goaled in the second quarter when a handy handball from Josh Smithson under pressure found small forward Nick Yarran who punted the ball through.

But it was a moment that came too few and far between for the reigning premiers who just couldn’t win crucial contests against a Waratah outfit who had options everywhere.

Insult was added to injury when Jayden Magro, who had been kept quieter than normal, was given a free kick in front of the posts to extend the lead.

The third quarter was a quieter affair on the scoring front with Saints trying to find any inroad into their forward 50, only to be rejected by the Tahs defence.

It wasn’t until the 16 minute mark that a score was finally posted through usual Tahs backman Jake Bowd off the back of a gutsy Magro clearance.

And a couple of minutes later Hope had his third goal of the game to put the first nail in Saints coffin.

Former Waratah captain Abe Ankers was also busy with constant efforts to try and spark scores and clear the ball, and with options always available Tahs never seemed to struggle.

Saints had their moments late in the piece once Waratah seemed to let their foot off the gas with Jackson Calder and Dylan Landt, who had moved into the forwards, claiming some late goals.

And the defensive efforts of Brock Landt, Lucas Jellyman-Turner and Kieran Parnell were notable.

But by then the game was long won by Waratah with captain Carroll praising his side’s all round performance.

“It’s unreal to beat Saints in a final, we did it last year and probably celebrated a bit too hard,” Carroll said.

“We know they’re a great team and will always bounce back. Last year we didn’t have that finals experience and got a bit ahead of ourselves, but this year we’re more level headed.

“It’s hard to say what it was out there, just 22 blokes played their role and out backline in particular were exceptional.

“Against Saints (in Round 17) our discipline let us down, free kicks cost us, but this week we took that out of our game and then just moved the ball smartly and played to the conditions.”

Score:

Waratah: 4.5 6.5 9.8 13.8 (86)

Saints: 0.2 2.4 3.5 7.7 (49)

Goals:

Waratah:

Darcy Hope 3

Jayden Magro 3

Brodie Carroll 2

Jake Bowd

Scott Carlin

Will Collis

Jake McCreery

Abe Ankers

Saints:

Nick Yarran 2

Dylan Landt 2

Jackson Calder 2

Mitch Musgrove

Best:

Waratah:

Tom Banuelos

Brodie Carroll

Will Collis

Jack O’Sullivan

Darcy Hope

Saints:

Kieran Parnell

Brock Landt

Nick Yarran

Lucas Jellyman-Turner

Nate Paredes

LIVESTREAM PREVIEW

The scene is set for another blockbuster clash between St Mary’s and Waratah in the qualifying final at TIO Stadium.

And the NT News will be there to livestream all the action exclusively for you from 6.45pm, Saturday.

In last year’s finals series the two sides traded wins, but it was St Mary’s who won the final that mattered and lifted the premiership cup.

Waratah got their payback in the Round 1 rematch embarrassing their rivals with a 101-point beating.

It looked like another beating would be delivered in Round 17 when Tahs started with a flourish, but Saints dug in and won by a single point on the buzzer.

And just two weeks later the teams are meeting once more each wanting to get the upper hand knowing it puts them one step closer to premiership glory.

St Mary’s have a talent everywhere from Dennis Dunn winner Jackson Calder to midfield aces Nate Paredes and Dylan Landt.

Waratah and St Mary's are set to meet in the NTFL elimination final. Picture: Celina Whan / AFLNT Media

But talent is not an area Waratah are lacking in with Dylan Collis one of the season standouts, while Brodie Carroll and Jayden Magro can always make a difference.

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.