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

A huge defensive shift from the Waratah women held off an in-form St Mary’s in a rain-soaked qualifying final. WATCH THE REPLAY.

A huge defensive effort saw the Waratah women claim victory against an in-form St Mary’s in a rain-soaked qualifying final.

Saints came in the favourites having won 12 of their previous 13 matches, including a win over their qualifying finals rivals in Round 17.

But it was Waratah who came out the better in the wet conditions to win 6.4 (40) to 4.5 (29) keeping their finals double chance alive.

Adelaide Crows AFLW star Danielle Ponter who got the first clearance bursting out from the midst of the ruck battle to boot the ball deep into Saints’ forward 50.

Saints had all the pressure early on, but the conditions meant they had to work for every inch as the ball refused to bounce.

Billie Byers was busy around the ground as the Green Machine sought out the league’s leading goal kicker Kaitlyn Armstrong, but she struggled to secure the ball in the wet.

The ball eventually found its way into the hands of Katherine Dann who kicked true through the deluge to get the first goal of the day.

Waratah were quick to respond as veteran Lisa Miceli and Annabel Kievet found their footing in the midfield, while Lauren Pluker limited the influence of Ponter.

Skipper Kierra Zerefa was also busy and a crafty overhead from her found the hands of Steph O’Brien gave Tahs their first and a foothold into the match.

Despite Waratah’s best efforts Ponter was still hard to contain and she had a goal herself thanks to the service game of Nikita Long.

The rain poured in again come the third quarter, and it was then that Tah’s livewire forward Jenna Singh started to impose herself on the game.

Singh had been in and out of the side through the season, but in the wet showed why she’s so highly rated taking opportunistic goals just as her side needed them.

Saints did have their chances in the third as well and with the ball sticking in Armstrong’s hands they had their points as well, while Emma Stark was busy.

But it was then that the Waratah defence stood tall particularly Jordan Mifsud and Sharona Bishop who blocked most inroads Saints found.

That defensive effort alongside the stellar work of O’Brien in the ruck kept the Saints attacking options to a minimum.

And despite the best efforts of Ponter who tried to take on the contest by herself in the final quarter Saints couldn’t do enough to overrun Waratah.

Tahs’ coach Heidi Thompson was “delighted” with the result saying adjustments in how they dealt with certain match-ups was key to their win.

“Absolutely delighted with the win, we had a different game plan considering they beat us two weeks ago,” Thompson said.

“The match-up with Ponter was one we needed to get right after she ran over us last time, and I thought we did which alongside some other matchups was the difference.

“We were really lucky to have dealt with these conditions during training and that gave us a method in how to work around the wet ball.

“The ball didn’t skid along very well, it just plopped and you really had to read it. It came down to us keeping our feet better while Saints gave away some frees sliding into the ball.

“We go into next week confident from a great win, but know we’re up against it. PINT have had the week off so we have the match experience and final experience.”

Waratah will now face PINT in the major semi-final for a shot at qualifying for the grand final, while St Mary’s have a knock out semi-final against reigning premiers Darwin Buffettes.

Score:

Saints: 2.2 2.5 4.5 4.5 (29)

Waratah: 2.0 3.0 5.4 6.4 (40)

Goals:

Saints:

Kaitlyn Armstrong 2

Danielle Ponter

Katherine Dann

Waratah:

Jenna Singh 3

Laura Smith

Stephanie O’Brien

Megan Hunt

Best:

Saints:

Danielle Ponter

Billie Byers

Jemma Iacono

Paula Pavic

Kaitlyn Armstrong

Waratah:

Stephanie O’Brien

Jordan Mifsud

Sharona Bishop

Jenna Singh

Lauren Pluker

LIVESTREAM PREVIEW

Waratah and St Mary’s have a chance to settle the score when they clash in the qualifying final at TIO Stadium.

And the NT News will be there to livestream all the action exclusively for you from 2.15pm, Saturday.

St Mary’s have been a force to be reckoned with in recent times fending off all comers and losing only once in their past 10 matches.

Their surge has coincided with the appearance of Adelaide Crows AFLW player Danielle Ponter and goal kicking sensation Kaitlyn Armstrong.

They also came off the better of these two sides last time they met in a thrilling Round 17 encounter.

And it’s perhaps the closeness of that match-up which will have Tahs confident they can pull off the win this time around.

The St Mary's and Waratah women's side will clash in the 2022-23 NTFL qualifying final. Picture: Tymunna Clements / AFLNT Media

Waratah have been in the top two sides all season, and with some of their best making reappearances in the past couple of weeks the win is not out of the question.

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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.