NTFL 2023-24 live stream: Watch Tiwi Bombers vs Darwin Buffaloes Round 5 on Saturday

Darwin shot out to a big early advantage and dared Tiwi to run them down. The Bombers certainly made life interesting at times but couldn’t reel in their undefeated opponents. Re-live the action.

An inaccurate Darwin Buffaloes did enough to maintain their unbeaten run as they held off an, at-times, impressive Tiwi Bombers.

The Double Blues remain the only undefeated side in the 2023-24 NTFL season after beating Tiwi 15.16 (106) to 11.10 (76).

It was all one-way traffic for Buffaloes early on with proven performers Jarrod Stokes and Baxter Mensch getting plenty of the ball in the midfield.

But despite their dominance, the Buffs were let down by their kicking and struggled to put the game to bed

However, Tiktok sensation Tom Baulch, playing his first game for the side in the season, did nail four goals early.

Tom Baulch kicked four first quaretr goals for the Darwin Buffaloes. Picture: Celina Whan / AFLNT Media

The Bombers didn’t get much at all through those early contests until young gun Thaddeus Puautijimi made a strong intercept mark, finally reversing the play.

Brendan Kantilla was the benefactor there, and shortly after Patrick Heenan would kick a belter through the sticks to keep the contest alive.

The big frame of Daniel Stafford worked his way into the action thereafter kicking three goals in the second quarter to extend the margin.

But Tiwi’s defence, led by former GWS and Bulldogs player Sam Darley, did better as the match wore on, forcing Buffaloes to make mistakes in front of goal.

Stanley Tipiloura was also impressive surging out of the midfield alongside Kim Kantilla and Karlson Kantilla.

Buffaloes though held strong in the contest, while Bradley Stokes was impressive on the smother late in the piece.

“I love coming back to play with Buffaloes, it’s the most fun I’ve ever had playing footy and the boys are the best mob,” Baulch said.

“They’re so welcoming to new blokes, we have a great group of fly ins so it’s a super exciting time, we sit four and zip at the moment but we have a few really tough opponents to come.

“The big focus was playing to our structure and making sure we slowed it down every now and then, it turned into a bit of a shootout at times and that’s something we need to work on.

“I’ll play as many games up here as possible, I love the footy and vibe, I love coming up here to help expose the game as much as possible and hopefully more good players will come up as a result.”

Score:

Bombers: 2.1 6.2 7.5 10.10 (70)

Buffaloes: 5.8 10.9 11.14 15.16 (106)

Goals:

Bombers:

Brendan Kantilla 2

Jason Jr Puruntatameri

Kim Kantilla

Patrick Heenan

Ross Tungatalum

Michael Thompson

Darcy Lang

Gibson Turner

Edward Puruntatameri-Dunn

Buffaloes:

Tom Baulch 4

Daniel Stafford 3

William Munkara 2

Christopher Williams 2

Ishmael Palmer

Nick Yarran

Jarrod Stokes

Hassan Ahmat-Watkins

Best:

Bombers:

Brendan Kantilla

Sam Darley

Karlson Kantilla

Patrick Heenan

Stanley Tipiloura

Buffaloes:

Tom Baulch

Baxter Mensch

Bradley Stokes

Nick Yarran

Kevin Maroney

PREVIEW

The Darwin Buffaloes are the only unbeaten side left in the NTFL, but a Tiwi side full of running will be gunning to put an end to their run on Saturday afternoon at TIO Stadium.

And the NT News and KommunityTV will be there to stream every minute of the game from 2pm.

The Buffaloes have unveiled plenty of exciting interstate talent this season, including Baxter Mensch, Ryan Pendlebury and former AFL listed players Mitch Robinson, Rhys Mathieson and Blake Coleman.

And those big inclusions, alongside clever signings, such as Nick Yarran, and established stars, including skipper Jarrod Stokes, have helped the side remain unbeaten so far.

But in order to maintain their current streak they need to get by a Tiwi Bombers outfit who have proven they are well up for the contest this season.

When they get to play their way, the Bombers can put points on anyone, and points are what they need against the Double Blues.

The pacy Kim Kantilla will be key coming out of midfield, while there are plenty of other contributors who can chip in with a score when needed.

Full replays of the match will be posted here at the end of the game.

The NT News and AFL Northern Territory have come together in a partnership to LIVE STREAM both the men’s and women’s Premier League games for this TIO NTFL season.