NTFL 2023-24: Watch PINT v St Mary’s women’s grand final live stream
The PINT women have achieved dynasty status after winning their third premiership in four years against a Saints side that showed plenty of heart in a gripping finale. Relive the action.
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PINT have regrouped to regain the lead late in the final quarter of a thrilling grand final against St Mary’s and make it three premierships in four years.
The Queenants had gone unbeaten all year, with their only blemish coming in a draw against St Mary’s back in Round 15 setting up an enthralling grand final contest.
And though they went down late in the piece after letting a 12-point halftime lead slip, they won the match 4.3 (27) to 3.4 (22).
The younger Saints side constantly brought the fight to PINT, proving themselves as a side which will be talked about a long time into the future.
The side playing in their first final in 11 years and going for their first premiership in 14 were actually the first to have a shot, but Grace Senior went low and the ball was touched on the line.
Instead, the trusty boot of leading goal-kicker Steph Lawrence was the first to register a major, working off the strong work of Carly Remmos and Jasmyn Hewett in the midfield.
They consolidated their lead in the second quarter off the boot of Kylie Lynch, while the oppressive defence of Lauren Motlop, taking marks on the goal line, and Kate Atkins kept Saints at bay.
But it was Hewett getting awarded a free kick on the 50, after catching a knee from Paula Pavic in the contest, which allowed PINT to build a significant 12-point lead at halftime.
Saints never bowed their heads and as the game wore on were able to get their marquee players Jo Miller and Danielle Ponter more time on the ball.
Pavic was another to have an outstanding match, making a contest of it in the ruck against the league’s best-and-fairest winner, and sometimes going forward.
Janet Baird and Emily Forshaw limited the opportunities that their rivals had, while Jemma Iacono was hard on the tackle, and suddenly all the pressure was coming from Saints.
Adelaide AFLW player Ponter, playing a roving role, had the Saints’ faithful on their feet when she knocked the ball through the posts.
But back-to-back misses to Pavic and Miller from kickable positions were moments that came back to bite hard.
However, Caitlin Sargent had two to her name, with her second with just minutes left on the clock sending her side ahead for the first time in the match.
For all their pressure, the one time where the Queenants broke through was the most telling of the match as Stella Ajani found Lawrence, who booted it through with her trusty right boot.
From there it was all about defence and, although the Green Machine never stopped coming, they couldn’t break through in the dying minutes.
Hewett was named best on ground for her performance, the third time she had received the honour in the NTFL.
“It’s unbelievable, I’m so proud of the girls, we really dug in when we had to, what an amazing win,” Hewett said.
“After Steph kicked that goal I knew the game was on, we just had to keep defending and the girls did just that and showed some unbelievable effort.
“That was one of the toughest games I’ve been involved in, we just had to get the ball first and get it forward, and credit to Saints they made it really hard and brought it to us.”
PINT coach Rick Nolan said his side were superhuman in their ability to grind the game back, with special mention to Atkins who was brilliant from centre half back.
“In that third quarter we didn’t kick a few we could have, but to grind it out was a superhuman effort from the girls,” he said.
“They train so hard, they’re a really good group, they love their footy and they’re very dedicated to it.
“Going for three in four years is what we talked about, we only had one side four years and now we three teams winning across the divisions, that’s a dynasty and that’s what we wanted to create.”
Saints coach Ryan Smith was disappointed by the loss, but saw this step into the grand final as the making of a side with an average age of just 21.
“I can’t be prouder, we know they’re a mature side, a bigger side and our girls turned it up with some outstanding performances and took it right to the siren,” Smith said.
“We had our moments, and when things didn’t go our way we played through it, the standards they set shows they’re role models for our women’s programs from under-10s up.
“We had an outstanding first quarter, they made the most of their moments in the second, in the third we stepped it up and then the fourth was a fight, which unfortunately didn’t go our way.
“The girls started something last year and we spoke about that if we won this one we would start a legacy, and we still did that. We’ll be a team to reckon with for years to come.”
Score:
PINT: 1.1 3.2 3.3 4.3 (27)
Saints: 0.1 1.2 2.4 3.4 (22)
Goals:
PINT:
Steph Lawrence 2
Kylie Lynch
Jasmyn Hewett
Saints:
Caitlin Sargent 2
Danielle Ponter
Best:
PINT:
Jasmyn Hewett
Kate Atkins
Carly Remmos
Zoe McWhinney
Erin Hetherington
Saints:
Paula Pavic
Emily Forshaw
Jo Miller
Janet Baird
Jemma Iacono
PREVIEW
They have been the trendsetters all season and PINT won’t want to slip up at the final hurdle against St Mary’s as a big NTFL women’s season comes to an exciting climax on Saturday.
And the NT News and KommunityTV will be there to stream every moment of the spectacle from 4.15pm.
PINT
PINT have been the benchmark team of the women’s competition across the past four seasons, winning two premierships in that time and staying unbeaten so far in the 2023-24 season.
They are a side filled with some impressive talent, from dual women’s best and fairest winner Jasmyn Hewett in the ruck right through to Reni Hicks, Carly Remmos and the season’s best goal scorer, Steph Lawrence.
St Mary’s are the only side to leave a chink in their otherwise perfect season after a Round 15 draw and Hewett was wary of their potential threat.
“We have such a great respect for St Mary’s, we’ve had some great battles with them throughout the year so we know it’s going to be tough,” Hewett said.
“For us it’s business as usual, approach this game as we would any other, but it’s going to be tough and we expect there to be a massive crowd.
“Everyone in our side contributes, we’re all one team and there isn’t anyone in our side who is better than anyone else, we all collaborate and that’s what brings the team together.
“There’s a lot of great players in the Territory at the moment and each year it just gets better. This year is no exception, we think the talent is better than any other year.”
PINT is a club with success all the way through their women’s program, not just finding success at the top level but in the other divisions, too, making the competition for spots all the tougher.
Queenants veteran Erin Hetherington said part of the reason the club had found so much success was their unwavering support for each other
And they also know they must have the intensity they have taken into the rest of the season if they are to win their third title in four seasons.
“We all love each other and we all love playing with each other, which is definitely a strength of ours,” Hetherington said.
“We’ve got large numbers at training and everyone contributes with our Div 1 and Div 2 sides also playing in finals this week, it’s just really good for the club and women’s footy.
“We’re so proud to be going for that third premiership, having seen where the club was when we first started in those tougher seasons and now to have this success, it’s such an achievement.
“We’ve just got to play our game and know what we’re capable of, we’ve just got to go out there and have confidence that we can play our game and get on top.”
ST MARY’S
St Mary’s are chasing their first premiership since the 2009-10 season.
The Green Machine won five of the first six women’s premierships.but have not played in a grand final for 11 years.
They are a side brimming with talent such as AFLW premiership player Danielle Ponter and the likes of Jo Miller and Paula Pavic in the ruck.
And they have a talented group of leaders, from vice-captains Jemma Iacono and Ciaralii Parnell to skippers Emily Forshaw and Billie Byers.
“We’re very excited, it’s been a long time and it’s a testament to our Women’s Premier League squad that we’re here,” Iacono said.
“Anything can happen playing finals footy, so we’re going to come out and give it our best shot, we’re going to take it to PINT.
“Going in there’s nothing to lose for us, we’re just confident in our players, our ability and the hard work we’ve done.
“We know they’re a strong team and that they’re very well coached by Rick Nolan, but if everyone steps up to the plate, we know we can win.”
Their coach, Ryan Smith, is no stranger to premiership success with St Mary’s and has taken plenty of his knowledge from the men’s side over to the women’s team.
Smith has brought a strong focus on commitment while also future proofing the club with an influx of young talent.
“The biggest thing has been the commitment, I’m extremely proud, I always expect a high standard and the girls have brought that all season,” Smith said.
“Even when we’ve had small lapses, the girls have been able to rebound quickly ad that’s a really big credit to the group we have this year.
“We have plenty of young talent coming through and that’s massive for me, but at the same time we have some really good leaders who are leading by example.
“Maturity will be key, sometimes the game can be played too much in the mind, so we’ve got a big focus on just keeping it simple and letting our hard work, fitness and skill set up the game.”
A full replay 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.
PREVIOUS ENCOUNTERS THIS SEASON
Round 5 – PINT won 6.5 (41) to 3.2 (20)
Both sides came into this encounter undefeated after the opening four rounds, but as they remained for the rest of the season, it was PINT who came on top.
Steph Lawrence had another busy day in front of goals, kicking four on her major rivals and confirming her early favouritism for the leading goalscorer award.
Paula Pavic and Billie Byers were busy and created chances for their side, but were unable to get the better of the league’s dominant outfit.
Round 15 – Draw 4.3 (27) to 4.3 (27)
Saints came in with a point to prove and came as close as any side to beating the Greenants.
It was also a night defined by free kicks, with the majority of the eight goals kicked coming directly after a 50m.
Saints were leading for much of the day building off momentum created by Danielle Ponter and Jo Miller, and were in front with less than five minutes to go.
However, the work of Reni Hicks through the middle and Carly Remmos, who was arguably best on ground in the second half, brought the Queenants back in touch.
From there, a 50m was given to Remmos as tensions flared, and it was enough to see the scores tied at the final siren.
Major Semi Final - PINT won 10.5 (65) to 4.8 (32)
The reigning premiers settled better and hung on to a sizable halftime lead to grab the first grand final berth.
Steph Lawrence and Hillary Grubb got off to perfect starts in the ruck, while the PINT midfield made the most of Saints missing one of their best in Jo Miller.
Danielle Ponter was unable to break free early on as the Queenants’ Kate Atkins and Zoe McWhinney put on the hard tag, though she did have an impact as the game wore on.
Billie Byers showed some individual brilliance late and Emily Forshaw had a strong game in the backline, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the early PINT onslaught.
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