NTFL 2023-24: Watch St Mary’s vs Waratah Round 2 livestream

St Mary’s fought back after trailing all night to achieve a famous NTFL victory against reigning premiers Waratah. WATCH THE REPLAY.

St Mary’s achieved a famous NTFL victory storming back from the brink against reigning premiers Waratah, after trailing all afternoon.

The sides have enjoyed an intense rivalry over the past two seasons, and this match lived up to the occasion with plenty of goals and a fair few heated moments.

But while Waratah led by almost 30 points at half time, the Green Machine plugged away and eventually came out on top as the 14.10 (94) to 13.13 (91) winners.

Tahs took control immediately threatening Saints goal constantly with the big threats of Darcy Hope, Jayden Magro and Anthony Munkara, while the busy Lachlan Cassidy scored the opening major.

Waratah dominated in the midfield through Arnold Kirby, Ed Morris and Brodie Carroll taking control in the midfield, and their run and carry burned Saints for pace.

Skipper Dylan Landt injected some pace and eventually found parity for Saints, giving their forwards something to work with, but the absence of Jackson Calder was felt in front of goal.

Jack Landt and Jack Musgrove had their shots, but much like in the opening round the Green Machine missed some crucial starts.

Nate Paredes goaled first for Saints, on the back of an impressive midfield battle, while new recruit Tex Korewha displayed his talents too.

New Waratah captain Dylan Collis was busy in the back line and put the pressure on Saints forwards as matters started to get heated between the rivals.

Waratah's Jayden Magro was deadly in front of goal for Waratah. Picture: Courtney McCabe / AFLNT Media

Tah’s ill-discipline did come back to bite them as the game wore on, as they gave opportunities away allowing Saints to keep themselves in the match.

But every time Saints looked to be back in the contest Waratah struck back whether through a Magro score or a thrilling Kurley Silver banana snap, until the margin bloated to about 30 points.

The Saints skipper was inspirational late in the game, moving further up the ground and finding gaps to provide for his forwards, while getting on the end of some moves for himself.

It was around the three-quarter break Saints finally scored consecutive goals with Landt, Korewha and a speedy Beau Tedcastle all scoring.

And while Magro and Munkara were still putting their hands up on the opposite end, Saints finally went ahead when captain Landt speared the ball in from 45m out, 17 minutes into the final term.

Dylan Landt was absolutely everywhere for St Mary’s in the second half. Picture: Patch Clapp / AFLNT Media

The Tahs never stopped coming, and Cassidy did temporarily put his side ahead once more late in the piece, but more scoring on the opposite end a Jesse Jesson spoil sealed the Saints’ comeback.

“It’s a great feeling knowing we were down at half time, but there was plenty of belief in this group that we could get the win,” Landt said.

“We were just a bit cleaner in the second half, we knew we had the run in our legs so we just had to hit our targets and we had better entries into the forward 50.

“All our forwards were moving really well late, we were all creating a bit of space as holes opened, but overall I think the whole team worked a lot better than last week.

“The belief was there to get the win and to do it over Waratah, who are a really good team, sets up our year really well, but it’s only Round 2 so there’s plenty of work to do.”

Score:

St Mary’s: 2.4 5.5 9.7 14.10 (94)

Waratah: 4.4 9.7 11.10 13.13 (91)

Goals:

St Mary’s:

Dylan Landt 4

Tex Korewha 3

Beau Tedcastle 3

Nate Paredes 2

Xavier Vallejo

Maison Staas

Waratah:

Jayden Magro 4

Darcy Hope 2

Toby Hutt 2

Lachlan Cassidy 2

Anthony Munkara 2

Kurtley Silver

Best:

St Mary’s:

Dylan Landt

Tex Korewha

Beau Tedcastle

Xavier Vallejo

Jack Landt

Waratah:

Lachlan Cassidy

Jayden Magro

Arnold Kirby

Brodie Carroll

Dylan Collis

Preview

Reigning premiers Waratah will put their fit-and-firing forward line to the test against St Mary’s, who need their first win of the year, at TIO Stadium

And the NT News and KommunityTV will be there to stream every moment of the spectacle from 4pm Saturday.

There’s been a growing rivalry between these two sides over the past two seasons, with St Mary’s beating Waratah in the 2021-22 grand final.

The Tahs got their revenge the following year beating the Saints in the qualifying final on their way to ultimately winning the premiership.

Waratah and St Mary's will clash in Round 2 of the 2023-24 NTFL season. Picture: Celina Whan / AFLNT Media

LOOKING FOR ANOTHER GAME? FIND THE LINKS TO ALL ROUND 2 GAMES BELOW

The stakes aren’t quite as high in this Round 2 encounter, but it is Waratah who hold the cards at this stage having absolutely smashed Districts in the season opener.

Their forward line is full of weapons, including Anthony Munkara and Jayden Magro, and will be a challenge for any side to defend.

Meanwhile, forward power is where Saints lacked in the season opener with their premier goal scorer, Jackson Calder, missing with injury for much of the match.

Instead, they struck 5.14, unable to make the most of the work of their elite midfield, an issue they will have looked to rectify mid-week.

Full replays of the match will be posted here following the game’s finish.

The NT News and AFL Northern Territory have come together in a partnership to livestream both the Men’s and Women’s Premier League games for this TIO NTFL season.