NTFL 2024-25 live stream: Watch Nightcliff vs St Mary’s in Round 13

The Nightcliff Tigers made a big statement of their own as they grabbed a taste of grand final revenge and condemned Saints to a fourth straight loss. Watch the full match REPLAY.

The Nightcliff Tigers made a big statement in their return to Top End footy dominating the grand final rematch as they condemned St Mary’s to their fourth straight loss.

The grand final rematch had extra meaning for the reigning premiers St Mary’s, who were desperate to snap their form slump including losses in their three previous matches.

But it wasn’t to be as Nightcliff dominated each part of the ground despite their prolonged break to win 12.9 (81) to 7.7 (49), and climb into the top three for the all-important double chance.

Nightcliff were blistering in attack from the outset able to transition the ball from end of the field to the other in moments, with mids Sean Hunter and Brandan Parfitt both producing sensational showings.

Their pace and accuracy gave their options up forward plenty to work with, and while the goals came slowly at first debutant Blake Launer very quickly had two to his name.

The Tigers’ ability to beat create intercepts and overlaps sliced through Saints momentum with a hard tag on Dylan Landt stunting his influence.

Sean Hunter playing for the Nightcliff Tigers in the 2024-25 NTFL season. Picture: Celina Whan / AFLNT Media

St Mary’s wanted to make something of the occasion to mark the 100th game of their spearhead Jackson Calder, who had scored just twice in the previous three matches.

The small forward brigade including Xavier Vallejo and Thomas Dewsbury were busy in the big man’s service building pressure in the forward line.

And it eventually came off when a Domonic Grant tackled allowed the ball to pop into his hands for an early goal, but it was the only one for the milestone evening.

Nightcliff took full control from the second quarter as their route to goal was clearer than their foes, evident when Boyd Bailey ran a destructive line and kicked true from the 50m.

Bailey threatened like that all evening, as did Zackary Derksen and Fergus Greene who both popped up consistently in the forwards as a thorn in the Saints defence.

Those efforts were complimented by Nightcliff’s composure that spilled very few mistakes, and instead calmly allowed play to flow up the ground to their benefit.

Boyd Bailey playing for the Nightcliff Tigers in the 2024-25 NTFL season. Picture: Tymunna Clements / AFLNT Media

Josh Smithson was a shining light for the Saints winning the clearance battle when in the contest, while Jack Landt would go on to score three to keep his side’s hopes alive in dire times.

Though there were lapses of discipline and dropped marks that killed any chance of momentum, particularly for a side that thrives on building pressure.

And all the while Nightcliff just fought on dictating the pace of the game to their terms and disallowing any chance of a fight back.

“It’s great, we put in the work over the Christmas break and it showed out there in our ability to run over the top of them,” Hunter said.

“We wanted to win this one so we put our heads down, grit our teeth and fought right to the final siren of the game.

“For me it’s great to play alongside these experienced footballers like Parfitt who lead the way, it’s great to learn off these guys who have played that high end footy.

“Nightcliff’s a great club, everyone here has been super welcoming and I would love to come back after this season.

“I’ve had the call to join Peel Thunder in the WAFL, they asked if I would come over and have a crack, they’re coming off a premiership season so it’s pretty exciting to go into that side.”

Score:

Nightcliff: 2.1 6.4 9.6 12.9 (81)

St Mary’s: 2.3 3.3 4.6 7.7 (49)

Goals:

Nightcliff:

Jack Landt 3, Nick Yarran 2, Mitch Musgrove, Jackson Calder

St Mary’s:

Blake Launer 3, Fergus Greene 3, Zackary Derksen 2, Riley Baldi, Sean Hunter, Cody Nyhuis, Boyd Bailey

Best:

Nightcliff:

Sean Hunter, Brandan Parfitt, Boyd Bailey, Riley Baldi, Lachlan Tardrew

St Mary’s:

Josh Smithson, Kieren Parnell, Jack Landt, Jesse Touhey, Dylan Landt

Preview

If there was ever a time for St Mary’s and milestone man Jackson Calder to make a much-needed return to form, this is it.

Needing a win to snap an unfamiliar losing run and stay in the NTFL’s top three, the reigning premiers take on Nightcliff in a blockbuster grand final rematch at TIO Stadium.

The NT News and KommunityTV will stream every moment of this clash from 8pm on Friday.

Star forward Calder is set to play his 100th Premier League game and said the club had become an important place in his life.

“It’s super special to hit this milestone, coming up later in my career I didn’t think I would get to 100, but I’m proud to have done it at a special place like Saints,” said Calder, who has chosen to base himself in Darwin full-time.

Jackson Calder celebrating a goal for St Mary's against the Tiwi Bombers in Round 6 of the 2024-25 NTFL season. Picture: Pema Tamang Pakhrin

“The people are so welcoming, there’s a lot of culture and a lot of history there and we’ve been so competitive over the time I’ve been here, which is always great.

“It’s great to be able to kick goals and win accolades for that, but there’s so many other factors in that as in we have a lot of great players like Dylan Landt or Nate Paredes who make my job easy.”

Calder first came to St Mary’s from the Mornington Peninsula in the 2019-20 season after the club had received its first ever wooden spoon.

The spearhead would play an important part in their rise back to a grand final the next year along with another appearance the following season, losing both to Nightcliff.

But Saints would get their prize against Waratah in 2021-22, sparked by a Chaney Medal-winning performance from Calder.

His accolades extend to two premier league leading goal kicker titles and the most recent 2023-24 premiership, where St Mary’s finally got their title over the Tigers.

And it is fitting for Nightcliff to be the opponent in his 100th game on Friday night.

Saints come into the clash on the back of three-straight losses but Calder hoped he and his side could return to winning ways in the milestone match.

Calder himself has been down on form in front of goal having been held to just two goals across those defeats.

Jackson Calder playing in the St Mary's vs Tiwi Bombers match in Round 6 of the 2024-25 NTFL season. Picture: Pema Tamang Pakhrin

“It’s probably the first time since I’ve been that we’ve lost three in a row and something we need to bounce back from,” he said.

“We’ve had a few ins and outs in that time including Landt’s injury, but that’s no excuse, we’ve just got to, and we have been, stay positive as a group to get back.

“This will be a tough game against Nightcliff, we know that, because they have good players everywhere, but as with the old cliche we just need everyone to play their roles to win it.

“I would love to kick some goals of my own, it’s always a nice bonus, but if we win it I’ll be over the moon, that’s the main thing.”

Nightcliff will return fresh off the bye chomping at the bit to leapfrog into the top three.

Brandan Parfitt has been great in his return to NTFL footy, while Jonathan Lanyon and Brodie Filo have been among the league’s best whenever they run out in the yellow and black.

Co-captain Ryan Nyhuis is back in named for just his third game of the season after an early season break and will carry plenty of the workload in blocking Calder’s route to goal.

Watch the full replay 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.