NTFL 2024-25 live stream: Watch Southern Districts v St Mary’s in Round 18
It may have taken until the final quarter but Southern Districts corrected the only wrong of its 2024-25 NTFL campaign in a hard-fought final round win over St Mary’s. Watch the REPLAY here.
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Southern Districts broke free late to close out their dominant table topping campaign with a win over reigning premiers St Mary’s on Saturday.
The Crocs have no doubt been the best side in the 2024-25 season, but they still needed to right the blemish of their only loss coming at the hands of St Mary’s earlier in the season.
It was a tight tussle on Districts’ home deck at Norbuilt Oval, but it was in the fourth quarter where they finally spaced their foes on the scoreboard to win 10.12 (72) to 6.6 (42).
Crucially, though it was also a match sending off one of the legends of NTFL umpiring with Mark Noonan going out for the middle for the final time.
The minor premiers had the spark early on generating plenty of clearances from their elite midfield, which has received acclaim all season.
Jed Anderson, Jack Sexton and Matt Johnson were among those pushing the ball downfield to give their forwards something to use.
Steven Motlop was the big target there, alongside Jarrod Brander, and though they had their misses were able to build a lead for the Crocs.
Saints railed with their pressure game and bounced back in equal measure as Dylan Landt and Connor West brought their game.
Jackson Calder was the target man once again and he gave them the goals needed to push back to parity, though Connor Giddings played a strong tagging role on him.
Luke Davies was another lively Saint with some strong work out of the midfield from Nate Paredes.
Districts worked back to their strengths after the down period with a brilliant run down tackle from Brodie Lake disrupting Saints flow.
It was a turning point in the game where momentum swung back in the Crocs favour for the third with more quick points from Motlop.
A brilliant Sexton mark after moving further forward was another momentum turner as his goal got the Crocs tails up once more.
Wyatt Ryan was again a goliath in the ruck battle while Mitchell Bidmade and Beau Schwarze grew in influence as the side gained a foothold even against tired legs.
It resulted in a fourth quarter being the first in which the scoreboard end didn’t win the scoring and instead the Districts midfield had the run of matters.
The Crocs were finally able to shake off the pressure game of the Green Machine, and in a change from their last meeting were the better side at the death.
“We came here with a job to do against a great side who we have a lot of respect for, so it was good to get that job done and tick it off ahead of finals,” Sexton said.
“They have troubled us in the past but we thought about ourselves, we’re in good form and we know if we play to our strengths we can beat anyone.
“We know we have a few strings in our bow across our midfield that lets us be flexible, like I was able to go forward to add something a bit different late in the game.
“I’ve personally learned so much this year moving up and learning off guys like Jed, I don’t think there’s a better person to learn from, he’s the best player in the league.
“I love playing up here, I’ve done a few years here now but to do it with Will (Sexton) and live up here doing what we love is bloody awesome.”
Score:
Districts: 4.3 5.5 6.8 10.12 (72)
Saints: 2.1 5.4 6.4 6.6 (42)
Goals:
Districts:
Jed Anderson, Mitchell Bidmade, Connor Giddings, Jack Sexton, Steven Motlop
Saints:
Connor West, Dylan Landt, Luke Davies, Jesse Touhey, Kieren Parnell
Best:
Districts:
Steven Motlop 3, Mitchell Bidmade 2, Beau Schwarze 2, Wyatt Ryan, Jack Sexton, Will Farrer
Saints:
Jackson Calder 2, Domonic Grant, Jack Landt, Kobe Hodges, Dylan Landt
PREVIEW
A top three finish and the all-important finals double chance is on the line for St Mary’s as they aim to take down table toppers Southern Districts in the last round of the campaign.
The NT News and KommunityTV will stream every moment of the NTFL clash from 4pm on Saturday.
It sets the stage for a thrilling finish to the regular season and a clear cut match of the round as Saints aim to lock in their spot in the top three.
The reigning premiers can leapfrog Tiwi, who are on a bye, to third spot but the odds are against them needing to travel to the Crocs home at Norbuilt Oval to complete the job.
It’s also a battle between a few of the league’s top medal contenders with two-time Nichols winner Dylan Landt up against Southern Districts hopes in Jed Anderson and Matt Shannon.
Landt was integral last time these sides met leading the charge in the second half to deliver what is so far the Crocs only defeat of the season.
Saints goal scorer Jackson Calder was in great form last time out kicking 11 goals against the Darwin Buffaloes to confirm his leading goal scorer accolade for the year.
Districts have several goal scorers of their own with Steven Motlop, Will Farrer and Shannon filling out the remainder of the top four.
The Crocs have been near unstoppable since the Christmas break beating all the other finals bound sides with Waratah, Tiwi and Nightcliff all in second position at the time of meeting.
It also comes as a special occasion for umpire Mark Noonan who announced this would be his final game after 374 Premier League matches, in which he broke the NTFL grand final record.
Southern Districts have also partnered with You Can Sit With Me for the match, a program aimed at eradicating bullying and non-inclusive behaviour in schools.
The full match replay will be available at the conclusion 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.
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