NTFL 2024-25 live stream: Watch St Mary’s v Nightcliff Tigers women’s grand final
A thrilling NTFL women’s grand final went down to the last kick of the game, with a heartbreaking finish for one side and a historic victory for another. Watch the REPLAY here.
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St Mary’s withstood an all out final quarter onslaught from the Nightcliff Tigers, including an after the siren shot on goal, to complete their first women’s premiership in more than a decade.
Saints came in on the back of a 16 game winning streak, with the favourites tag theirs to own, as they sought revenge for last year’s grand final loss.
But the nerves of the occasion ensured the match was a tight one, with a spurt of goals in the second quarter the only time Nightcliff weren’t laying siege on the Saints goalposts.
Nightcliff had all the breeze at their backs as they had all the possession late in the piece and almost stole the match at the death when Lucy Northcott had a shot lined up.
However, the weather had other ideas and the ball went spiralling by meaning Saints won by just a point in a 3.5 (23) to 2.10 (22) scoreline.
The Saints were incisive out of the middle early in the thriller, but their own inaccuracies meant they weren’t able to get a major.
Northcott made a momentum turning tackle on Saints’ star defender Janet Baird that turned the play in favour of the Tigers.
However, Nightcliff, despite some great interplay and brilliant marking, were unable to get it through the middle sticks themselves. going in a quarter time ahead only on points.
Inaccuracies would be the bane of the Tigers for most of the match despite giving themselves plenty of opportunity to score.
Again though the Tigers came using their midfielders such as Georgia Johnson and Sophie Hatzismalis from down back to lock the ball into the forward 50 again.
Fleur Davies, who successfully appealed a suspension midweek, was the crucial target upfront first scoring from a 50 and then finding herself in space while on the run for a second.
Those moments took advantage of some ill-discipline from the Saints outfit and ensured Nightcliff could put pressure on the scoreboard.
But Rising Star winner Shakaila Gardiner-Dunn ensured her side never trailed going into the break with three goals of her own for the quarter.
That would be all the majors scored for the entire match and for her trio of goals Gardiner-Dunn would go on to win the best on ground medal.
Nightcliff didn’t stop chasing from then on, bringing all the fire off Sally Evans’ workrate and tried to work the likes of Gabrielle Deller and Hannah Garland into the contest.
Nightcliff had a shot from Evans post siren at three quarter time that went wayward too, while the points kept coming late as they locked Saints into their defensive zone.
For all their efforts and bountiful chances Nightcliff were unable to get it through the middle sticks and though they played brilliantly to deny Saints any rebound they couldn’t do enough to win.
Nikita Long kept Cassie McWilliam very limited while Nadia von Bertouch was supreme with her marks to deny many a push forward.
When it mattered through the crucial final minutes the Saints defence clamped down on their foes with Janet Baird and Emily Forshaw among many giving effort after effort to repel Nightcliff.
The Tigers dug in though and proved they will be a side to be watched for years to come with their never say die approach lasting right to Northcott’s final kick.
Instead it went to a delighted Saints side winning their first flag since the early days of the competition in the 2009-10 contest and earning redemption for their defeat in last year’s big dance.
“I can’t put it into words, there’s so many emotions, I’m just so overwhelmed to have won this,” first year Saints captain Long said.
“Nightcliff came out firing, they’re such a strong side and I take my hat off to them it’s unlucky to be in their position but they worked so hard.
“But for my girls to hold them up the whole time, be composed when we needed to be and stick to our game plans to get the job done, I’m so proud.
“We’ve been on this for a few seasons now and I’ve seen the girls grow, I’ve coached a few of them in under-15s and now they’re up here with me, it’s just what the club is about.
“The girls have worked so hard all season, I’m just so proud of them all.”
Coach Ryan Smith was delighted with the win and said the resilience his side had shown while under constant siege was what had won them the game.
“Before the game we said we had earned this, last year we had a go but this year we’re here to take it, it went right to the wire but we took it,” Smith said.
“We had a game plan and it was up and down whether it work but one of our factors was shut their wings down and that went to play and helped us keep some of their key players quiet.
“But we also knew there would be a battle against their backs and they were strong forcing us to change a few things, and we managed to score the winning goals in the first half.
“There’s a strong group behind me and really strong leadership group in this side that was driven to get this club what it deserves, we didn’t think about each win they just started racking up and here we are.”
Score:
Saints: 0.2 3.2 3.5 3.5 (23)
Tigers: 0.3 2.4 2.5 2.10 (22)
Goals:
Saints:
Shakaila Gardiner-Dunn 3
Tigers:
Fleur Davies 2
Best:
Saints:
Shakaila Gardiner-Dunn, Nadia von Bertouch, Janet Baird, Paula Pavic, Nikita Long
Tigers:
Fleur Davies, Lucy Northcott, Gabrielle Deller, Breanna Pratt, Gracie Roy
PREVIEW
While a seriously impressive season has secured St Mary’s women a spot in the final game of the season, the Saints won’t take anything for granted against a Nightcliff outfit chasing a maiden premiership.
The NT News and KommunityTV will stream every moment of the NTFL women’s grand final from 4.15pm on Saturday.
The Saints proved they were the side to watch when they finally bested reigning premiers PINT twice in 2024-25 – once in the regular season and again in a huge semi-final result.
While it was revenge for a grand final loss 12 months before, it also showed the young talent in this outfit that has been many years in the making.
The Green Machine hadn’t been in a final since the 2012-13 season and hadn’t won one since 2009-10, but now they sit on a 16 game winning streak that needs just one more to cap it off.
The Ryan Smith coached outfit is brimming with talent, from the more experienced campaigners such as skipper Nikita Long and leaders Janet Baird and Billie Byers, to their younger stars.
Paula Panic has been a standout utility, whether in the ruck battle or further forward, while Rising Star winner Shakaila Gardiner-Dunn is one of many who can make an impact in front of goal.
“We’ve worked really hard to get those wins and I’m really proud of my girls, but we know Nightcliff are a tough side so we have to go out there and prove we want this,” St Mary’s skipper Nikita Long said.
“I’m really proud of our young women, they’ve shown they deserve to be in this year and they deserve to be playing out there.”
Baird, who has been one of the stars of the finals series, echoed those sentiments and said the side just needed to stick to what had worked so far.
“We just need to trust the process, we’ve worked really hard from pre-season and have been super consistent in the way we play and what our structures are,” Baird said.
“We trust our processes and how we can minimise the impact of their danger players, we know who they are and are aware of how we need to deal with them on the day.”
However, despite their ascendancy, coach Smith still considers his side as underdogs learning from every encounter.
“This year we’ve just kept it consistent and haven’t tried to change too much, we’ve tweaked a little to suit the opposition, but mainly stuck with what we’ve done for 16 other rounds,” Smith said.
“In a way we’re still the underdogs, we’ve had the wins but they’ve just been us getting the job done, each week is another challenge and we haven’t thought of ourselves as the top side.
“Beating PINT came down to mental courage and understand we’ve done the work, they’re tough and mature but we have a world of ability and skill which we finally unleashed in that last game.
“We’re always treating ourselves as something to improve, we know Nightcliff will be a tough match but we will put our systems in place and let our girls go out and play some footy.”
Nightcliff also earned their way into the Big Dance with a huge effort to beat PINT in the prelim final, finally overcoming the side with three of the past four premierships when it mattered.
This will be just the second time the Tigers have been in a grand final after their defeat to the Darwin Buffettes in the 2021-22, but have been thereabouts in the years since.
Skipper Hannah Turnbull alongside her club leaders Sophie Hatzismalis and Christy Landwehr have made a huge impact, creating a formidable backline as well as a great team culture.
And that culture has bred success with Gabrielle Deller and Sally Evans having huge impacts through the midfield, while Cassie McWilliam and Tshinta Kendall have starred in front of goal.
“We’re very excited, the groups up and about, there’s obviously nerves but everyone is locked in and focused to get the main prize,” Turnbull said.
“We’re carrying trying to get this first flag and trying to give back to all the women that came before us and built the path for us to get to where we are.
“It’s worked in our favour having those games leading up to the grand final, we’ve really been able to work our second halves, execute our skills under pressure and build momentum.
The Tigers had the early drop on St Mary’s in the qualifying final, leading at quarter time off the back of a couple of Mickayla Ward goals.
However, they couldn’t take advantage of that early lead and it’s the four quarter efforts in the weeks since against Palmerston and PINT that has given coach Anthony Rock some confidence.
“We’re pretty happy with our game style and the way we wanted to play, but we just weren’t sustainable for that last game against St Mary’s,” Rock said.
“We’ve had a fair bit to work on since then so we think we’re pretty well prepared now particularly around playing four quarters of footy.
“We’ve built a really united, strong list, we don’t really care who kicks our goals so long as we get them through the big sticks.
“We’re happy we’re the underdogs, I’m not sure I would want to go into a grand final on a 16 game winning streak, there’s nerves but we know if we stick to our style we have a good chance.”
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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