NTFL 2024-25 live stream: Watch St Mary’s vs Waratah in Round 12

The reigning premiers have slumped to their third-straight defeat at the hands of a ruthless Waratah that enjoyed a near-perfect opening half. Watch the full match REPLAY.

The reigning NTFL champions are in freefall as Saints mid-season slump continued in the New Year at the hands of a ruthless Waratah.

The red and white army were in full force at TIO Stadium, kicking out to better than a four-goal lead in the first quarter and maintaining that all the way to the final siren.

Bailey Scott was fantastic through the midfield, booting three goals for Waratah as they sent a clear warning to their premiership rivals with a 13.7 (85) to 6.15 (51) victory.

WATCH THE FULL MATCH REPLAY ABOVE

While the result was as much about Waratah punching their finals ticket, it truly shone a light on the fall of the reigning premiers who slumped to three-straight losses despite the return of their superstar captain Dylan Landt from injury.

The Saints were woeful on goal, incredibly finishing with more scoring shots than their rivals despite being on the wrong end of a 34-point difference.

If there was a telling moment of St Mary’s frustrations on goal, it came midway through the final quarter.

Saints full forward Jackson Calder managed to hit the post on three-straight attempts at goal, with the big man clearly showing the frustations of a tough run of form.

The current leader in the NTFL goal kicking stakes, Calder has hit a rare patch of poor form managing only two goals in his past three games - all three losses for the Saints.

In part it was the efforts of old nemesis Dan O’Dwyer in the Waratah defensive setup, while the return of Arnold Kirby to the ruck gave the Tahs plenty of go forward.

Alongside Scott the Waratah midfield was on top form giving hardly an inch to their foes as they completed the regular season double over the premiers.

Scott Carlin was at his consistent best alongside young gun Ricky Monti, while Riley Irvin had another strong game in the ruck battle chopping out well with Kirby.

St Mary’s looked like they had packed their ‘behind boots’ for the all-important clash, missing almost every opportunity on goal in the first half.

Top tier NTFL goal snipes like Jackson Calder, Kieren Parnell and Jack Landt all had their opportunities to convert, but the side was left to lament a run of eight-straight behinds as Waratah racked up a healthy lead at the other end.

It took Saints defender Luke Davies to finally stop the rot of missed opportunities, belting a screamer from the 50m circle to score the side’s first goal in the shadows of halftime.

By that stage Waratahs had already been well-served by doubles to Zach Sinnott and Tanner Lovell and enjoyed a handy five-goal buffer at the main break.

Score:

Saints: 0.2 1.8 4.11 6.15 (51)

Waratah: 4.4 7.4 11.4 13.7 (85)

Goals:

Saints:

Dylan Landt 2, Jacob Long, Jack Kluske, Luke Davies, Jaden McGrath

Waratah:

Clay Shadforth 2, Ricky Monti 2, Zach Sinnott 2, Bailey Scott 2, Tanner Lovell 2, Brodie Carroll, Scott Carlin, Maxwell Kelly

Best:

Saints:

Luke Davies, Kieren Parenell, Jacob Long, Dylan Landt, Josh Smithson

Waratah:

Bailey Scott, Tanner Lovell, Scott Carlin, Ricky Monti, Riley Irvin

PREVIEW

St Mary’s slumped to back-to-back losses in the lead up to the Christmas break and they’ll need a big shift in momentum to avoid making it three-in-a-row against Waratah.

The NT News and KommunityTV will stream every moment of this clash from 7pm on Saturday.

The Saints’ form slump coincided with an injury to their two-time Nichols medallist Dylan Landt, who they’ll hope can make a return for this face-off.

Even with Landt in the side the Green Machine faltered against Waratah last time these sides met, with the Tahs strangling in Saints in ever contest.

Though with a few weeks break the reigning premiers will be fired up to claim another win backing the talent they know they have.

Connor West has been one of the recruits of the season, Jack Landt has been among the most industrious players in his brother’s absence and Jackson Calder remains the leading goal scorer.

Jack Musgrove playing for St Mary's in the 2024-25 NTFL season. Picture: Tymunna Clements / AFLNT Media

But will they all, alongside their brigade of young small forwards, combine well enough to end Waratah’s five game winning streak?

Waratah have generally played well against St Mary’s in recent years using the likes of Daniel O’Dwyer to lock down Calder, and hinder that avenue of scoring.

Their midfield is also brimming with talent whether it’s the consistent Scott Carlin or newcomers to the side in Riley Irvin and Tanner Lovell.

This is a big match for both sides and with just two competition points separating them will go a long way towards deciding the top three.

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.