St Mary’s captain Dylan Landt smashes NTFL record in Round 7

It was moment of shock for a St Mary’s captain and former Essendon VFL player when he smashed the record for most touches in an NTFL game. Read about his reaction.

St Mary’s skipper Dylan Landt has long been regarded as one of the top talents in the NTFL, since first making the trip up in the 2020-21 season.

He’s won everything including the 2022-23 Nichols medal, the 2020-21 NT News Player of the Year and most importantly the 2021-22 premiership.

Landt further confirmed his importance to Saints in Round 7 picking up a record breaking 56 disposals against the Tiwi Bombers in a best on ground showing.

And though he knew he had a decent game at the time he was shocked when he saw the numbers including 17 ground ball gets, 13 clearances, three score assists and two goals.

“It was a bit of a shock, you don’t really go out there to try and break records, you go out to play well, and when I saw that I was surprised because I didn’t think I got that many,” he said.

Captain Dylan Landt got 56 touches for St Mary’s against the Tiwi Bombers. Picture: David Bradley / AFLNT Media

“I knew I was involved in a fair bit but didn’t know I was getting that much of the footy, it was kind of all a bit of a blur.

“I used to count when I was younger, but not so much anymore, kind of takes the concentration away from what I’m trying to do and how I’m trying to help the team.”

The team first player who has previously played for Glenelg in the SANFL and Essendon in the VFL has an average of 30.6 disposals per game this season.

And with other midfielders out he had to step up and win the clearances for his forwards Jackson Calder and Tex Korewha, who each scored five goals in the 22.14 (146) to 10.13 (73) win.

It’s the fifth win in a row for his Saints who sit joint top of the table, but the 24-year-old who’s putting up numbers which may attract AFL attention is focused on post-Christmas form.

“We’re playing some good footy, I was fortunate enough to be involved in pre-season this year and we’re playing some exciting footy at the moment,” he said.

“We’ve hit the ground running since dropping the first game, but we know we want to be hitting form post-Christmas so we’ll keep building.”

Dylan Landt has been a standout for St Mary’s for the past four seasons. Picture: Celina Whan / AFLNT Media

Next up is struggling Palmerston, who are on the bottom of the table, but Landt knows his side have to approach the match correctly.

“Other teams are getting decent wins against them, but it doesn’t just happen, you can’t go in with the wrong mindset,” he said.

“We will go out there and play the same game we do against the top teams, and it’s also a good chance to play some of our younger guys and develop them as well.

“If I get more disposals then we will see that after but it’s not the focus.”