What we learned from NTFL 2023-24 Round 2
An impressive first outing from Tiwi, a stunning milestone performance and a miraculous comeback were some of the big talking points from the latest weekend of NTFL action.
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An impressive first outing from Tiwi, a stunning milestone performance and a miraculous comeback were among the big talking points from NTFL Round 2.
St Mary’s, Buffaloes, PINT and Districts came out on top in the men’s premier league.
While the wins went to Buffaloes, St Mary’s, PINT and Tiwi in the women’s competition.
Read all the big talking points below.
Promising start from Tiwi
They didn’t get the win, but the Tiwi Bombers showed plenty of promise in their season opener against Southern Districts.
Time will tell if this side has improved from their showings over the past three seasons, all of which have ended in wooden spoons for the Bombers.
Their opening game of 2020-21 was a heavy 24.14 (158) to 14.10 (94) loss to Buffaloes, and the following year a big 16.13 (109) to 7.7 (49) loss to Palmerston.
There were positive steps made throughout the 2022-23 season, and they only lost by 20 points in their opening two matches against Buffaloes and Palmerston.
An argument could be made the current Southern Districts squad, coming off a grand final campaign and on their home deck is a tougher ask than any of the above fixtures would have been.
And so, despite the loss it’s impressive Tiwi managed to not only stay in the contest, but looked on to steal the win right to the end of the game.
This Districts side may have started their season slower than they would have liked, but any side with names like Jed Anderson and Matt Dennis is a serious ask to get the better of.
That speaks to the impact of guys like Brendan Kantilla and Brayden Rioli, who never stopped trying to make an impact.
And the reappearance of Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti would have had an impact on how this side inspired itself on game day.
There are more challenges ahead for this Tiwi side, but in their current shape they will be putting themselves in with a chance against Palmerston in Round 3.
Tigal’s fightbacks show fitness
The Nightcliff women could themselves slightly unlucky not have a win to name yet, from two incredibly tight games.
Against both St Mary’s and PINT they’ve conceded a big lead early on, but in each match they fought back to coming within a whisker of taking the win.
The Tigals were down 21-6 at halftime to the reigning premiers in Round 2, and ended up losing 22-21 at full time.
Similarly, in Round 1, they were down 36-12 to St Mary’s at half time, losing 43-34, and in both clashes only conceded a single point in the fourth.
It’s a testament to their fightbacks, but it’s also a sign Nightcliff need to work on their starts against these top sides, knowing their fitness can mix it with the best.
Nightcliff, despite being winless, know there’s a long season ahead and based on their opening results know they can take it to these sides when they meet again.
Meanwhile, PINT and St Mary’s are undefeated after two games each in the women’s competition and are the early sides to watch.
Waratah are another side in the running and have Jenna Singh Lippo who can turn any game on a dime on her day.
It’s a super close women’s competition between these top sides at the moment, and while Nightcliff are without a win know they are in the top four scrap.
Buffaloes the only undefeated side
They’ve not been perfect performances, but after just two rounds the Buffaloes are the only undefeated team left in the competition.
The Double Blue trailed for the majority of the opener against PINT, but stayed close enough to win late, and they again held off a late-charging Wanderers in Round 2.
These are both performances which proved the effort of this current side, but are probably games which they wouldn’t have closed out in recent years.
A lot of that comes down to the midfield, most importantly their skipper Jarrod Stokes who enjoyed a best-on-ground performance for his 200th game milestone.
When Stokes is on song burning his opposition with his explosive pace or booting goals he’s easily among the best players in the league.
Buffs have also made one of the signings of the season with Baxter Mensch joining the squad from Palmerston, and he was prolific again following his 41 possession first outing.
Kevin Maroney has been the poster boy down back consistently rising to the occasion, while Daniel Stafford has proved a valuable option in the forward line.
They’ve got a side full of talent and go into their bye round two for two, however they do have a tricky mid-season to navigate with all four of last year’s other finals sides to come.
Landt show at Saints
Nichols medallist Dylan Landt has started the 2023-24 NTFL season in red-hot form, and was the catalyst in St Mary’s defeat of reigning premiers Waratah.
St Mary’s trailed for much of the match, but it was the work of the newly-named captain, whether in the midfield or when he went further forward, which kept Saints alive.
Landt had a game high 32 possessions, made five clearances, eight inside 50s and scored four goals without a behind to steer his side to victory.
And his best on ground performance last year, as well as his 2020-21 NT News Player of the Year, stand as proof this was no fluke performance.
It was the inspiration his Green Machine needed to stand up and steal the win in the dying moments against a very good Waratah outfit.
Saints were also served well by the likes of Seth Harris, Nate Paredes and Tex Korewha and will need players like these to continue to step up in the early stages of the season.
It was Landt’s goal scoring pedigree more than anything else which led his side home, in the absence of their premier tall forward Jackson Calder, who was injured in Round 1.
Waratah fought hard but were punished by their ill-discipline in the pivotal moments, an area they were let down on at some stages of their premiership season.
REPLAY: Districts kick clear of willing Palmerston
The Crocodiles have picked up two big wins on the bounce, but they were made to work harder against the Magpies than what the scoreboard suggests. Watch the REPLAY.
REPLAY: Nightcliff get early jump to beat Wanderers
The Nightcliff Tigers set the tone early in their win against an in form Wanderers and ensured their spot in the NTFL top three ahead of the break. Watch the full match REPLAY here.