What we learned from Round 16 of the 2023-24 NTFL season
Three sides remain tied at the top of the table all still in contention for the NTFL top spot, while the race for fifth between PINT and Buffaloes. Check out the key Round 16 talking points.
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After a thrilling Round 16 three sides sit tied at the top of the NTFL table, while the race for fifth is on with PINT and the Buffaloes tied there.
St Mary’s, Nightcliff, Buffaloes and Southern Districts were the winners in the Men’s Premier League, while St Mary’s, PINT, Buffaloes and Districts won in the women’s comp.
Check out the big talking points from the round.
Fight for the top spot
Three sides remain in the hunt for the minor premiership as we close in on the final two rounds of the 2023-24 NTFL regular season.
Nightcliff Tigers, St Mary’s and Southern Districts are all currently sitting tied with 44 competition points, with fellow top five teams Waratah and PINT now slightly off the pace.
The former two are the favourites to take the top spot as Districts have a Round 18 bye to contend with, with a top three finish and a finals double chance now their major goal.
St Mary’s again proved they are one of the most dangerous offensive side when they dispatched reigning premiers Waratah by 43 points at Gardens Oval.
The Green Machine, led by best and fairest favourite Dylan Landt, dominated possession and later goals despite missing the likes of Joel Garner and Jackson Calder.
And with Palmerston and Buffaloes being their remaining matches they will back themselves to win out and retake the top spot come the end of the season.
Meanwhile, Nightcliff have the hard route home with top four sides Districts and Waratah among their remaining foes.
The Tigers again proved themselves the league’s best defensive side, holding fifth-placed PINT goalless for the first three quarters of the match.
For them the goal is to beat Districts, who will be going all out for their final chance of getting points on the board and securing the finals double chance ahead of Tahs.
And while Nightcliff could still win both matches, percentage compared to St Mary’s, who have an easier run in, could play against them.
As it stands Saints are the favourites to take the minor premiership, but however it plays out it promises to be an exciting race for the top spot.
How important is Motlop to PINT?
Former Geelong and Port Adelaide player Steven Motlop has been a revelation in the back line for PINT this season, and his importance was made more obvious with his Round 16 absence.
The Greenants succumbed to their third defeat in a row against the Nightcliff Tigers, leaving their shot at a first ever final’s berth in a temporarily precarious position.
Without Motlop the side lacked go forward for the majority of the encounter, not scoring a goal for three whole quarters.
Now a side is never just one player, but Motlop brings AFL big game experience and knows how to inspire his side when they’re caught in this sort of position.
That was proven in their come from behind win against Waratah, where they were left in a similar positon for the best part of three quarters, before somehow beating the reigning premiers.
Down back he has been aided well by Harrison Maher and Brad Ryan, who once again performed well against Tigers, while Connor McDonald and Warwick Williams are standouts in the midfield.
PINT did struggle before Motlop made the proper move down back and properly gelled down there, with two heavy early season defeats against Districts and St Mary’s.
However, since the Round 7 bye the Greenants have arguably been one of the form defensive outfits with the 60 points they conceded in Round 16 the most since then.
This Motlop-led defence has kept PINT in every encounter no matter how their forwards perform, and yet they’re not themselves making an impact without getting the goals.
He helps provide some go forward from down back, but if the side are to make a finals impression they will need to get goals on the board.
As it stands they’re on level pegging with the sixth-placed Buffaloes, however percentage and the fact they will be playing Palmerston in Round 18 is in PINT’s favour to go to finals.
Do or die for Buffaloes
The Buffaloes are now on level pegging with fifth-placed PINT, but for them it all gets harder if they want to push on.
As mentioned above the Greenants now only have Tiwi and Palmerston in between them and a historic first stint at the NTFL finals where percentage could come their way.
While the Double Blues have two do or die tests against top five sides St Mary’s and Waratah, where piling on the points will come second to winning.
Their most realistic shot of making finals is to hope PINT drop their game to Tiwi, and even the Buffs have to beat two sides they were comfortably beaten by last time around.
But if these wins do come, who will get the Buffaloes there?
Jarrod Stokes will be crucial, his ability to switch on the after burners racing out of the midfield is second to none in the league.
Nick Yarran has also had a great first season in the side, while Baxter Mensch is an absolute ball magnet and both need to be on song to take on these upper table sides.
Buffs aren’t lacking talent down back either with Kevin Maroney, Bradley Stokes and Nathan Stewart all consistent performers.
But as with PINT it comes down to goals scored as the Buffaloes are a side prone to missing the big sticks when they need the points.
However, they do have strong representation in the goal tally with Daniel Stafford (fifth), Hassan Ahmat-Watkins (11th) and Jarrod Stokes (14th) all within the league’s top 20.
This is the time for the Buffaloes to turn up as any loss will be the death sentence for their season.
PINT women continue winning ways
The Queenants bounced back from a draw to continue their undefeated season with a dominant victory against the Nightcliff Tigers.
The Tigers ran the reigning premiers real close last time they met all the way back in Round 2, chasing down PINT’s early score to scare the top dogs.
However, PINT completely dominated this time around playing one of their best games of the season fresh after second-placed St Mary’s brought the fight to them in Round 15.
Pivotal to their dominance was the Greenants ability to lock Nightcliff’s known performers such as Gabrielle Deller, Ashanti Bush, Sophie Hatzismalis and Maighan Fogas out of the contest.
Meanwhile, Cassie McWilliam and Mickayla Ward were kept goalless in a performance they know they will need to kick it up a gear from.
Nightcliff have one of the best squads in the competition, and put out plenty of their best, but it speaks volumes of the quality of PINT that they largely got held at bay after half time.
Jasmyn Hewett showed her skills again, after missing last week’s encounter against Saints, while Reni Hicks, Stella Ajuni and Kate Atkins were also big performers.
PINT have two matches remaining against Tiwi and Palmerston ahead of finals, and being one game ahead of Saints they will be confident of their chances of taking the minor premiership.
As well as that they stand a large chance of securing the leading goal kicker award for Steph Lawrence, on 57 goals, who is 20 majors ahead of Emma Stark.
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