NTFL 2024-25 live stream: Watch Palmerston Magpies v Nightcliff Tigers in Round 8

Boyd Bailey had a field day in front of goal as Nightcliff kicked a season-high 18 goals in the 78-point demolition of struggling Palmerston. Catch up on the REPLAY.

The goalkicking accuracy returned and points piled up as Nightcliff heaped yet another heavy defeat on Palmerston in their NTFL Men’s Premier League clash on Saturday.

The Magpies have had a difficult time of late facing some of the toughest sides in the competition and had another 100 points laid on them from Nightcliff.

The score eventually blew out to 18.14 (122) to 6.8 (44), with the Tigers doing most of the damage with a 39-point opening quarter.

The Palmerston on-field gradual improvement showed signs of a better future and while the Magpies maintained its defensive cohesion, they again failed to strike in the front half.

The 78-point loss was not a true reflection of the home side’s performance as they contained the onslaught in the second and last quarter, but let the visitors run riot during periods of the first and third.

In a frenetic start to the game, it was Palmerston that did all he early attacking but just couldn’t penetrate the rock-solid Nightcliff defence until Ryan Warfe pounced five minutes in.

However, when Boyd Bailey squared the ledger a minute later it proved the catalyst for Nightcliff to shift into top gear – firstly it was Tyler Wallace (two goals), Petros Politis (two goals) and Bailey with two more of his own and in a flash, Palmy trailed by 36 points at the first break.

Boyd Bailey playing for Nightcliff in the 2024-25 NTFL season. Picture: Celina Whan / AFLNT Media

Tiger midfielder Brodie Filo feasted despite multiple taggers and although Bailey booted another, Palmerston had closed ranks and Traye Bennell, Brady Ferguson and Tyson Young formed a solid line.

A couple of goals to Hunter Lewis gave the Magpie supporters some reason for cheer.

And although Lewis got his third for the game in the opening minutes of the third, Bailey’s fifth and another from Jay Moody, who was allowed to simply stroll into an open goal, gave Nightcliff the advantage in the arm wrestle.

A seven goal to one term sealed the deal for the visitors, but two goals each in the last showed the Magpies were committed to the task despite never being able to realistically bridge the gap.

A key component of the water-tight Nightcliff defence was Jonathan Lanyon and despite copping a heavy head knock during the third quarter, the courageous running back shrugged it off and continued to press the ball forward.

“This is my fifth season up here and second at Nightcliff and while I’ve played a lot of mid and in defence, I’m pretty settled down back and really, it doesn’t worry me where I play,” Lanyon said.

“I copped a head knock but it’s just one of those things and was really only whiplash – when you’ve got eyes on the ball you run a bit stupid and sometimes get a bit of a hiding but that’s part of the game we all play and love.

“We had a bit of a lapse in the second quarter and probably went away from what we traditionally did in the first and sometimes it can happen when you get on top you tend to lose that defensive mindset. However, we’ve got Districts next week and can’t afford any concentration lapse.”

Score:

Palmerston:1.23.54.66.8 (44)

Nightcliff:7.29.416.818.14 (122)

Goals:

Palmerston:

Hunter Lewis 3, Ryan Wharfe, Matthew Payne, Shaun Wilson

Nightcliff:

Boyd Bailey 5, Petros Politis 3, Brodie Filo 2, Marley McGregor 2, Tyler Wallace 2, Zac Derksen 2, Jat Moody, Joel Budarick

Best:

Palmerston:

Traye Bennell, Matthew Payne, Connor Wright, Nathan Dowsett, Tyson Young

Nightcliff:

Brodie Filo, Jonathan Lanyon, Boyd Bailey, Alexander Paech, Petros Politis

PREVIEW

While back-to-back wins have settled a jittery Nightcliff, there is one part of their game they need to keep fine tuning - accuracy in front of goal.

The Tigers have only kicked more goals than behinds in two matches so far this season. Last week they were up to their old tricks again, kicking 14 behinds as they made hard work of seeing off PINT.

Standing in their way on Saturday are the Magpies, who have conceded 328 points in their last two games but will be out to make life as difficult as possible for their opponents.

The NT News and KommunityTV will stream every moment of the clash from 4pm.

The Tigers sit comfortably in the top five and will want to take full advantage of this match against a bottom three side to push themselves further up the table.

Check out the Saturday LIVE STREAM schedule below.

Ryan Nyhuis is back for the Tigers.

Traye Bennell has been in fine form.

Nightcliff are one of the better defensive sides in the competition, particularly with skipper, Ryan Nyhuis, back in the team.

So, it’s over to the attacking unit to start firing on a consistent basis.

Palmerston have the worst scoring record of any side, but in front of their home faithful they will want to turn matters around.

Cameron Nyko has been a standout performer all year while Traye Bennell was among the better players against St Mary’s last weekend.

The Magpies have at least some positive recent history on their home ground against the Tigers. Back at the start of the 2022-23 season, AFL superstar Eddie Betts made a special appearance and kicked five goals.

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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.

Originally published as NTFL 2024-25 live stream: Watch Palmerston Magpies v Nightcliff Tigers in Round 8