2025-26 NTFL live stream: Watch Nightcliff Tigers v Darwin Buffaloes in Round 4
The stacked Nightcliff Tigers held on at their home deck to see off the challenge of a fast-finishing Buffaloes. Watch the full match replay FREE.
A stacked Nightcliff Tigers have claimed victory in their first home match of the season holding off a Buffaloes side that went on a final quarter rampage.
The Tigers welcomed back some of their star players such as Brandan Parfitt, Ryan Nyhuis and Riley Baldi for their home return.
Despite a late flurry of Darwin Buffalo goals, an inaccurate Nightcliff did enough to outlast the Double Blues, and the home side recorded a 14.13 (97) to 9.8 (62) victory.
The game began in a frenzy with Buffaloes first to score through half-forward Michael Cooper at the three-minute mark, but Cruz Polkinghorne equalised for the Tigers one minute later.
The Buffaloes continued to gather plenty of possession in their front half but against the run of play, a coast-to-coast running effort by the home side found big man Edward Dayman who marked and goaled from 45m.
And when Riley Baldi kicked truly, Nightcliff went to the first break holding an 11-point advantage.
A strong mark and goal to Nightcliff forward Boyd Bailey in the opening minute of the second got the Tigers up and running in the best possible manner.
The home side continued to press forward but poor returns on goal and some stout Buffaloe defence by Nathan Spry, Jackson Clark and Bradley Stokes kept a lid on the scoreboard.
Both sides fumbled their way through the third and while Nightcliff remained wasteful in front, they went to the last break with a 40-point lead.
Two goals inside a minute of the opening of the last to double blue flyer Cooper and another to key-forward Brodie Foster had the Darwin supporters on edge.
A Nightcliff steadier to Samuel Comensoli was some relief for the home side but when Tom Simpson goaled for Darwin it was game on again.
However, Ben Vile’s second was the match sealer for Nightcliff and they finally ran away to a satisfying 35-point win.
The victory squares the win loss ratio at two each for the Tigers and that was the incentive for the strong performance according to Geelong AFL premiership player Brandan Parfitt who returned to his home club after a season in the WAFL with the Perth Demons.
“I’ve been on holidays for the last three weeks so I’m not in the best condition and today’s game was tough against a quality side, but my objective was to get some run in the legs and gain some chemistry with the boys and the hard run was just what I needed,” said Parfitt.
“Buffaloes had a crack all day which is what we expected, and we were a bit fumbly but were still on top for most of the day although our inaccuracy in front was a downside.
“It’s tough in the NTFL because every week brings something different so it’s important to get wins on the board early. And if we keep on banking these wins against quality sides, it sets us up for the post-Christmas phase of the season.”
Score:
Nightcliff: 3.25.89.1114.13 (97)
Buffaloes: 1.32.43.79.8 (62)
Goals:
Nightcliff:
Boyd Bailey 2, Ben Vile 2, Edward Dayman 2, Cruz Polkinghorne, Riley Baldi, Mitchell Trewhella, Petros Politis, Brodie Filo, Lachlan Tardrew, Blake Launer, Samuel Comensoli. Buffaloes:
Michael Cooper 3, Brodie Foster 2, Lachlan Gill, Tom Simpson, Darcy McGragor.
Best:
Nightcliff:
Edward Dayman, Mitchell Trewhella, Blake Launer, Nathan Brown, Brandan Parfitt. Buffaloes:
Luca Geue, Nathan Denes, Tom Simpson, Jake Denes, Michael Cooper.
PREVIEW
Nightcliff has been given a major boost ahead of its first home match of the NTFL season with AFL premiership player Brandan Parfitt and VFL midfielder Riley Baldi set to pull on the yellow and black.
The Tigers will take on the Darwin Buffaloes and every moment of the match will be live streamed from 4pm on Saturday by The NT News and KommunityTV as part of our season-long coverage.
Parfitt, a Nightcliff junior, returned the club last season after his delisting from Geelong and had an instant impact with the outfit unbeaten in the regular season games he played.
The 27-year-old hasn’t stepped off the gas since, playing for Perth in the WAFL with 12 best player nods from 19 matches and a frequent ball-winner.
Other returning players include Baldi, from the Casey Demons, along with co-captain and former Fremantle Docker Ryan Nyhuis.
Meanwhile, Edward Dayman from Wangaratta and Sydney Swans Academy player Khy Gibbs will make their first appearances for the Tigers premier league side.
Coach Leigh Crossman said the true potential of the team was beginning coming together now they are on the other side of their Round 3 bye.
“With the bye we knew we would be slow starters so the squad is starting to get towards full strength with a little bit to go still,” he said.
“We’re talking about some real quality coming in, they’re great players but more importantly for us is they’re great people.
“Parfitt is a Nightcliff junior and that lines up with Jack Peris returning to the club this year, these guys are returning to our club and is a sign of a strong footy club and good place to be.
“They’re here for the right reasons to build our community and this weekend at home is exciting, we play before the women who have started really strong too and shows our club is in a great place.”
The Tigers showed the promise of a top side with an intense opening quarter that took reigning premiers Southern Districts by surprise two weeks ago.
But it wasn’t a dominance they were able to maintain, and now post-bye it’s a four-quarter effort they will require to get the better of the Darwin Buffaloes.
The Tigers scored four goals to one in that first quarter against Districts, but were only able to equal that scoring for the remainder of the match.
VFL team of the year player Kye Declase was a standout in that Round 2 match with four goals to his name, however the Tigers won’t have his services against the Double Blues.
But will have Lachlan Tardrew again, who is a consistent standout in the midfield.
The Buffaloes had a heavy defeat themselves to Districts last round, but aren’t a side Crossman is taking lightly with the likes of Jarrod Stokes and Tom Simpson always a threat.
“We caught Crocs a little off guard, they started slow and got a rev up at quarter time and then that second quarter kicked seven to one, which is where they won,” Crossman said.
“They kicked straight and we didn’t and as we always say bad kicking is bad football, but yeah we’ve got a lot of respect for Districts and the quality they can put on the park.
“We know sides up here change each week but there is a bit of hope that on our day we know we can match them.
“For Buffs, they started 2-0 and then came up against Crocs on a Sunday, which is tough for anyone, so we won’t take them lightly and are fully expecting them to be strong again.”
HOW TO WATCH
The NT News, KommunityTV 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.
On game day, the live stream for this match will appear at the top of this story in the lead up to the first bounce.
To find other games from this round click the links in the schedule box above.
Alternatively you can head to www.kommunitytv.com.au and use the video player at the top of the site to watch all the action live and scroll through the most recent replays.
Only News Corp Australia full digital subscribers will have exclusive access to watch the action.
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Originally published as 2025-26 NTFL live stream: Watch Nightcliff Tigers v Darwin Buffaloes in Round 4
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