2025-26 NTFL live stream: Tarryn Thomas set to play for Southern Districts v Nightcliff Tigers in Round 9
Nightcliff more than proved their credentials as they ended Southern Districts’ remarkable 17 game winning streak in a match played with finals intensity. Watch the REPLAY here.
The Nightcliff Tigers weathered plenty of comeback surges to snap the 17-game winning run of the reigning premiers Southern Districts in Saturday’s blockbuster clash.
The Crocs had won their past 17 games, back to Round 8 of last season against St Mary’s, who they would go on to beat in the grand final.
They didn’t get to play Round 8 this time around, after Cyclone Fina hit the Top End, but their star-studded outfit – even with new inclusion Tarryn Thomas – were always going to be threatened by Nightcliff.
The Tigers tore apart St Mary’s on their last outing with defensive suffocation were disciplined once again as they beat the Crocs 11.9 (75) to 9.14 (68) despite the premiers attempts to come back.
WATCH A FULL MATCH REPLAY ABOVE
Thomas was playing his first game of footy since 2023 after being sacked by AFL club North Melbourne.
He largely played across the forward line, showing his proven ability in the marking contest, but found it difficult against a no-nonsense Tigers defence led by Ryan Nyhuis and Nathan Brown.
Districts fired out of the midfield comprising of Jed Anderson, Quinton Narkle and Matt Johnston giving plenty of first use from their dual talls of Matt Dennis and Wyatt Ryan.
Former Gold Coast Sun Hewago Oea was another busy contributor bringing plenty of pace to the Crocs unit.
But despite kicking the first goal of the match through Dylan Barry, they struggled to maintain early momentum.
Nightcliff stayed in touch throughout, producing their own majors, while Brodie Filo, Riley Baldi and Mitchell Trewhella took on the midfield challenge and that discipline saw their intensity rise.
And despite missing some of their midfield stars such as Brandan Parfitt, Peter Politis and Lachlan Tardrew they were able to hold their own in the clearance battles.
Tensions flared as a nod to the importance of the match and there were several scuffles, while Anderson would have been kicking himself for a couple missed chances early in the second quarter.
Nightcliff took better advantage of opportunities, with Brett Kennedy and Boyd Bailey among the scorers, while an electric over the shoulder snap from Lewis Rinaldi in the third got the them going.
However, a quick one-two punch from Anderson and then Barry got Districts back into range and an 80m shot from Matt Shannon that bounced through with support from Beau Schwarze turned the game on its head.
Nightcliff kept their nerve, with their younger players in Wade Derksen while the roving-ruck Marly McGregor was lively throughout.
In fact, McGregor kicked two goals in two minutes late in the third that extended the Tigers lead to 20 points, showcasing both his marking and kicking prowess in the process.
However, a moment of ill-discipline would have been painful for Nightcliff as a sling tackle allowed Districts quick entry and a great Anderson mark resulted in a goal on the three quarter time siren.
The Tigers regrouped across the break with McGregor goaling within a minute of the fourth quarter and kept their discipline when they needed it most.
Nightcliff tried to slow play down as the minutes ticked down but the Crocs continued to challenge despite momentum going against them.
Steven Motlop was prolific throughout the late charge but two late scoring chances that didn’t eventuate into goals ultimately ended their chances of a comeback.
“It’s pretty insane to beat them, we knew what we needed to do and that we could beat them one on one, so we just focused on that rather than them,” McGregor said.
“We just played our game and kept our discipline, and that came down to defending hard, telling other blokes to defend hard and playing four quarters of footy while not slacking off.
“Shot accuracy played a huge role, particularly showing in their first quarter and we just executed better.
“I’ve taken a few games to really get into season and that was the special game I’ve been holding out for, that’s going to be great for my confidence.
“But that’s great coming off a disrupted week for everyone, we couldn’t train at our oval in the week because of the cyclone so trained at the beach and then St Johns where the grass is long on Thursday.”
Score:
Nightcliff: 1.2 4.5 8.7 11.9 (75)
Districts: 1.4 2.8 6.10 9.14 (68)
Goals:
Nightcliff:
Marly McGregor 3, Mitchell Trewhella 2, Wade Derksen 2, Boyd Bailey 2, Lewis Rinaldi, Brett Kennedy
Districts:
Matt Shannon 3, Jed Anderson 2, Dylan Barry 2, Beau Schwarze, Jordan Johnston
Best:
Nightcliff:
Mitchell Trewhella, Marly McGregor, Lewis Rinaldi, Riley Baldi, Ryan Nyhuis
Districts:
Jed Anderson, Matt Shannon, Connor Giddings, Hewago Oea, Beau Schwarze
PREVIEW
Two of the NTFL’s heavyweights in Nightcliff and Southern Districts are set to battle for supremacy on Saturday with the addition of another former AFL player to the Crocs line-up making it a must-watch matchup.
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 NTFL coverage.
WHY TO WATCH
Last time these sides met the Tigers dominated the first quarter, but the Crocs eventually found their pace and went on a seven goal run to claim a strong victory.
They’ve remained unbeaten since, despite a big test against Waratah in round 7, and are set to unleash former North Melbourne midfielder Tarryn Thomas for his football return in the wake of Cyclone Fina.
The sacked ex-Kangaroo is expected make his first competitive appearance in more than two years when he lines up for a Districts already well-stocked with top level talent.
Matthew Johnston was the standout player against Waratah and his ability around the ball alongside the likes of Jed Anderson and Quinton Narkle will be key to securing another big victory.
The Crocs are one of the most well balanced sides in the competition, with quality players across every line that are capable of doing damage.
The Tigers are known for their strong defence, which they showed in spaces in their recent win against St Mary’s, and will need a another strong defensive outing against the Crocs.
Riley Baldi, Brandan Parfitt and Brodie Filo are all known for getting plenty of the ball while Peter Politis often appears as a point of difference player setting up an enticing midfield battle.
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: Tarryn Thomas set to play for Southern Districts v Nightcliff Tigers in Round 9
