NTFL 2024-25 live stream: Watch Nightcliff Tigers vs Southern Districts Round 9 live
Chastened by their first setback of the season, Southern Districts bounced back to winning ways in some style against last season’s grand finalists. Watch the full match REPLAY here.
Southern Districts bounced back from their shock late collapse against St Mary’s with a smashing success over last season’s grand finalists, Nightcliff.
The Crocs tasted defeat for the first time this season last round, but quickly put that setback behind them to tame the Tigers.
While there was bite late in the Tigers performance, they were otherwise beaten across the ground when it mattered, with the Crocs finishing 14.12 (96) to 6.7 (43) winners.
Districts closed down gaps early, giving Tigers runners little space to work with and, as a result, interceptions were abundant.
Wyatt Ryan showed his prowess beyond the ruck as he imposed himself with an intercept, and it set the tone for Districts’ early dominance.
Steven Motlop, playing in the forward line, was the early benefactor in front of goal, while Beau Schwarze and Matt Shannon saw plenty of the action as well.
NTFL great Cam Ilett was back in the Tigers’ outfit for the first time since Round 2 and kicked the only goal of the opening quarter.
However, his return was cut short when he went down injured and was forced to come off the field in the second quarter, not to return.
It came in a second period where Districts were almost in free flow getting the ball out of their midfield through their plethora of midfield standouts.
Will Sexton, Jed Anderson, Jake McQueen and Shannon were among those feeding freely off the ball earned from twin rucks Wyatt Ryan and Matt Dennis.
Sometimes it wasn’t just their own kicking it their way as Tigers’ Peter Politis, who brought effort into the middle, mistook the direction as he came out the middle and booted a point for Districts.
The Districts back line was just as impressive with Jonathon Ross making the move down back to join Jordan Johnston and Connor Giddings, who both played pivotal roles in holding up the Tigers attack.
Nightcliff were better on the strike in the second half as Alexander Paech battled on in the midfield, while the likes of Ben Vile and Marly McGregor played strong defensive roles.
However, unlike the previous week where Districts struggled after a positive start, they kept up the momentum and were able to crack on as normal after the odd Tiger flourish.
It was then the importance of their defenders came to the fore allowing the rest of the field to find an extra gear and put any shadow of a doubt out of mind.
“It’s really good particularly to bounce back from last week, we were so good for so long but let it slip, so for us it was important to come out after half time and not let it slip again,” Giddings said.
“It gives us a lot of confidence going into these next two games ahead of the Christmas break, we needed the learning curve of last week to inspire this massive win.
“It came down to being better for longer, recognising when they might get a goal and staying up and about, locking them down, getting back to stoppage footy and taking territory.
“That’s the sort of stuff that we do best and once we start hitting the scoreboard again is when we really start playing our game.”
Score:
Nightcliff: 1.2 2.3 4.5 6.7 (43)
Districts: 3.3 8.6 12.9 14.12 (96)
Goals:
Nightcliff:
Adrian Scott, Cam Ilett, Joel Budarick, Jay Moody, Nelson Lane, Marly Mcgregor
Districts:
Steven Motlop 4, Matt Shannon 2, Beau Schwarze 2, Jye Bolton 2, Matthew Johnston, Mitchell Bidmade, Matt Dennis, Wyatt Ryan
Best:
Nightcliff:
Brodie Filo, Sean Hunter, Alexander Paech, Marly Mcgregor, Ben Vile
Districts:
Matt Shannon, Connor Giddings, Will Sexton, Jordan Johnston, Steven Motlop
PREVIEW
Southern Districts were beaten for the first time this season last round, but they need to compose themselves quickly to ensure the Tigers don’t get the jump on them too.
The NT News and KommunityTV will stream every moment of the Friday night showdown from 7pm.
The Crocs led for the majority of their match against Saints last week, but a second half surge, inaccuracies and ill-discipline all came to bite them by match end.
But a loss at this stage of the season isn’t always a bad thing, particularly if you’re still on top of the table, and Districts have the firepower ready to bounce back.
Wyatt Ryan continues to hit the ruck contest like no one else can, while Jed Anderson along with the rest of the midfield brigade know how to get the game moving in the right direction.
This is an outfit more than capable of big scores, but they will have to contend with a defensively strong Nightcliff playing on their patch.
The Tigers, in a twist from previous seasons, remain unbeaten on their home deck for the 2024-25 season and that’s a record they won’t want to lose.
Boyd Bailey brought some goal kicking accuracy to the side in their hit out against Palmerston last round, while Brodie Filo and Jonathon Lanyon racked up the possessions.
The Tigers sit in third as it stands, but a win here against the side sitting on top is a prospect they will very much want to achieve to build confidence heading into the back half of the season.
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.
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Originally published as NTFL 2024-25 live stream: Watch Nightcliff Tigers vs Southern Districts Round 9 live
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