NTFL Season 2023/4

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ROUND 10
Second last round before the Christmas break - some cracking matches and big results. Nightcliff, far from an underdog, dished out a decent win against a St Mary's team that looked like they were rampaging. PINT and Buffs in a mid table clash to assert their right to 5th place, and PINT too strong. Tahs and Districts in a thriller at Gardens; huge result to beat them there. Finally, Palmy.... actually not too bad an end result considering the triple figure whallopings we're used to. Would have been scary being 1.5 at half time but thankfully Wanderers were only 5.9 too. Only 9 points at 3QT, then a 5.3 to 4.2 last quarter. Actually proud of the fight they put in, would be hard to keep your heads up after what they've been handed the last few weeks. Hopefully we can keep that up next week against Tahs at home and go into Christmas without being demolished

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Glorfindel said:
Apologies if answered before but stands for Player Points.
Not sure what the sitch is for NT but in Vic each club has a certain number of points they can use each match and players are attributed points based on how long they’ve been playing at that club, highest level played etc etc
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Thanks mate! Imagine there is a complicated blend of herbs and spices that makes up that formula
 
Unfortunately Magpies couldn't get job done just hope they don't fall away after Xmas if players drift away, Pints look like they will play finals which is an awesome achievement, nightcliffs backline is very very strong and Districts are a very classy team
 

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palmomagpie said:
Thanks mate! Imagine there is a complicated blend of herbs and spices that makes up that formula
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Yeah she’s a bit confusing sometimes haha.
Players lose a point/cost less each year they stay at the same club, and you’re worth more (on paper) if you’ve come from a team in the same league.
Basically designed to promote players staying at the one club and stop clubs bringing in a bunch of elite guys on dodgy deals that get around the salary cap.
 
ROUND 11
Missed posting this as I flew up to Darwin straight after the games were done and was on too many great northerns to do it on my phone. Round 11 was the final round before the 2 week Christmas break, with the only real surprise being Tiwi sneaking a 6 point win against Saints. Good to see them up and about now!

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ROUND 12
Unfortunately, after flying in to Darwin the day after Round 11 wrapped up, I flew out of Darwin the day before Round 12 kicked off. Probably a good thing for me though - Palmy looking likely to go a whole season without a win. Despite it being game 250 for NT legend and our captain, Phillip Wills, we couldn't get the job done against a Tiwi Bombers side that have now won a few on the trot and look really good.
PINT defeating Waratahs comes as a bit of a shock, especially as they were goalless at half time. Saints got the job done in an ugly contest with Southern Districts, and Nightcliff dished out a hiding at home against Wanderers.

The ladder looks exciting, with only 1 win separating 1st and 5th. Should be a thrilling finals series that anyone could grab; Tiwi are definitely one to watch as they start to get on a roll. Don't think Buffs will be able to do it unless they stack up on big recruits, and Wanderers just need to concentrate on not letting us win a game (don't really need to try there unfortunately).


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Despite a good start no finals for buffs this year, pints are 2 games and percentage ahead with an easy run home, great effort by greenants finals in their second year. Saints still the favourite but finals will come down to who has a good lead up and who plays well on the day. Tigers not getting much publicity but capable of going all the way, districts very talented but don't gel enough.
 
IKE TURNER said:
Palmy have sacked their coach
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Yeah not sure how to feel about that tbh. He was a pretty passionate coach but the club is just falling to crap and unfortunately he's the scapegoat. We need to go out there and find a big name that can lure some recruits or else we're just going to go backwards.
 
Definitely a shame, put in the hard work and left no stone unturned but still winless and bottom of ladder bit worried palmy coaching job might be a poisoned chalice
 
IKE TURNER said:
Definitely a shame, put in the hard work and left no stone unturned but still winless and bottom of ladder bit worried palmy coaching job might be a poisoned chalice
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For sure - considering the growth of Palmy, it's always been a mystery we've struggled for players at the club - doesn't matter how good a coach is, if he can't get the players then it's always going to be a struggle. I guess with most of Darwin being so close, the extra 10 minute drive to Marrara or Gardens doesn't hurt people. All through my junior years, we'd have REALLY strong junior squads winning flags in the 14s, 15s, 16s and 18s, but only 1 or 2 of those players would make A grade, and the rest would drop off completely or run to other clubs the second they're old enough for senior footy.

Fingers crossed the club already has a decent replacement in line and aren't just sitting back hoping someone approaches them. We've gotta get a coach who knows how to work with the young fellas, and develop the locals, with a long term plan. We can't rely on journeymen as they just don't stick around for the rebuild
 
IKE TURNER said:
Sometimes when a coach is sacked the team comes out all guns blazing for the next game- not Palmy: 30 goal loss, probably their worst one this year, they only managed a solitary goal
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Yeah I looked early in the 2nd quarter and it was 70-3 or something like that and I knew it wasn't going to end well. NTFL really needs to step in and help Palmy & Wanderers - it's not just a short term issue, besides last year where we started well and crashed, we've been a basketcase for years.
 

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ROUND 13

A week of blowouts - not the most entertaining round.

As above, Palmy fail to respond to the sacking of coach Heath and instead get absolutely obliterated - it's not the 300 to 8 that we saw from Waratahs against Buffs in 2008 era, but it's still bloody shocking. 203 point losses, at home mind you, you don't bounce back from easy, 28% on the ladder after 12 games. Might as well throw a stack of kids in the team for the last 4 games for some A grade experience - I know that's what happened for me when I was a young fella, our season was shot and Russell Jeffery just threw about 6-7 of us in from the 18s. On to Buffaloes next week and hopefully at least a bit of pride.

Wanderers fans are probably feeling as bad as Palmy right now - 111 point loss, only 1 goal against PINT. The extra team in the PL reeling in the limited Darwin talent certainly doesn't help Wanderers or Palmy get on the up.

In the other games, Tahs knocked back the surging Bombers and handed them a 10 goal hiding. Districts then pummelled Buffs at home on Sunday to basically lock up the top 5 now. Nightcliff, Tahs, Saints, Districts and PINT there for numbers.

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Yeah top 5 is settled finishing in the top 3 will be more important than ever this year, Tiwi might cause an upset before season ends, wanderers palmy and buffs won't use anymore fly ins will save their money and give young blokes a game
 
IKE TURNER said:
Yeah top 5 is settled finishing in the top 3 will be more important than ever this year, Tiwi might cause an upset before season ends, wanderers palmy and buffs won't use anymore fly ins will save their money and give young blokes a game
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I wouldn't mind if Buffs do that, and then Palmy absolutely load up this weekend so we can at least get 1 win for the season. Other games are against Districts, BYE, Saints and then PINT at their home ground, so it's our last remotely decent shot.
 
ROUND 14

Some big games for the top 5 teams as we approach the end of the season. Districts and PINTS in an absolute thriller at Norbuilt resulting in Districts pushing 1 win ahead of the Greenants and Tahs (they have played an extra game though) to clutch onto 3rd for now. Buffs no surprise gave us a whalloping - I was honestly just impressed we kept it below 100 points. The floodgates opened a bit in the last quarter with Buffs kicking 9.6 to our 4.2, but gotta take that. We have Districts, Bye, St Mary's and PINT to go now, so I don't expect the new few weeks to be a relaxing end to the year. Buffs still mathematically can make finals- 3 wins behind PINT but have Tiwi (basically an elimination final for them), Wanderers, Tahs and Saints; whereas PINT have Saints, Nightcliff, Tiwi and then us. Would take a miracle but these things can happen. Tiwi copped a back-off from Nightcliff who have claimed top spot by 4 points and 3% - but expect Saints to make that up with a big win against PINT next week after dishing out a 117 point hiding to Wanderers. You'd have to say - Wanderers are just lucky we are so shocking this year otherwise there'd be a much larger spotlight on them.


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ROUND 15

Another round done with no real major surprises. Tiwi and Buffs played a great close game, with Buffs sneaking the win and keeping within a minor sniff (1 win and 26%) of PINT and a top 5 spot. Saints and PINT battled out a low scoring slog on Saturday arvo, with Saints probably just a tiny bit disappointed they couldn't build some % to gain on Nightcliff during the bye. PINT are definitely showing they're not just there to make up the numbers and there'll be no easy finals wins for anyone. The remaining 2 games went as expected, Tahs flogged Wanderers at Gardens on Saturday night; 65 points is probably more of a win for Wanderers than it is for Tahs - though once Districts have their bye, Tahs can pip 3rd from them. Palmerston rolled over for Districts and copped, yet another, over 100 point loss. Pretty sure we'd be breaking all the wrong records this year - most 100 point losses, first season without winning a single game to start with. The NTFL needs to get in and support it's struggling clubs because it's not a good look having clubs like Wanderers and Palmerston (and Tiwi usually) just be % boosters every year. I know they're solution will be "lets just throw some money at BANKS to join the league and further dilute the talent" but hopefully Palmo is 100% in there asking for help. Either way, I've never looked forward to a BYE more than I am next weekend; at least I don't need to logon to PlayHQ and see us getting mauled for 2 weeks now

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Correct me if I'm wrong, I know there is some good club people at Palmy and Eagles but I don't think there is enough. Running a successful footy club is a big job and it's all hands on deck going in the same direction, I know that riot Palmy had after the game last year did damage I know a sponsor and some families that never went back, wanderers are struggling in juniors women's and men but too much is left for too few to do. At the other end of the scale Pints are showing these two clubs how it should be done: 4 mens teams on the paddock every week which is nearly 100 players and their women's and juniors are thriving
 
IKE TURNER said:
Correct me if I'm wrong, I know there is some good club people at Palmy and Eagles but I don't think there is enough. Running a successful footy club is a big job and it's all hands on deck going in the same direction, I know that riot Palmy had after the game last year did damage I know a sponsor and some families that never went back, wanderers are struggling in juniors women's and men but too much is left for too few to do. At the other end of the scale Pints are showing these two clubs how it should be done: 4 mens teams on the paddock every week which is nearly 100 players and their women's and juniors are thriving
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Yeah I think a lot of the long term helpers backed off over the years due to lack of appreciation and violence associated with the club. Not sure how they earn them back - there's a good 30-40k people in Palmy they need to tap into - but current results are just pushing them further away. When I was there it always felt like two clubs - Premier League team and then the ressies/womens/juniors were all a separate entity. Only seems to have escalated from there
 
ROUND 16
Peaceful week for me not having to see Palmy cop a massive loss.

In terms of actual games played, there were some crucial fixtures to help shape the finals race. Friday night footy at Gardens Oval had 4th place Waratah up against 2nd place St Mary's, with only 4 points separating them. However, somewhat despite ladder position, Tahs surprisingly were outclasses by Saints at home and went down by 43 points, dooming Tahs 8 points away from 3rd. The Landt brothers dominated again and Collingwood VFL player Sam Glover kicked 4 to put Saints in a strong position to wrestle top spot from Nightcliff.

However, a day later at DXC Arena, 5th placed PINT hosted 1st placed Nightcliff. Unsurprisingly, Tigers ran off with a 34 point victory to hold firm with their spot on top, and kept PINT to just 3 goals. Only 6% seperates them and Saints at the moment, so the next 2 weeks should be massive for both clubs. Unfortunately for Nightcliff, Saints play Palmy next Saturday at TIO, so a fair bump to % will be gained there unless they can do the same to Districts at Nightcliff Oval on Saturday afternoon. PINT are in danger of losing their top 5 spot now.

Districts however are also on a fair charge at the moment, demolishing Tiwi at Gardens Oval by 64 points and locking themself into 3rd place. Ex WCE and GWS player Jarrod Brander kicked yet another bag of 7, with WAFL gun Jye Bolton being named best on ground. Tiwi are now locked into 7th spot regardless of what the next few weeks entailed, which is a great improvement on where they were forecasted. Hopefully it's onwards and upwards from here.

The final contest was between Darwin and Wanderers out at Cazaly's Arena/Palmerston. No shocks there - Buffs smashed them by 68 points, pushing themselves onto 32 points, even with 5th place PINT (but a solid 15% lower).

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THE RUN HOME (ROUNDS 17 and 18)

With only 2 games left, the league is in a fairly exciting position where only 3 wins separate 1st and 6th, the top 3 all on 44 points, and 5th and 6th locked on the same points and a bit of %.

NTFL Finals
The NTFL runs on a top 5 system. Top spot gets a week off to start.

Finals Round 1:
EF: 4th vs 5th | 2nd vs 3rd QF1 | 1st Bye
Finals Round 2:
QF2: 1st vs Winner of QF1 | EF2: Loser of QF1 vs Winner of EF
Finals Round 3/Preliminary Final:
PF: Loser of QF2 vs Winner of EF2
Grand Final:
Winner of QF2 vs Winner of PF

Run Home:

1. Nightcliff Tigers - 44 points - 196.95%
R17 vs Southern Districts H@Nightcliff Oval | R18 vs Waratahs H@Nightcliff Oval
Tough run for Nightcliff against 2 teams striving for a top 3/potentially top spot. Both games at home helps, but St Mary's will have them nervois. They have the advantage of being the last game in R18 and will know St Mary's fate just as their match starts.

2. St Mary's - 44 points - 190.33%
R17 vs Palmerston H@TIO Stadium | R18 vs Darwin A@TIO Stadium
Huge chance to make up the required 7% this weekend by dishing out a whalloping to Palmerston, fresh off the bye and with 2 more weeks to drag through. Big game in R18, also at TIO (despite being away) to Buffs, who will be fighting for a spot in the 5. I reckon we'll see St Mary's pip Nightcliff for top spot at the last hurdle.

3. Southern Districts - 44 points - 174.22%
R17 vs Nightcliff A@Nightcliff Oval | R18 vs Bye
Their fate will be left up to other fixtures as the season closes out. Huge chance to make a statement and essentially seal off a top 3 finish by beating Nightcliff, who would in turn be up against Tahs a week later with a lot more to prove. I don't see Tahs overtaking them but can't rule it out.

4. Waratah - 36 points - 176.91%
R17 vs Darwin A@TIO Stadium | R18 vs Nightcliff A@Nightcliff Oval
Much like Districts, this weekend is their big chance and should be a considered a knockout final. If they beat Buffs, they should all but lock up 4th spot. A loss to Buffs and then Nightcliff could be a doomsday scenario which sees them miss finals. Expecting a win this season to seal their finals and then a loss in R18.

5. PINT - 32 points - 108.84%
R17 vs Tiwi Bombers A@TIO Stadium | R18 vs Palmerston H@DXC Arena
Ending their season with matches against bottom 3 sides is the ideal finish. Wins in both games and results going their way could see them slide to 4th, which really has no bearing in Round 1 of the finals as they'll be up against Tahs (or maybe Buffs) either way. Expect a tough game against Tiwi before an easy finish at home to Palmy before finals. I would be extremely shocked if they dropped either of these games and let Buffs overtake them.

6. Darwin - 32 points - 93.33%
R17 vs Waratah H@TIO Stadium | R18 vs St Mary's H@TIO Stadium
Two home games to finish, with a do or die match this weekend against Waratah. Win and their finals hopes are still alive, lose and they would need a weekend of miracles in beating Saints and Palmy beating PINT to make the finals. Don't see it happening but the Buffs are a fantastic team who always fight until the end.

7/8/9. Tiwi, Wanderers and Palmerston cannot mathematically make finals.


Leading Goalkicker Race:

Not only is the ladder tight to finish the season, but so is the leading goalkicker. 2 goals separate ex Eagle and Giant Jarrod Brander and legend Jayden Magro. Brander will be hoping for another bag this weekend; unfortunately for him it's against the Tigers.

1. Jarrod Brander - 61 Goals - Southern Districts
2. Jayden Magro - 59 Goals - Waratah
3. Jackson Calder - 48 Goals - St Mary's
4. Jonathon Ross - 40 Goals - Southern Districts
5. Daniel Stafford - 32 Goals - Darwin
 
ROUND 17

And there we have it -the top 5 is all but confirmed heading into the final round, with final placements still up in the air. PINT would need to be demolished by winless Palmy and Buffs to demolish Saints by never before seen margins to recover the 4 point and 26% gap between them.

Darwin and Waratah played off in an absolute cracker of a contest, with a combined 251 points scored between them. Dan Stafford snagged 7 for Buffs but it wasn't enough to get them over the line. They were in front with 12 minutes left of the 4th term, before Tahs whacked on 2 goals 2 behinds to snatch the win and keep themselves within a sniff of 3rd place (with Districts having the last round bye, it's up to Tahs now where they finish). The loss locks Darwin in 6th spot.

Nightcliff and Districts also played a close game, with Nightcliff getting the better of them and sealing their top 2 finish. The Tigers will now look ahead to next week against Waratah, aiming to get a last round home win. If they can, and if Buffs can shock St Mary's, then Nightcliff finish 1st and claim the week off. Southern Districts have the bye to finish the H&A season so will just watch on in hope that Nightcliff at least keep Waratah away from 3rd spot and the cushion of a qualifying final.

The other games for the weekend went as expected - PINT flogged Tiwi by 99 points as they make their charge towards the finals. They'll head into the week 1 elimination final high on confidence after a good win against Tiwi and what should be a cruisy flogging of Palmerston this weekend.
St Mary's shocked nobody by walloping Palmy by a modest 165 points. Jackson Calder kicked 9 goals, and by watching the game highlights, it was just a fun training session for Saints. Credit to Palmy for still rolling up each week and trying - fingers crossed they snag a new coach who can turn things around on and off the field.

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Leading Goalkicker Race:

1. Jarrod Brander - 61 Goals - Southern Districts
2. Jayden Magro - 61 Goals - Waratah
3. Jackson Calder - 57 Goals - St Mary's
4. Jonathon Ross - 40 Goals - Southern Districts
5. Daniel Stafford - 39 Goals - Darwin
 
ROUND 18 - END OF HOME AND AWAY SEASON

And just like that, the season is over. A season of misery for me and the other Palmy fans after we've gone all 16 rounds without a win and a % of 27.23 to finish the year.

Wanderers managed to snag some pride to end their season, beating Tiwi by 12 points in a slow game at Tracy Village. Whilst not the year they'd have hoped for at all, at least they battled hard to the end. 7th place finish for Tiwi isn't too bad considering the past few years, so they'd be happy to be on the up.

Saints (fresh off having Marmalade play in their Div1) absolutely thrashed Buffs in their final game to really push away on top. Buffs were always going to lose this, especially after they were knocked out of finals contention. Saints will now enjoy a week off before playing off against Nightcliff or Tahs for a spot in the GF.

PINT did what they needed to against Palmy - a good 51 point win at home to ensure strong form heading into their knockout final this weekend. Palmy - well, thank god this year is over. 3 goals 11 behinds to finish the season is shocking, but at least it's 14 scoring shots. Fingers crossed the boys lick their wounds quickly, hit the track early with a new coach and can gain back some pride.

The final game was the big one - Tahs overcoming Nightcliff. Not only did it knock Nightcliff back to reality, but it pushed Tahs into 3rd spot and into a qualifying final. Honestly a bit of a shock to see 2nd place Nightcliff lose at home, but you can never rule Waratah out. With just a 17 point difference at 3QT (20 to 37), Tahs kicked 4 goals to Nightcliff's 1.4 to finish the match, and season strongly. A strong statement ahead of their rematch next week.

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Leading Goalkicker Race:

1. Jayden Magro - 63 Goals - Waratah
2. Jarrod Brander - 61 Goals - Southern Districts
2. Jackson Calder - 61Goals - St Mary's
3. Jonathon Ross - 40 Goals - Southern Districts
3. Daniel Stafford - 40 Goals - Darwin
 
FINALS WEEK 1 - PREVIEW

For anyone interested, after last years success of having the grand final televised on Kayo freebies, the NTFL has done the right thing and signed a broadcast agreement with 7 to have all bar 2 of the mens finals televised on 7 Plus (not televising the Districts and PINT final NOR the winner of Districts/PINT vs loser of Nightcliff/Tahs). At this stage, I'm not sure if this requires you to change your location to Darwin to watch or not - I'd assume not though.

More info here: NTFL partners with Seven Network ahead of 2023/24 TIO NTFL Finals Series

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