Round 3 of the 2026 Big Rivers Football League season marked Tackling Indigenous Smoking Round, with a bumper weekend of football at Tindal Oval producing several standout performances.
The Katherine Camels celebrated their first victory of the season on Friday night in the womens division, defeating the Katherine River Saints by 39 points.
The Camels' midfield set the tone early, dominating possession and driving repeated forward entries as they built a 21-point lead by halftime. Any hopes of a Saints comeback were quickly extinguished after the break, with the Camels adding three more goals across the second half to secure a convincing win.
Elspeth Varley starred in a best-on-ground performance, while Chloe Sciancalepore, Shannon Marsden and Ascha Davies were influential contributors around the contest.
The Saints will look to respond when they face Katherine South on Saturday, June 13.
Eastside strengthened its position at the top of the ladder with another commanding performance, defeating the Crocs to further cement its premiership credentials.
A blistering first half, which yielded five unanswered goals, laid the foundation for the victory before Eastside piled on another seven majors after the main break. Jayde De La Coeur was outstanding with four goals, while Stella Justice Allen, Billie Byers and Vanessa Stokes all played important roles in the win.
Katherine South will now turn its attention to a Friday night clash against reigning premiers Arnhem Crows during the Barunga Festival.
The Crows continued their impressive start to the season with a dominant display against the Northern Warlpiri Mozzies.
Arnhem's potent attack produced 18 goals for the match, led by Denisha Koimala, who finished with six majors to move into second place on the women's leading goalkicker table.
Reigning 2025 leading goalkicker Angel Ahfat was again influential, thriving in a new midfield role that has seen her spend more time around the contest. Amitel Gordon-Bush and Jane McMeel were also among the Crows' best, while Georgina Runyu and Tegan Hindle each contributed three goals.
For the Mozzies, Jaylene Jurrah, Laweena Rose and Justin Blitner battled hard and were among their side's best performers ahead of this weekend's bye.
Friday night's clash between Katherine River Saints and Katherine Camels in the mens delivered one of the games of the season, with the Camels producing a strong second-half comeback to remain unbeaten in 2026.
An entertaining opening term featured seven goals, with the Saints taking a narrow four-point advantage into the first break. Katherine River extended its lead to nine points at halftime after edging the second quarter three goals to two.
The Camels began to shift momentum in the third term, kicking three goals to two to reduce the margin to just a single point heading into the final quarter.
With confidence growing, the Camels finished strongly, booting three goals to one in the final term to secure a thrilling 12-point victory.
Brock Reynolds led the charge in the comeback, while Shane Gartside and reigning Doug Kelly Medallist Daniel Vercoe continued their excellent form to help preserve the Camels' unbeaten start to the season.
Despite the loss, Kyle Tedeschi and Thomas Nyhouse were outstanding for the Saints. Aaron Shields and Gabriel Mulholland also impressed, each kicking four goals to move into contention for the league's leading goalkicker award.
The Northern Warlpiri Mozzies recorded their first win of the 2026 season with a 27-point victory over the Garrak Bombers.
A four-goal-to-three opening quarter handed the Mozzies an early 10-point lead, before they took control of the contest after quarter-time. A three-goal-to-one second term established a handy buffer, and the Mozzies maintained their advantage throughout the second half to claim an important win.
Kyle Doolan, Brian Joshua and Kane Kelly were all highly influential in the victory.
Although the result did not go their way, the Bombers celebrated a significant milestone, with Waylon Campbell playing his 100th game in the Northern Territory. Garrak will look to regroup ahead of a crucial clash with Arnhem Crows in two weeks' time.
The BRFL now turns their attention to the Barunga Festival set for Friday, the 5th of June, with the Arnhem Crows taking on Katherine South in the women's at 6pm before the men's between the Arnhem Crows and Northern Warlpiri Mozzies at 7:30pm.