This weekend’s TIO NTFL grand final between Southern Districts and St Mary’s shapes as an exhilarating contest. The Crocs have been the best team all season and boast a damaging mix of local stars and brilliant interstate recruits. While the Saints are a juggernaut of the TIO NTFL competition and always seem to find an extra cog at the business end of the season.
There are some sore bodies in the Southern Districts camp and the rest over the past month of finals will serve them well. But momentum can be a huge advantage, and the Saints have been able to build confidence with some big wins over Waratah, Tiwi Bombers, and Nightcliff over the past three weeks.
Dual Nichols Medal winner Dylan Landt was well held against the Tigers, but the support crew in former AFL players Connor West and Joel Garner stepped up to fill the void. West was arguably best-on-ground with a 28-disposal two-goal performance while Garner backed up last year’s TIO Chaney Medal-winning performance with another strong finals game. Chad Harris also had a huge impact in the preliminary final with 26 damaging touches.
While most of the opposition’s focus has been on stopping Dylan Landt, it is his brother Jack, who has slipped under the radar and caused damage this finals series. The crafty forward kicked five goals in the Saints’ elimination final win against Waratah, and after a quieter outing against Tiwi a fortnight ago, backed it up with another five-goal haul against the Tigers. Rebounding defender Kieren Parnell is in terrific form and will be hoping to add another premiership medal to his growing collection.
The Crocs will have a clear advantage in the ruck contest and will be hoping the devastating duo of Wyatt Ryan and Matt Dennis will be able to bully the competitive, yet undersized Will Robinson. However, expect Robinson to test the Districts pair with his work rate around the ground.
Districts midfielder Jed Anderson has been arguably the standout player of the competition and after some unlucky polling during Sunday’s Nichols Medal count, he will be fired up and ready to go. Steven Motlop is a big game performer and was the game-breaker against Nightcliff a fortnight ago. While Matt Shannon will return to the team after copping a suspension against St Mary’s in the final game of the minor rounds, his running ability forward of centre will be a huge asset.
The two clubs have met twice this season, splitting the wins one apiece. St Mary’s dealt Districts their only loss of the season back in Round 8. On that afternoon, some starring performances in the midfield from Landt and Garner enabled the Saints to peg back a handy first-half deficit to run over the Crocs and record an eight-point win. The Crocs got their revenge in their last encounter in Round 18, breaking away in the final term to win by 30 points in a high standard clash at Norbuilt Oval.
If you consider yourself a footy fan, you do not want to miss this contest.
Discounted presale tickets can be purchased by clicking here. The 2024/25 TIO Men’s Premier League Grand Final can be streamed live via 7Plus, The NT News, and via SEN radio.