World Footy News

With the completion of Round 11, the NTFL now goes into its Festive Season break, providing a chance to look at the first 11 rounds and also what comes in the remaining 7 rounds when hostilities resume on 4th January.

It is becoming increasingly difficult to see much but another St Mary’s flag at this stage. Undefeated, and boasting an impressive runs of big wins, little stands in their way. Their biggest tests will come when they play second placed Wanderers twice in the remaining seven rounds, but other than upsets top spot is virtually locked in.

Wanderers have been the surprise packets this year, and have an almost identical form line to St Mary’s. Their only loss was by three goals to St Mary’s earlier in the season. It would take the wheels to fall off dramatically for them to fall out of favouritism for a grand final berth…but footy is a funny game.
 

The remaining finals spots will hinge on the consistency of the rest of the field. Nightcliff started the season well but have been a little erratic since. Southern Districts are guilty of the same ups and downs as have the Tiwi Bombers. All have tough runs home, and whichever teams get on a roll will secure finals.

This brings us to Waratah and Palmerston. Waratah have just gone along quietly: winning expected games and losing expected games. With a run home that includes the lowly Buffaloes twice and the erratic and out of form Tiwi Bombers and Southern Districts, Waratah should do enough to hold their current fourth spot. Palmerston, on the other hand, could be a wild card. After a horrid start to the season, they have won three of their past four. They are on the improve and could snag some more wins, but whether it is enough for finals is a bit too optimistic.

Buffaloes theoretically could win all seven games, though not terribly likely. Even still, they have won two from ten, so are mathematically in the equation (for another game at least) but in a practical sense can start planning for next season, as harsh as that may sound. Central Australia played only the first nine rounds and do not figure in the finals makeup this season.

So, at this stage, St Mary’s and Wanderers appear certainties, Buffaloes highly unlikely, and Tiwi Bombers and Palmerston probably requiring miraculous turnarounds given that they both only have three wins each to date. This would see Waratah, Nightcliff and Southern Districts as the other likely finalists. We will see in late February when the finals begin, but footy has its own set of tricks that can change things…that’s why we love it.