The season's first draw between NTFL new-boys PINT and Palmerston and a St Mary's scoring avalanche against the Tiwi Bombers highlighted Round 2 of the 2022-23 NTFL men's competition.
Saturday night's PINT-Palmerston clash was officially abandoned five minutes before the final siren when rain, wind, thunder and lightning combined to force a premature end to the game.
Magpie Jonte Patrick had just snapped a behind when the elements claimed a win and the match abandoned, meaning both sides shared the match points.
The Magpies came back from the dead in the second half after trailing by 25 points at the main break with a paltry 1.8 on the board.
Coach Josh Heath's decision to throw Carlton and Adelaide star Eddie Betts into the middle proved a masterstroke.
Betts ignited a five-goal to two third term against a PINT side struggling to field 18 fit men on the ground, turning the game into a genuine contest.
First-year PINT coach Shannon Motlop watched his full forward Chris Neild forced from the ground in the first quarter with split webbing in his hand after kicking the first two goals of the match.
It was the start of a player exodus from the playing field that saw the Greenants play out the match with 17 fit men.
"We were lucky to get the draw really,'' Motlop said. "But the signs we showed in the first quarter were really good and I was really happy with the way the players performed.
"But everything went out the window after half time and there wasn't much we could do despite making changes to try and combat it.''
The Greenants gave their best player award to back pocket Ethan Smith, who played the game of his life on Betts when he was the Magpies' main target in the goalsquare.
Nichols medallist Eric Guthrie, Betts and the big marking Cameron Pedersen headed the Magpies best player list.
St Mary's put the memory of last week's 100-point loss to Waratah behind them by producing a 154-point annihilation of a lacklustre Tiwi Bombers at Gardens Oval.
Saints midfielders Dylan Landt and Nate Paredes had the ball on a string, both of them kicking four goals in their special cameos.
Harrison Ling, a running defender from another St Mary's club in Victoria's Geelong league, impressed in his first outing in a green and gold jumper.
Saints coach Anthony Vallejo praised his side's endeavour in hot and steamy conditions at Gardens.
"It was a massive turnaround from last week where the boys really dug in deep,'' he said. "The hot conditions were tough, we only had one player on the bench in a half of footy.''
A new-look Southern Districts beat a persistent Wanderers at Fred's Pass by 11 points, recovering from an Eagles swoop in the third quarter when former Geelong and Port Adelaide ace Steven Motlop led a five-goal to one-point comeback.
The 13.5 (83) to 11.6 (72) win also marked a winning return for 2017-18 premiership coach Shannon Rusca after a two-year absence.
Former Palmerston Magpie Matthew Dennis played his first game in the red, white and black of Districts and liked what he saw from his new teammates.
"We had to work hard for the win,'' Dennis said. "It was nice to get back into it in my first game with the club, I really enjoyed playing in a hard-fought game like that and I reckon it will hold us in good stead for the rest of the year.''
Top of the ladder Waratah beat the Darwin Buffaloes by 45 points in Saturday night's game at TIO Stadium, kicking 11 goals to two after quarter time when the pacy Buffaloes led by seven points.
Darcy Hope at centre half-forward was a dominant player for Tahs, while three-goal utility Thomas Cree, ruckman Arnold Kirby and busy on-baller Brodie Carroll found plenty of the football
