A week is a long time in football, but for Men's Premier League club Tiwi Bombers the 141 weeks or 988 days it took to snap a long losing drought represented a lifetime.
The Bombers beat competition rookies PINT by 15 points on Bathurst Island on Saturday, ending a losing run that stretched back to the last home and away round in the 2019-20 season.
In other games reigning premier St Mary's returned to their miserly best by beating the previously unbeaten Southern Districts by 21 points at TIO Stadium.
Nightcliff won the latest instalment of the league's Battle of the Beaches by beating fierce rivals Waratah by 34 points at Darwin Mazda Nightcliff Oval.
And Palmerston's revival continued when the Magpies won the Battle of the Birds at Cazaly's Arena by beating the Wanderers Eagles 22 points in a game where only 10 goals were scored.
But the biggest smile on Saturday night was reserved for Tiwi coach Brenton Toy after he engineered a desperately needed win against a PINT side coming off a week's bye.
"It was a terrific win, not only for the footy club, but for the community,'' Toy said.
"That includes the people off the field like Mary Dunn, Lindsay Whiting and the rest of the board, Dean Rioli and Deanne Rioli, whose hard work has paid off.
"When they sang the song on the field the kids were sitting on their families' shoulders among a massive crowd, so it was good to five the community something they will be happy about.''
Sam Darley through the middle, Harley Bennell as a midfielder come defender late in the game and Jack Monigatti in the ruck all starred for the Bombers.
Former North Melbourne big man Majak Daw booted two goals, including the first of the match, in his NTFL debut.
St Mary's kicked 10 goals to five after half time to beat Southern Districts on Saturday night.
Luke Oborn in the ruck against Districts ace Matthew Dennis after regular Saints big man Luke Toa was forced off the ground with a knee injury in the first quarter starred for the winners.
Prolific ball-getter Dylan Landt through the middle, Matthew Green in the last line of defence and Kieren Parnell across half back were other standouts for the Green Machine.
Districts faltered after an impressive start that included precise kicking to position and plenty of run, kicking only a single point in the second quarter as their opponents hunted them down every time they had the football in their hands.
The return of Lucas Jellyman-Turner, Nigel Lockyer and Brandyn Grenfell added class and stability to a Saints side that needed the win after an ordinary start to the season.
Nightcliff's season got better when they claimed the golden shovel up for grabs in the annual Battle of the Beaches game against Waratah.
John Butcher's radar was on target when he booted seven goals from full forward and Ryan Nyhuis and Simon Deery were superb in defence as the Tigers moved quietly into second position on the ladder.
Ladder leaders Palmerston won its third game of the season on Friday night against a Wanderers side that could not find a path to goal against an airtight Magpie backline.
Magpie coach Josh Heath was without former Carlton and Adelaide goal kicker Eddie Betts for the 8pm game, but it was their defensive players who were keys to the win.
"We got a good start that got us going this week (3.3 to 0.3 in the first quarter) and that was fantastic,'' he said.
"We're now in a mindset where we can compete with all the teams this season and we're working on getting our gameplan to really click with a few blokes still to come back in.''
Palmerston was best served by Ashton Hams, Sam Clohesy and Neville Jetta off half back and Tristen Waack through the midfield.
