Waratah took advantage of the bye and a youthful Palmerston side to jump to the top of the Women's Premier League ladder in Round 4 of the 2022-23 season. The red and whites won 11.13 (79) to 1.2 (8) in a quiet display of class that saw them remain unbeaten and rise above an idle PINT, who had the weekend off due to the bye.
Canberra recruit Kaitlyn Bailey in the ruck was the best player on the ground after her late elevation from the emergency list, while Madelaine Jeans in a running on-ball role and veteran skipper Lisa Roberts were pillars on which the win was built.
Coach Heidi Thompson was impressed with her charges in a successful return to their home ground at Gardens Oval. "We kicked quite a few points in the second quarter, but we were able to clean that up in the last term when we kicked a couple of goals in a row that were pleasing in terms of the win,'' she said.
Palmerston battled hard in the conditions, getting some relief late in the game when one of the club's biggest names, the McCoy family, were rewarded with Letoya McCoy's last quarter goal.
The Tiwi Bombers upset last season's grand finalists Nightcliff at the Tigers' den where they led all day to win a thriller by five points, 5.3 (33) to 3.10 (28). It was the second win from four outings for the Tiwi women in their debut season, bouncing back hard from last week's big loss to reigning premiers Darwin with their backs-to-the-wall win.
Coach Jason Bonson was rapt with the fighting win after telling his players it was important to rebound from the loss to the Buffettes with a performance that sent a message to the rest of the competition. "We are a good side and I asked them to bounce back by bringing a lot of pressure to the contests, which they did for four quarters,'' he told the AFLNT website.
"Bearing in mind Nightcliff is a very fit side who have been training for 10 or 11 weeks, while we're in fifth week of our pre-season in Round 4 of the footy season.''
St Mary's snapped a three-game losing streak with a big win over Wanderers at TIO Stadium, kicking 11 goals to one to win by 61 points. Tikesa Docherty-Cole and Saints skipper Emily Forshaw found the football on several occasions in their midfield roles. Docherty-Cole booted two goals and Forshaw one while turning provider in several others as the Saints kicked four goals in the second quarter and another four in the last to give their supporters something to cheer about.
The Buffettes left it late to beat Southern Districts in Sunday's game at Palmerston's Cazaly's Arena. Down by 17 points at three quarter time, coach Melinda Taylor made the necessary positional changes that won her side the game.
A snapped goal by best on ground Tayla Hart-Aluni with two minutes left on the clock was enough to give the Buffettes a 5.9 (39) to 5.6 (36) win after they held the Crocodiles scoreless in the last term.
"I made a few changes during the last break that got us back in the game, it meant the girls started playing the style of footy they should have been playing at the start of the match,'' Taylor said.
