Tried and tested Buffs send Districts packing
DARWIN Buffaloes were battle-hardened and on a high going into last night’s eventful, seesawing and at times comical second NTFL semifinal at TIO Stadium – it proved to be the difference.
The elated Buffs will contest their first grand final since 2006 next weekend after eventually prevailing 13.10 (88) to 10.8 (68) over minor premiers Southern Districts.
Darwin was up by 29 points when the game was cut short due to a series of lightning and thunder strikes.
The Crocs – desperate to continue playing – ran back on the field at 8.45pm.
But there was another lightning strike, so they were quickly summoned back off the field by AFLNT ground staff.
A few minutes later they emerged again before the 9.05pm cut-off when the game would have been awarded to Darwin.
The double-blues enjoyed an electric first quarter, booting seven goals, with big Darren Shillabeer on fire up forward kicking three, including a booming effort from 55m out.
They looked unstoppable, and in the end that blazing start was the difference.
Darwin had the benefit of taking two close and physical wins over Nightcliff in consecutive weeks into the game.
The Crocodiles only had an easy 79-point win over Wanderers in the final round, before enjoying a week off for winning the minor premiership.
As a result the Crocs looked flat in the first term, kicking just one goal and trailing by 35 points against a near-faultless Darwin outfit.
Tim Eldridge’s pace and silky ball-handling skills in the wet were a feature of Darwin’s attack, while Josh Saveka once again relished the rugged conditions.
But it was hard to believe the Buffaloes held just a 23point lead at halftime, with goals to Districts’ Lionel Ogden and Will Farrer late in the second term narrowing the margin.
Two quick Dean Staunton majors got Districts back in the game in the second term, after getting smashed in the inside-50 count in the first term.
The Crocs won the second quarter five majors to three, but Darwin full-forward Adam Sambono was at his brilliant best, booting those three majors, his third coming from 50m out.
Darwin still had the benefit of a 25-point lead going into the final break – a big advantage on a surface which resembled a lagoon after the downpour.
Districts got within a goal late in the fourth term with a goal to one of their best, Richard Tambling, but Buffs finished the way they started with goals to Ryan O’Sullivan and another to Shillabeer.