40-682: AFL Northern Territory Limited (AFL NT) is the governing body for Australian rules football in the Northern Territory and is based in Marrara a suburb of the city of Darwin in the Northern Territory (NT), Australia . On 3 September 2001, the NTFL board, which had overseen the game in the NT since 1917, was restructured and reformed. NTFL board member Darryl Window orchestrated the formal affilliation with
80-565: A Red Cross fundraiser. The NT Football Association was formed shortly thereafter with its first regular competition matches beginning in March 1916. The Northern Territory Football League chose to play in the Northern Territory's 'wet season', primarily due to hard playing surfaces during the 'dry season'. Games were played on the Esplanade or Town Oval. Most other leagues in Australia operate during
120-705: A campaign to join a major league, the SANFL , WAFL or QAFL with the new team split between Alice Springs and Darwin. A decision was reached in late 2008, with the Northern Territory Football Club , known as the Thunder, formed to field a team in the Queensland competition from the 2009 season onwards. The Thunder now play in the NEAFL , an elite competition for clubs from Queensland, New South Wales and Canberra as well as
160-462: A deal struck with the Northern Territory government, Melbourne based Western Bulldogs AFL side has played several home games a year at Marrara Oval. The first NT women's league was founded in 2004 as a division of the NTFL in Darwin. In 2004, Alice Springs main ground Traeger Park was re-developed and has hosted several AFL exhibition matches. In 2007, a representative side began in earnest
200-621: A fundraiser to turf the desert football ground surface at Northern Territory home of the Ltyentye Apurte Community 80 km south east of Alice Springs. Completed in 2021, the softer ground helped establish a new league, the CAFL Country League Premiership. NT women will play a prominent role in the Crows team, with the teams playing under a combined Northern Territory/South Australia banner. There are eight clubs in
240-566: A handful of games each year. NT Thunder was formed in 2008 and were invited to join the West Australian Football League , but instead opted to join the Queensland Australian Football League (QAFL). At the conclusion of the 2010 QAFL season , the Thunder were invited to join the newly formed North East Australian Football League (NEAFL). The Thunder finished the regular season with the best record in
280-455: A high percentage of the crowd being Chinese . John Pye and Andy Howley introduced Australian rules football to the Tiwi Islands in 1941, which grew to become the most popular sport there. Within a couple of decades, the major Australian leagues began to take an interest with the first player offered a contract being Joe Saturninas in 1955 followed by the more successful David Kantilla in
320-491: A lesser extent Katherine, rugby league is popular due to it being established earlier (at Tennant Creek in the 1930s and Katherine in the 1960s) and the strong Queensland influence being close to the inland route between Queensland, Darwin and Alice Springs. Nevertheless, the Barkly Australian Football League was formed in 1991 to cater for increased popularity of Australian rules in the remote communities of
360-656: A local AFLW club, the NT government had an investment partnership with Adelaide women's club between 2017 and 2019 and the club played home games in NT. Early in the AFLW many of the women's players started their career in Adelaide with the Adelaide Crows until the introduction of expansion clubs. As such there was a very strong NT influence in the early years of the Adelaide women's side. Northern Territory Football Club The Northern Territory Football Club , nicknamed NT Thunder ,
400-512: A side in the VFL Women's competition in Victoria. By the end of the 2019 season, AFL Northern Territory revealed it could no longer justify keeping the club afloat, and announced its cessation from both competitions. Legend: ^ Premiers , † Finals Bold italics: competition leading goal kicker The Grogan Medal was awarded between 2011 and 2013 to
440-491: A third are female. Participation per capita has fallen from 18% in 2017 when it had the highest rate for a team sport in Australia to 3.4% in 2024 and fourth behind soccer, basketball and cricket. The territory's men's team made a single interstate representational appearance at the 1988 Adelaide Bicentennial Carnival . Selected under State of Origin criteria and featuring such names as Maurice Rioli , Michael Long and Michael McLean it went through undefeated to take out
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#1733270563488480-468: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This Northern Territory , Australia article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Australian rules football in the Northern Territory In the Northern Territory (NT), Australian rules football is a popular participation and spectator sport, particularly among the many remote Indigenous Australian communities of
520-585: The AFL Commission to jointly govern the sport from Darwin and Melbourne . Several of the larger competitions including the Northern Territory Football League (NTFL), Central Australian Football League (CAFL), Gove Australian Football League , Big Rivers Australian Football League (BRFL) and Barkly Australian Football League (BAFL) are affiliated to and partly managed by AFLNT. This Australian rules football-related article
560-584: The Australian National Football Carnival (Div 2) Championship in 1988 . At Under 16 and Under 18 level, the NT fields teams in the national championships. The Indigenous All-Stars , a team composed of indigenous Australian players mostly from the AFL and all over the country, are based in Darwin. Darwin is also home of the Flying Boomerangs , the junior indigenous side, which has toured
600-679: The Northern Territory Academy has participated in the Talent League . The NT is home to the Indigenous All-Stars and Flying Boomerangs representative teams. The All-Stars hold the current attendance record for any football code in the Territory - 17,500 set in 2002. A professional club, the Northern Territory Football Club (NT Thunder) was formed in 2008 and competed in the second tier semi-national NEAFL competition. Since
640-455: The outback such as the Tiwi Islands but also in the capital Darwin and other cities particularly Alice Springs . There are more than 15 regional competitions across the territory, the highest profile being the semi-professional Northern Territory Football League based around Darwin and Central Australian Football League around Alice Springs. It is governed by AFL Northern Territory . 7,158 adults and 3,917 children play it, of which about
680-489: The 2020 Dreamtime match including the first AFL Women's (AFLW) fixture during the 2024 season . The AFL's Gold Coast Suns have access to the best junior talent from the Territory through its recruitment zone and the Gold Coast Suns Academy . In 2021, following a 2018 scoping study, AFL Northern Territory launched an official bid to enter a team into the national AFL competition. This bid is under consideration by
720-455: The AFL include: Shaun Burgoyne , Michael McLean , Daryl White , Aaron Davey , Cyril Rioli , Joel Bowden , Brad Ottens , Mathew Stokes , Ronnie Burns , Peter Burgoyne , David Kantilla , Jared Brennan , Matthew Whelan , Daniel Motlop , Richard Tambling , Gilbert McAdam , Fabian Francis , Xavier Clarke and Dean Rioli . Other greats who did not play in the AFL include Bill Dempsey , Michael Graham and David Kantilla . Without
760-514: The Division 2 premiership with big wins against Tasmania, the VFA and the national amateurs team . In 1993 it was merged with Queensland to create a composite side which has not appeared since. Northern Territory had a standalone representative side in the underage National Championships between 1979 and 2016, this side won three Division 2 titles—Under 16 in 1999, and Under 19 in 2004 and 2012. Since 2021,
800-603: The NT have together produced numerous prominent footballers: the Rioli and Long families. Australian Football Hall of Famer Maurice Rioli was known also for his career in the WAFL prior to playing in Victoria. Hall of Famer Andrew McLeod is often considered the most accomplished AFL player born and raised in the NT, and Hall of Famer Nathan Buckley is the only Territorian to win the Brownlow Medal . Darwin-born Shaun Burgoyne holds both
840-863: The NTFL moved from the ageing Darwin Town Oval to the newly opened Gardens Oval . It was established on the Goulburn Island at Warruwi in 1959. In 1974, the Gove Australian Football League began, establishing the sport in Arnhem Land and the Gove Peninsula . In 1988, competition began in the Katherine region with the establishment of the Katherine District Football League . At the inland townships of Tennant Creek and to
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#1733270563488880-585: The Northern Conference and in doing so claimed their first ever minor premiership. The Thunder went on to prove their superiority by claiming the first ever Northern Conference NEAFL premiership by defeating the Morningside Panthers . A week later the Thunder defeated the newly crowned Eastern Conference NEAFL premiers, Ainslie Tri-Colours , to claim the first ever NEAFL premiership at Traeger Park . The Thunder won two NEAFL premierships and entered
920-817: The Northern Conference. Since 2014, the representatives have been for the whole NEAFL competition. The following is the list of NT Thunder players who have played at AFL level and the club they play(ed) for. The NT Thunder club song is "We are the Territory Thunder". We are Territory boys/girls We are Territory Thunder Yellow, ochre, black and white We are out for plunder Premierships are on our mind We’ll tear our foes asunder We are Territory boys/girls We are Territory Thunder We are Territory boys/girls We are Territory Thunder Ngiya pumanyinga (I am Thunder) Kuwa Ngintha pumanyinga (You are Thunder) Kuwa Ngawa pumanyinga, Ngawa pumanyinga, Ngawa pumanyinga (We are Thunder) Kuwa, Kuwa, Kuwa Correct to
960-640: The Northern Territory, and a growing 34% of participants are women. The Tiwi Islands is said to have the highest participation rate in Australia (35%) [1] . The Northern Territory has produced a disproportionate amount of talent for elite leagues such as the Australian Football League , South Australian National Football League and West Australian Football League , including many Indigenous Australian players. Territorian Hall of Famers include: Maurice Rioli , Michael Long , Andrew McLeod and Nathan Buckley . Notable Territorian players in
1000-684: The SANFL and later by Maurice Rioli in the VFL. Today, around a third of the Territorians in the national AFL are from the islands. The Tiwi Islands Football League is a strong competition which feeds players into the NTFL. Skills of the TIFL players are widely celebrated. The TIFL Grand Final is the largest event on the island and a major tourist drawcard. The Central Australian Football Association began in 1947 and quickly became Alice Springs most popular sport. In 1954,
1040-584: The Territorian AFL games and goals records, with 407 games and 302 goals. Shaun Burgoyne and Cyril Rioli have played in 4 AFL premierships, more than any other Territorian. In the AFLW, Danielle Ponter of the Rioli-Long family is the most prominent NT player, having kicked the most goals and played the most games. Prior to separation from South Australia, during the 1870s and 1880s the local media reported almost equally on both Australian rules and rugby, there
1080-642: The best and fairest player in the NEAFL Northern Conference. The Ray Hughson Medal was awarded in the QAFL until 2010, and in the NEAFL Northern Conference between 2011 and 2013 to the leading goalkicker. The NEAFL leading goalkicker has been awarded since 2014 to the player who kicks the most goals in the NEAFL competition. The NEAFL (Northern) Rising Star was awarded between 2011 and 2013 to
1120-568: The best young player in the Northern Conference. The NEAFL (Northern) Rising Star has been awarded since 2014 to the best young player in the NEAFL competition. The NEAFL Coach of the Year has been awarded since 2014 to the best coach in the NEAFL competition. NT Thunder competed in the QAFL between 2009 and 2010 before joining the NEAFL. Between 2011 and 2013, the Team of the Year representatives were from
1160-626: The competition. As of the start of 2017, these NT teams have contributed the following players: On 3 September 2016, the AFLNT named their team of the 20th century. Coach of the Century: John Taylor . The Northern Territory was represented in early Interstate matches in Australian rules football , before being incorporated into the QLD/NT and then Australian Alliance representative sides. They won
1200-604: The first Australian Football League (AFL) match played in Darwin during the 2004 AFL season , attendances have averaged 9,320. They have steadily declined from a peak of 14,100 in 2006 (featuring the Western Bulldogs ). Under the 2020 arrangement with the Gold Coast Suns and Melbourne FC , the NT receives two matches in Darwin ( Marrara Oval ) and one in Alice Springs ( Traeger Park ) each year. In addition, Darwin hosted
1240-458: The league for entry around 2030. Since the debut of Reuben Cooper in 1969, over 100 of born-and-raised Territorians have played in the AFL and AFLW. However, a significant percentage have launched their professional football careers from other states, particularly South Australia, Western Australia and Queensland. Nevertheless the sport in 2017 produced more professional players per capita AFL than any other state or territory. Two dynasties from
AFL Northern Territory - Misplaced Pages Continue
1280-493: The region. In 1991, Marrara Oval was increased in capacity, and became the new home for the NTFL and AFL matches. The first AFL pre-season fixture between Collingwood and West Coast was played in February 1992 in front of a crowd of 11,000 spectators. In 1991, Darwin hosted the first Arafura Games , the first international competition to include Australian rules football, and local teams have competed against nations from around
1320-480: The reserve teams of four AFL clubs (Sydney, GWS Giants, Brisbane and Gold Coast). In 2009, a league was established on Groote Eylandt which quickly became popular. In 2012, the Wilurrara Tjataku Football League was established due to the substantial obstacles faced by remote communities to travel to Alice Springs. In 2017, the AFL's Melbourne Football Club and Melbourne Cricket Club began
1360-511: The winter, but since the NT does not have a winter, it is played at different times. The Wanderers Football Club were the founding members of the league in 1916. Australian rules was introduced to Port Keats (now Wadeye ) by Father Richard Docherty with the commencement of the local mission Werntek Nganayi in 1935. By 1940, football matches in Darwin were not only highly popular with the Indigenous community but also highly multicultural, with
1400-562: The world to play matches against other countries. According to Ausplay, participation in the NT has declined rapidly in recent years, from over 10,000 participants and 7% per capita participation to just over 7,000 and 3.6% in just a few years. In 2017, AFLNT reported 44,729 direct participants in Australian rules football through official competitions or programs, which makes up 18% of the NT population. There are also around 15,000 more participants in AFL promotional activities. Around half of all participants are in non-metropolitan areas of
1440-535: The world. The city has hosted the competition ever since. Since the late 1990s, the Indigenous All-Stars have gained large support from Indigenous Australians in the Northern Territory. In 2000, the Tanami Football League was formed in the Yuendumu region. In 2002, a record crowd of 17,500 attended an AFL pre-season practice between the Indigenous All-Stars and Carlton Football Club . However, in
1480-502: Was a Northern Territory -based Australian rules football club that competed in the North East Australian Football League (NEAFL) between 2011 and 2019, and the VFL Women's between 2018 and 2019. The club was disbanded at the end of the 2019 season, however its identity continues to be seen in the under-19s Talent League Boys and Talent League Girls competitions, where the Northern Territory Academy plays
1520-525: Was a growing awareness of international rugby and also of both American football and soccer. Australian rules began to gain favour in the Northern Territory late 1880s due mainly to South Australia's involvement in intercolonials with Victoria. Apart from the difficulties presented by distance and population, attempts to form a local football club were hampered by the lack of an oval, with the only available oval in being by destroyed white ants. Following separation from South Australia in 1911, association football
1560-450: Was played on 3 February 1916, and an Australian rules match was also planned for that day but proved difficult to organise due to insufficient numbers. The first recorded match of Australian rules football in Darwin was played on Saturday, 12 February 1916, on Darwin Town Oval between Red and Blue (32) and Red and White (20). It was followed by a second match the following Saturday organised as
1600-475: Was the first form of football played in the NT, with a match against British sailors from the HMS Prometheus taking place in 1912. However, there were insufficient local footballers to field a full team. Reuben Cooper Snr, an Iwaidja person , is credited with introducing Australian rules football in Darwin in 1915 after learning the game while boarding at St Peter's College, Adelaide . The first rugby match
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