43-713: The Waratah Football Club , nicknamed, Warriors or Tahs , is a member club of the Northern Territory Football League . 1946/47, 1952/53, 1998/99, 1999/00 The club was formed in November 1916, and was one of the original foundation clubs. Waratah is the only Club with an involvement in every year the competition has been played in Darwin. The Waratah FC has won 15 League Premierships (including 3 consecutive Premierships from 1928/29 to 1930/31) 12 Reserves Premierships and 2 Under 18 Premierships. The League side broke
86-804: A 21-year drought in the 1998/99 season to win the League Premiership and followed this up with a back-to-back Premiership in 1999/2000. The Reserve Grade won the Premiership for 3 consecutive years over this period with Premiership wins in 1997/98, 1998/99 and 1999/2000, and again last season. The prestigious AFLNT Nichols Medal has been won by 8 legends of the Club, with one of these players to have won dual medals. Denis Ganley 1951/52, Bluey McKee 1952/53, Bill James 1953/54, Jim Wilson 1960/61, Bertram Kantilla 1962/63, Keith Nickels 1971/72, Hank McPhee 1979/80, Peter Ivanoff 1981/82 and 1986/87. Notable Waratah players in
129-557: A 650-kilometre (400 mi) walk between Melbourne and Canberra, this time in support of the forthcoming Australian Indigenous Voice referendum . He completed the walk after 20 days, arriving at Parliament House in Canberra on 14 September. He reported that he had experienced "overwhelming support" from people he met in regional Australia. In July 2011, Long signed up as ambassador for weight-loss agency Jenny Craig , partly to highlight Indigenous health. In 2015, he became board member of
172-464: A free kick to Everitt due to Long's enraged physical response. Although nothing of consequence happened from the Long–Everitt incident, Everitt racially vilified Melbourne's Scott Chisholm two years later and undertook a racial awareness training program as well as donating $ 20,000 to a charity of Chisholm's choice. In addition, Everitt lost $ 50,000–$ 60,000 in match bonuses (depending on sources) from
215-547: A letter published in Melbourne's The Age , Long likened Howard to "those cold-hearted pricks" who had removed his parents from their families. Long's political activities culminated in a protest march from Melbourne to Canberra , leaving on 21 November 2004. The aim of the walk was to obtain a meeting with the Prime Minister . After ten days of intense media scrutiny of the walk, Prime Minister Howard eventually granted Long
258-503: A meeting, at which point Long called an end to the walk, having completed half (about 325 kilometres (202 mi) of the planned 650-kilometre (400 mi)) of the walk. He later said: "I wanted to make a change. It was about challenging the government about some of the issues Aboriginal people were facing and still face – education, employment, health, housing, the Stolen Generations." The walk became known as The Long Walk, and
301-552: A naming rights deal with NT health insurance company, Territory Insurance Office. During this history of the league it has exported successful players to other leagues, notable players have included Michael McLean , Maurice Rioli and Michael Long . In 2006, it was announced that a team representing the Tiwi Islands , called the Super Tiwis would be added to the 2006/07 season for eight games against teams that would normally have
344-544: A player on the AFL field in the following three decades, although racial abuse from fans has proved to be a recurring issue over the years. Twenty years after the incident, at the MCG to launch the 11th Long Walk in 2015, Monkhorst and Long met and shook hands in a mutually respectful manner. Long said that Monkhorst had since shown great leadership. In 1997, Peter "Spida" Everitt reportedly racially abused Long, which ironically drew
387-548: A week throughout the week starting Sunday afternoons. During the 2014/15 season, one premier league match was broadcast on ABC Local Radio , the match was either the late or early Saturday game and was an alternate match to the TV-broadcast game. In 2017/18, ABC will continue to broadcast one game a week on the digital radio frequency 105.7FM with a commentary team including Dominic McCormack, Natasha Medbury and Kieran Davis. Internet broadcasting commenced through YouTube during
430-634: 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 . Northern Territory Football League The Northern Territory Football League ( NTFL ) is an Australian rules football operating in Greater Darwin and the Northern Territory . It operates a semi-professional senior men's league as well as competitions for women (NTFL Women's) and underagers (U12-U18 boys and girls) (NTFL Juniors). The league
473-591: Is one of few (and the highest level) Australian Rules competitions played during the Australian Summer with the season beginning in October and ending in March, because cricket cannot be played during the wet season, due to high levels of rain, resulting in the football and cricket seasons being swapped. The league regularly attracts high-profile semi-professional players from interstate leagues due to its lack of salary cap and
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#1732875974283516-530: Is the only junior division with a fixed number of clubs, including all Premier League clubs except for the Tiwi Bombers (replaced by Big River Hawks); thile the rest of the junior divisions vary based on participation levels each year, there are ten clubs with juniors, the nine Premier League clubs and Tracy Village. In 2006, NTFL premier league matches were broadcast nationally for the first time ever on ABC2 each Sunday afternoon from February to March. Previously
559-550: The 1990 season to become the Woodville-West Torrens Eagles . Long played perhaps the best game of his career in the 1993 AFL grand final . Playing on Mark Athorn , Long ran amok, helping Essendon gain a healthy quarter-time lead and then maintain it. By the end of the game, he had amassed 20 kicks and 13 handballs , totalling 33 possessions. Long's performance was rewarded with the Norm Smith Medal , which
602-572: The Essendon Football Club , including a Norm Smith Medal for his 1993 grand final performance. As an activist, he is credited with being instrumental in the introduction of a racial vilification code in the AFL in 1995 and the inspiration behind "The Long Walk" commemorating the Stolen Generations , now a strong AFL tradition. In August 2023, Long began a 650-kilometre (400 mi) walk between Melbourne and Canberra in support of
645-496: The MCG , an incident of racial abuse targeting Long occurred, which was to have a lasting impact on the game. For the next two seasons, Long needed knee surgery and only took the field seven times. He missed the first half of 1998 while recovering from the surgery, but he finished the year strongly, playing in nine games. According to the round 3, 1999 edition of the AFL Record , between
688-769: The Northern Territory Football Club was formed. In 2010 it was decided to merge the NTFL with the Top End Australian Football Association (TEAFA) to create a three division competition in which the NTFL would make the Premier League whilst the NTFL reserve competition and clubs from the TEAFA would incorporate the First Division and Second Divisions. The 2012/2013 season saw Banks Bulldogs and
731-503: The 2012/2013 season, followed by its inclusion on the ABC iView on-demand service the 2013/2014 season which uses the recordings taken from the match day broadcast. The TV broadcast match was simulcast live on ABC Grandstand on YouTube during the 2014/15 season. The NTFL attracts strong local crowds. The 2005 Grand final attracted a crowd of over 5,000 people. One of the biggest crowds was the 2010/11 Grand Final between St Mary's and Wanderers, with
774-620: The 25 greatest players ever to have played for Essendon. Long was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia in the 2021 Queen's Birthday Honours , for "service to Australian rules football, and to the Indigenous community". Long is renowned for his sharp wit. In an incident recalled by Long's only VFL/AFL coach, Kevin Sheedy , there was a fundraiser to reconstruct Windy Hill that was under way, and Sheedy
817-419: The AFL such as Essendon's Dean Rioli . It’s a grand old flag It’s a high flying flag It’s an emblem for which we will fight It’s the emblem of the team we love The team of the red and the white Every eye gleams bright For the red and the white As we sing this song to you Should auld acquaintance be forgot Keep your eye on the red and the white. This Australian rules football-related article
860-597: The Central Australian Football Club placed on a four-match trial in the Premier League, for possible full-time inclusion. The Bulldogs, originally a part of the TEAFA competition, would stay in the NTFL Division One competition. But the CAFC team would continue their trial run in the Premier League, the number of games extended to 10 for the 2013/2014 season. However, the side did not become a permanent team in
903-678: The Premier League clubs, except for the Tiwi Bombers (Palmerston are affiliated with former TEAFA club University), along with the senior teams of two other clubs which were formerly in the TEAFA competition in Banks and Tracy Village, and the Jabiru Bombers. The A Grade Women's competition has consisted of the nine Men's Premier League clubs since 2023. The junior division is broken into age groups: Under 18's, Under 16's, Youth Girls, Under 14's, and Under 12's, with all age groups split into two divisions except for under 18's and Youth Girls. The Under 18's
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#1732875974283946-683: The SANFL. A strong crowd at Marrara Oval witnessed SANFL club North Adelaide defeat a composite NTFL squad by 27 points, demonstrating that a Darwin team could be competitive. There was a push to make the event an annual match, however, the NTFL decided on fielding a side in the AFL Queensland State League from 2009 (which became the Northern Conference of the North East Australian Football League in 2011) and
989-647: The Wanderers prevailing with a 28-point win, which attracted an over 9,000 crowd. 2023/24 The Woman's NTFL competition was all started in 2004 and currently has 10 teams enrolling. Premier League Clubs Michael Long (footballer) Michael Long OAM (born ( 1969-10-01 ) 1 October 1969) is a former Australian rules footballer of Aboriginal descent who became a spokesperson for Indigenous rights and against racism in sport in Australia . Long played in dual Australian Football League (AFL) premierships with
1032-444: The beginning of the 1994 and the end of the 1998 seasons, Long played only 38 of a possible 119 games. Long had the honour of kicking the first-ever goal at the new Docklands Stadium when it opened in 2000. He was also a member of Essendon's record-breaking premiership team in 2000 which lost only one game for the entire season. Long faced heavy scrutiny for his bump on Troy Simmonds , which rendered Simmonds unconscious and raised
1075-528: The bye. They became a permanent part of the league in the 07/08 season as the Tiwi Bombers, clad in Essendon Football Club style guernseys of black and red. There was also a push for an NTFL representative club to compete in the Adelaide -based South Australian National Football League (SANFL). The first of a series of trial matches was held in 2006, with a long term view of admitting a Darwin side into
1118-467: The competition. The league consists of both junior and senior divisions. The A Grade competition is known as the NTFL Men's Premier League and has nine clubs: Darwin, Nightcliff, Palmerston, PINT, Southern Districts, St Mary's, Tiwi Bombers, Wanderers, and Waratah. The reserves are divided into two divisions known as Division 1 (B Grade) and Division 2 (C Grade): Divisions 1 and 2 include thirds teams of
1161-512: The country, including Essendon, which nominated him in the 1988 VFL draft . Despite being drafted to the Victorian Football League (VFL), South Australian National Football League (SANFL) club West Torrens argued that Long was "contracted with the club and could not play anywhere else". Recruiter Noel Judkins said, "I was guaranteed this wasn't the case, so I took the contract to Darwin and met with Michael's father Jack, and he
1204-412: The eve of the game, which Essendon lost to Brisbane . In the inaugural Anzac Day match of the 1995 season between Essendon and Collingwood at the MCG , Long made an official complaint after he had been racially taunted by Collingwood ruckman Damian Monkhorst . The AFL arranged a mediation session between Long and Monkhorst and held a media conference. Although Long was clearly unsatisfied by
1247-425: The forthcoming Australian Indigenous Voice referendum . He completed the walk in 20 days and arrived in Canberra on 14 September 2023. Michael Long was born on 1 October 1969 to mother Agnes and father Jack Long. Both were removed from their parents at a young age and taken to Melville Island , one of the Tiwi Islands . Jack's half Chinese and half English father fought unsuccessfully for custody of his son. Agnes
1290-415: The incident. The incident came a week after Sam Newman infamously donned blackface to mock Nicky Winmar for declining to come on The Footy Show . Following his retirement, Long became a spokesman for Indigenous Australians. He was a critic of then-Prime Minister John Howard 's policies towards Indigenous Australians — most notably Howard's refusal to make an apology to the Stolen Generations . In
1333-506: The matches had only been shown in the Territory on ABC Darwin . In 2008, it reverted to local broadcasting. During the 2014/15 season, the Saturday 3.00pm premier league match was broadcast live on ABC in Darwin. During the 2017/18 season, Southern Cross TV broadcast one game a week on Sunday afternoons. Since then National Indigenous Television (NITV) broadcasts nationally replays of one game
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1376-557: The newly founded Michael Long Foundation (MLF), and in 2016 the Michael Long Learning and Leadership Centre (MLLLC) opened in Darwin. MLF funds education and football programs for indigenous people, and the MLLLC, funded by the federal government and managed by AFL Northern Territory , aims to nurture talent and improve lives and communities. In 2002, an Essendon panel ranked Long at number 23 in their Champions of Essendon list of
1419-431: The possibility of him losing mobility. While this never eventuated, the incident prompted the AFL to introduce new rules protecting players with their heads over the ball. Long was thus suspended for the act. 2001 was Long's final season, and although Essendon again made the grand final , Long aggravated a hamstring injury during training in the week leading up to the match and was forced to name himself unavailable on
1462-434: The short-term outcome of their meeting, and both players received death threats , the long-term result was that it set a racial vilification code that held players to account for racist acts on the field. An AFL investigation after the incident showed that at least 10 players from six clubs regularly racially abused players. Since this incident, there have only been a handful of widely publicised accusations of racial taunts by
1505-469: The timing of the season, which allows players to play extra matches during the rest of Australia's off-season. While most other Australian rules leagues in Australia operate during the southern hemisphere winter, the NTFL chooses to play in the Northern Territory's 'wet season' from October to March, primarily due to hard playing surfaces and the need to play cricket during the 'dry season'. The NTFL
1548-441: The tradition of a commemorative community walk in Melbourne has continued, with thousands turning out for the event. The walk takes place in late May or early June before the annual Dreamtime at the 'G match , starting at Federation Square and ending at the MCG . Long is patron of The Long Walk, an organisation inspired by his walk and which works for the health and wellbeing of Indigenous Australians. In August 2023 Long began
1591-474: Was abandoned due to the devastation from Cyclone Tracy . In the 1990s, the league ran into financial problems primarily due to the Northern Territory government luring the league to the new purpose-built stadium at Marrara Oval after its construction in 1991. The move pushed the league's operating costs up drastically despite contrary promises from the NT government. Marrara Oval is now known as TIO Stadium, as part of
1634-492: Was charged with assaulting a man at a football club function in Darwin . He pleaded guilty when the case came to trial in 2009, saying he had struck a man who had attacked his sister. No conviction was recorded, with the magistrate saying that he was unlikely to reoffend. In 2018, Long was treated for a life-threatening infectious disease, melioidosis , in a hospital in Darwin; however, this did not stop him from announcing plans for
1677-401: Was conducting a serious training session in front of a whiteboard and 200 people, mostly money donors. He paused to ask if anyone had a question. To the surprise of all that knew him, Long, who apparently hadn't spoken up during a training session in five years, raised his hand, causing people to fall silent to hear Long speak. Long asked, "What was wrong with the blackboard ?" In 2006, Long
1720-404: Was founded in 1916 with The Wanderers Football Club and Waratah Football Club as founding members. Waratahs are the only club to have competed in every season of the NTFL. Darwin (Buffalos Football Club) was formed in 1917, Nightcliff in 1950, St Marys in 1952, Palmerston in 1972 (as North Darwin), Southern Districts in 1987 and the Tiwi Bombers in 2006 (with full entry in 2007). The 1974-75 season
1763-530: Was irate. He grabbed it and wrote the word 'bullshit' right across the front of it. When it became clear he wanted to play at Essendon, West Torrens agreed it wasn't a binding contract." However, despite this, Long did play for West Torrens during the 1988 SANFL season , winning the club's best-and-fairest award, the third-last player to do so, as the Eagles merged with the Woodville Football Club following
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1806-434: Was presented to him by fellow Tiwi Islander Maurice Rioli . In the pre-season of 1994, in a practice match against West Coast , Long injured his knee , which required 12 months of solid rehabilitation, and he was not seen for the entire home-and-away season . In 1995 , Long made a triumphant return to AFL football and played almost a full season. In the inaugural Anzac Day match between Essendon and Collingwood at
1849-598: Was taken from Daly River near Darwin , and Jack was taken from Ti Tree near Alice Springs . Michael was raised on the Tiwi Islands. Long moved to Darwin to play with St Mary's , where he played in several premierships. In 1988, he represented the Northern Territory at the Adelaide Bicentennial Carnival in March, and his outstanding performances in the dominant NT team saw enormous interest in his recruitment from various first-class clubs throughout
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