Australian rules football in the Northern Territory
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Australian Football in the Northern Territory (The Territory) (typically referred to by its official name "Australian Football" or more simply as "football" or "footy") is the most popular sport, particularly with indigenous Australian communities in Darwin, Alice Springs and the Tiwi Islands. It is governed by AFL Northern Territory.
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Australian rules football in the Northern Territory | |
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Governing body | AFL Northern Territory |
First played | 12 February 1916, Darwin |
Registered players | 10,021 (2022)[1] |
Club competitions | |
Northern Territory Football League Central Australian Football League Barkly Australian Football League Katherine District Football League Gove Australian Football League Tiwi Islands Football League Wilurrara Tjataku Football League Tanami Football League CAFL Country League | |
Audience records | |
Single match | 17,500 (2002). (AFL pre-season practice) Aboriginal All-Stars vs Carlton. (Marrara Oval, Darwin) |
18% of all Territorians in 2017 participated in Australian Football,[2] the highest participation in Australia (and second worldwide only to Australian rules football in Nauru). The sport also produces more professional Australian Footballers per capita in the Australian Football League than any other state or territory.
The Territory is home to several representative teams, most notably the Indigenous All-Stars and the Flying Boomerangs. Both Darwin and Alice Springs have strong local competitions, the semi-professional Northern Territory Football League and Central Australian Football League which draw a significant audience. A professional club, the Northern Territory Football Club (NT Thunder) was formed in 2008 and competed in the second tier semi-national NEAFL competition. The Territory hosts two to three AFL premiership matches a year, currently home games for the Gold Coast Suns (since 2020). Since the first matches were played in the Territory (Western Bulldogs home games from 2004 to 2010) AFL attendances have averaged 9,320, however they have steadily declined from a peak of 14,100 in 2006 to under 8,000 while attendances to local competitions has increased. Following a 2018 scoping study, in 2021 the Northern Territory AFL taskforce launched an official bid to enter a team into the national Australian Football League (AFL) competition which is under consideration by the league for entry around 2030.[3]
The Territory briefly had its own team making its interstate representational debut at the 1988 Adelaide Bicentennial Carnival. Selected under State of Origin criteria, the team, featuring Maurice Rioli, Michael Long and Michael McLean went through undefeated to take out the Division 2 premiership with big wins against Tasmania, the VFA and the national amateurs team. However it has only ever appeared once. After taking over as governing body the AFL Commission merged The Territory with Queensland to create a composite side. The QLD/NT side featured only six Territorians and has not reappeared since. The AFL however created a talent pathway with The Territory fielding underage teams in the AFL National Championships which have won Division 2 titles at Under 16 level in 1999 and at Under 19 level in 2004 and 2012.
Since the debut of Reuben Cooper in 1969[4] a large number of born and raised Territorians have played in the AFL. However a significant percentage have launched their professional football careers from other states, particularly South Australia, Western Australia and Queensland. Two dynasties from the Northern Territory 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. Perhaps the most accomplished born and raised AFL player is Hall of Famer Andrew McLeod. Fellow Hall of Famer Nathan Buckley is the only Territorian to win the prestigious Brownlow Medal. Darwin-born Shaun Burgoyne holds both the AFL games and goals records for a Territorian with 407 games and 302 goals. Shaun Burgoyne and Cyril Rioli have played in 4 AFL premierships, more than any other Territorian. In the AFL Women's, Danielle Ponter (of the Rioli-Long) family is the most prominent having kicked the most goals and played the most games for a born and raised Territorian.