Netball NT U17/19s show fight at dual age championships
More Athletics milestones and courageous contests at dual netball age championships headline this week’s edition of sports shorts.
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The NT News sports team is continuing to highlight the achievements of the Territory’s unsung athletes and sports news you might have missed each week.
Check out this week’s edition with stories from athletics and netball.
April 23, 2025
NETBALL NATIONALS
Last week both the under-17s and under-19s represented the NT in South Australia and NSW respectively. The two sides competed in a week long round robin tournament against the top junior netballers in the land.
While the two mustered just a single victory from 18 games, Netball NT said the championships are more than the scoreboard.
“Every game was a chance to step up, push through, and represent the Territory with guts and grit. These athletes gave everything they had, every single quarter — and we couldn’t be prouder. The scoreboard is one thing, but the spirit of this team tells a much bigger story. Well done team.”
U17 Results –
NT 2 – 68 VIC
NT 16 – 46 QLD
NT 13 – 46 TAS
NT 14 – 54 WA
NT 12 – 59 SA
NT 16 – 46 ACT
NT 20 – 53 NSW
Final 1: NT 17 – 48 QLD
Final 2: NT 19 – 45 ACT
U19 Results –
NT 18 – 45 VIC
NT 26 – 37 SA
NT 25 – 31 ACT
NT 16 – 50 NSW
NT 8 – 66 QLD
NT 31 – 33 TAS
NT 15 – 40 WA
Final 1: NT 30 – 33 ACT
Final 2: NT 36 – 29 TAS
MASTERS ATHLETICS
Another cohort of top track and field athletes represented the NT this past week at the 2025 Australian Masters Championships in Adelaide. From the 100m to steeplechase and high jump to javelin the Territory athletes competed in it all.
Results –
Greg Franks: 60m (9.54), 100m (15.29), 200m (31.52)
Jon Schatz: Javelin (48.23), High Jump (1.66)
Kylie Smith: High Jump (1.35), Discus (30.14), Throws Pentathlon (1882 pts)
Cameron Burrows: Shot Put (7.06), Hammer (20.51), Weight Throw (8.44), Throws Pentathlon (1241 pts)
Phillip Russell: 2000m Steeplechase (8:37.97), Outdoor Pentathlon (1825 pts)
Rose Stephens: 800m (3:44.75), 1500m (7:43.65), 5000m (27:50.48), Outdoor Pentathlon (1194 pts), 8km XC (54:01.00)
Peter Stephens: 1500m (7:52.32), 8km XC (49:12.00)
Beryl Edwards: Outdoor Pentathlon (1852 pts)
FNT RESULTS
*Football Northern Territory has not updated its MPL, WPL results.
April 16, 2025
CLAY COURT CHAMP
Palmerston Tennis’ Lucy McNaught recently represented the NT at the U12/U14 Australian Claycourt Championships in Canberra. Earning a wildcard entry as the 32nd seed, McNaught faced off against 25th seed Tasmin Jiang. McNaught lost the match 6-0, 6-0, however, will no doubt use this experience as a big learning venture for the future.
ATHLETICS NT IMPRESSES AT NATIONALS
Team NT had a memorable week in Perth at the 2025 Under 20 and Open Athletics Championship with personal and season bests across the board. However, it was the performance of Leon Ajisafe that stole the show. The talented athlete jumped a height of 1.79m in the high jump final, earning himself a bronze medal.
Milestone Results –
Leon Ajisafe: 200m – 24.06 (PB), High Jump – 1.79 (Bronze Medal), 100m – 11.79 (PB)
Jarred de Graaff: 200m – 24.46 (PB)
Bronte Bellot: 800m – 2:20.88 (PB, NT Record), 2000m Steeplechase – 7.59.90 (PB, NT Record)
Jarred de Graaff: 100m – 11.89 (PB)
Trevor Gayundurr: 400m – 51.51 (PB), 100m – 11.11 (PB), 200m – 22.61 (PB)
Thomas Bauman: Hammer Throw – 48.01 (PB)
Briseis Brittain: 200m – 27.52 PB
Alison Reidy: 400m – 1:11.15 (PB), 100m – 14.59 (PB), 200m – 31:20 (PB)
Romone Lewin: 100m – 12.56 (PB)
SKIPPINGNT’S NEWEST JUDGES
The NT has 10 new qualified officials in the world of speed skipping. Ten individuals involved in SkippingNT completed their Level 2 Judge qualifications at the weekend, completing a live training with an IJRU clinician. Four of the judges reside in Katherine, a big boost to the growth of the sport in the Big Rivers region.
HELPING HAND
The QRL and NSWRL continued their support of the NRL NT competition in season 2025 with numerous referees taking to the field each round. Community football referees development officer and former NRL referee Gavin Badger said the following to NSWRL.com: “The Northern Territory Rugby League reached out to us and the QRL (Queensland Rugby League) to see if we could support their local referees. The NT Rugby League really look after our guys and everyone who has gone up there says it’s a really positive experience. It’s not only adding to their bank of experience, but it’s helping share knowledge across a wider group of Rugby League referees.”
April 9, 2025
DEMONS TAKE THE CUP
The Demons did the business in the outback, defeating fierce rivals Venom in the 2024-25 Alice Springs Baseball Association grand final.
Victorious in a 8-4 result, the Demons upset the top-ranked Venom 2-1 to claim the series. Masaru Miyajima was the star of the show, the right-hander throwing 13 strikeouts, giving up two hits, four runs and walking one.
JUDO CHAMPIONS
A cohort of Territory Judokas took home the chocolates over the weekend at the Melbourne International Judo Competition.
The tournament saw a wide range of divisions across Kata and Shiai, including Adaptive judo compete to earn valuable points for potential selection to the Australian national team.
Team NT came away with the following:
– Alannah Joyce, Gold and Silver
– Lily Elber, Gold (U15s)
– Luis Mazzalozzo, Silver and Silver (cadets and juniors)
– Nickolas Thorn-Langelaar (senior male Kyus)
FNT RECAP
It was another round of upsets and hefty defeats across the men’s and women’s premier league. In the MPL Darwin Olympic shocked Hellenic in a 2-0 result, while reigning champions Mindil lost their second on the trot, 1-0 at the hands of Azzurri. Darwin Hearts got the better of Casuarina with a 2-0 victory as Garuda kept its early season form alive with a 3-3 draw against Port Darwin. In the WPL Mindil thumped Olympic 5-0 while Hellenic brushed aside Casuarina 8-2; Sophia Makrylos scored four goals in the victory taking her season tally to 10 in two matches.
GOVE’S BIG SIGNING
Gove United has made a major announcement in its signing of its new senior men’s head coach. Hailing from the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, Aydan Corrie is the new man in charge.
An SC Falcons player in the QCUP and a former Paramatta Eels development squad player, he’s represented the country in both rugby codes as part of the defence force.
April 2, 2025
TELAYA BLACKSMITH’S TRIPLE GOLD
Seventeen-year-old Warlpiri athlete Telaya Blacksmith completed her best meet to date at the weekend securing three first place finishes at the 2025 Combined NSW Little Athletics and Open Championships. The 2024 Paris Paralympian won gold in the 100m sprint (12.86sec), gold in the 200m (26.68sec) and came first in the 400m (59.88sec). Blacksmith also secured a fourth podium finish, taking out third place in the long jump (4.93m).
COOPER CONNOLLY
West Australian all-rounder Cooper Connolly spent some time rolling the arm and having a bat with Darwin juniors and members of parliament during his trip to the Territory’s capital. Connolly along with Australian bigwigs were in the Top End on a media tour, part of the announcement that international cricket is coming back to Darwin after a long 17-year absence.
JOEL KELSO
Territorian Moto3 rider Joel Kelso drove himself to a well deserved podium finish at the MotoGP of USA at the weekend. His second place finish has been a long time coming, his last podium a third place in Australia back in 2023. Now in his fifth season of Moto3, Kelso is in a purple patch of form. The 21-year-old had his best season to date last year finishing ninth overall, and is currently sitting sixth after three races.
FNT RECAP
It was a crazy week in the MPL with a total of two red cards – both coming from the Hellenic vs. Hearts clash – as well as 16 yellow cards dished out across the four games. As for the results, Garuda defeated Casuarina 4-2, Port Darwin defeated Azzurri 3-1, Darwin Olympic defeated Mindil 3-2 and Hellenic defeated Darwin Hearts 3-1. Elsewhere, the two WPL matches were both blowouts. Reigning premiers Mindil got a win following last week’s heavy defeat in a 4-0 result over Darwin Hearts in which Clare Davey kicked a hat-trick. Casuarina showed no mercy against Darwin Olympic, doing them 8-1. Lana Spicer scored six goals, becoming the second player in as many weeks to achieve the feat.
EX-TAH WINS SHIELD
Former Waratah Cricket Club player Jason Sangha was the main man in the 2024-25 Sheffield Shield final for the victorious South Australia as he hit a tremendous 126* (not out) off 192 deliveries in the fourth innings of the match. Sangha spent time in the Top End during the DDCC A-grade competition where he played seven matches for the Warriors during the 2023 two-day season.
March 25, 2025
JAMES SMITH’S GOLDEN PERFORMANCE
Darwin Swimming Club’s James Smith made waves at the recent 2025 NSW Open Swimming Championship in Sydney, returning home with some new bling around his neck. The 19-year-old placed first in the Men’s 1500m Freestyle swimming a personal best, club and NT record of 15:34.87.
Smith also recorded the following results:
– 6th in the Men’s 400m Free
– 87th in the Men’s 100m Free
– 30th in the Men’s 200m Free
– 4th in the Men’s 800m Free
BEST IN THE NATION
Northern Territory cricketing ace Jake Weatherald has a season for the ages, topping the 2024-25 Sheffield Shield season as the highest runs scorer. The Tasmanian opener slogged a monster 906 runs in his 10 matches across 18 innings at an average of 50.33 runs; his high score of 186 runs the competition’s best. In addition, he made three 50s and three 100s hitting at a 68.27 strike rate.
FNT RECAP
Round 2 of the MPL competition saw a number of upsets across the board. Reigning champions Mindil narrowly defeated Casuarina 3-2 despite trailing for most of the match. Garuda won its battle with Darwin Hearts in a 3-1 result while Azzurri shocked Hellenic with a 3-2 victory, and Darwin Olympic bested Port Darwin in a 2-1 result in the final match of the round. Elsewhere, reigning WPL champions Mindil were humbled in their Round 1 clash with Hellenic, losing 6-3. Sophia Makrylos put on the performance of the round with a remarkable six goals for her side. In the other WPL match Darwin Olympic defeated Darwin Hearts 4-1, Pierre-Angelique Koulakis kicking a hat-trick.
DARWIN SALTIES’ NBL WINNERS
Three members of the Darwin Salties family triumphed at the weekend as the Illawarra Hawks men’s team brought its more than two decade long championship drought to an end. Salties men’s coach Matt Flinn was head coach Justin Tatum’s right-hand man this season in his role as assistant coach, while small forward and starting five Wani Swaka Lo Buluk won his fourth title at just 23-years-old. Salties women’s coach Rod Tremlett is another who was among the supporting staff this season, working behind the scenes as the side’s stats man.
KING OF THE RING
The 2025 edition of the King of the Ring was a night of hard-hitting entertainment at Marrara’s Sitzler Netball Stadium. Fighters from around the nation competed in the event with a number of NT locals also pulling on the gloves.
Results:
Bout 1 – Jade Hammellmann (Performance Gym)
Bout 2 – Tyler Tran (Northside Combat Conditioning)
Bout 3 – Kael Reid (Performance Gym)
Bout 4 – Dymitrius Manual (Addiction Kickboxing)
Bout 5 – Marcus Kovac (Northside Combat Conditioning)
Bout 6 – Oli Thornton (Addiction Kickboxing)
Bout 7 – Hamish Blake (Performance Gym)
Bout 8 – Andrew Castle
Bout 9 – Connor Chatterton
Bout 10 – Corey Mays (Spain’s Gym)
Bout 11 – Gary Poland (Full Force Blacktown)
Bout 12 – Jesse Jones (Boars Martial Arts)
Bout 13 – Jamie Saitz (Performance Gym)
MARCH 18, 2025
NT’S ROLE IN SUNS’ BIGGEST VICTORY
Three Territory footy guns played very well at the weekend, all major contributors in Gold Coat’s largest ever winning margin – 20.16 (136) to 7.7 (49) against West Coast. Three time Richmond premiership player Daniel Rioli had a memorable debut for the Queensland outfit, as did Ben Long and Joel Jeffrey. The trio recorded the following stat lines:
Daniel Rioli – 2 goals, 21 disposals, 5 marks, 1 clearance
Ben Long – 4 goals, 1 behind, 12 disposals, 5 marks, 1 goal assist
Joel Jeffrey – 20 disposals, 4 marks, 3 tackles, 1 goal assist
FNT RECAP
Men’s Premier League season 2025 action started at the weekend, smack bang in the middle of AFL NT’s grand finals, with the women’s competition kicking off Saturday 22. Garuda made light work of Azzurri winning in a 5-1 scoreline with David Gonzalez scoring a hat-trick for the orange and black. Olympic and Casuarina played out the first draw of the season in a 1-1 result. A feisty clash, Olympic were dealt one red and a yellow to Casuarina’s three yellow cards. Hearts kept Port scoreless in a 4-0 victory, Angel Giri the star of the round with a four-goal first half. Elsewhere 2024 champions Mindil finished the round with a 1-1 draw against rivals Hellenic.
CARBONE CAPTAINS COLLINGWOOD
Reigning VFLW B & F winner and Darwin Buffaloes alum Dominique Carbone has taken on the prestigious role as Collingwood VFLW captain for 2025. After captaining the Bulldogs to a grand final last season and spending part of her off-season with the Double Blue in the NTFL, the small forward will take to the field for the first time in her new colours March 19 against Geelong for Round 1.
POWELL’S SYDNEY KNOCKOUT
Territory fighter Bronson Powell completed a stellar outing down in Sydney with a terrific second round TKO. Fighting out of Lukphinong Muaythai the 22-year-old’s victory puts him in good stead with his Australian debut mere months away.
BAILEY BRILLIANCE
Southern Districts junior Zac Bailey was another Territory boy who had a massive first hitout at the weekend. The Lions premiership centre was immense in his side’s four-point victory over the Swans kicking four goals and a behind. He finished the match with 4 goals, 1 behind, 17 disposals, a mark and a clearance.
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