Here’s everything you need to know about each NTFL side ahead of the 2025-26 season
Big name recruits and local talents are primed for what is shaping up to be another huge season of Top End footy. Check out how each club is shaping up for NTFL 2024-25.
The NTFL is back for another huge season full of big ins, returning stars and rivalries that are sure to spark plenty of excitement for the big year to come.
And once again the NT News will be your one stop shop for all the action as we livestream both the men’s and women’s premier league.
Some big names have switched clubs with powerhouse sides consolidating their talent and those down the bottom looking for their way into finals.
Get your club by club preview below and read how to catch every match of the 2025-26 NTFL season live.
Southern Districts
The Crocs tore through the league last season to claim the club’s fourth flag on the back of a squad filled with proven winners.
And the talk is the taste of success has made them hungrier than ever for more, proven as they snapped up one of the hottest names on the market in the recently retired Quinton Narkle.
He joins a host of former AFL talent at Districts including Steven Motlop, Jed Anderson and Tom Clurey.
They won’t be the only names to look out for with captain Michael Bowden and Chaney medal winning ruck Wyatt Ryan set to have an impact again.
Then there’s the likes of Jonathon Ross, Matt Shannon and brothers Matt Johnston and Jordan Johnston also among the returnees to go around again.
It sets the tone for what coach Shannon Rusca, and his co-coach Dave Barnard, have called a successful pre-season where the message has been not resting on the laurels of the previous season.
“They’ve been very hungry actually, they’ve been working extremely hard, which is a real pleasure to see,” he said.
“Having Quinton on-board is amazing, he’s a wonderful human, very engaging but you also get the benefits of his smooth skills and we would have been silly not to put our hands up for him.
“We’ve had a few changes but we’ve been very lucky to retain the majority of list from last year, with the couple we’ve lost replaced by someone of Narkle’s pedigree.
“Then we’ve got a lot of guys known to the club, the Clarke brothers (Tommy and Jalen), the Johnston brothers (Matt and Jordan) and Brodie Lake who contribute to our deep local base.”
Districts is a club that’s had plenty of success in its junior department too and has strong pathways, as shown in Zac Bailey’s recent second premiership win with the Brisbane Lions.
Will Rowlands returns after being on Gold Coast’s list alongside other club juniors such as Taj Stanley, Harry Sage, Tom Boustead, Sydney-Jack Baker and Billy Brown.
“We’re always great with our juniors, we’ve got a big pathway for them and put a lot of time and development into them,” Rusca said.
“A lot of guys have grown into potential league players and so a lot will get blooded throughout the year once we know the landscape of the competition and that it will work for them.
“Our whole list is training the hardest I’ve ever seen them, they’ve put in a lot of kilometres so hopefully we’ve planned it right for what will be a long season.”
St Mary’s
St Mary’s proved their renowned finals class last season and if they’re in the picture again by season’s end they’ll be a side everyone will be cautious of.
Saints overcame an unusual four straight losses through the middle of the season that condemned to fifth to making the grand final.
The Green Machine were then beaten by Southern Districts but were the only side to get one over the Crocs all season.
Captain and two time Nichols medal winner Dylan Landt makes his return alongside the league’s three-time leading goal kicker Jackson Calder.
Kieren Parnell is back to run the defensive end after playing a starring role in Wangaratta’s grand final win as well as Jack Landt, who kicked 11 goals in last year’s finals series.
“We had a great season particularly in finals going from fifth to the big dance beating some quality sides and made it uncomfortable for Districts in the final,” coach Anthony Vallejo said.
“Jack’s looking as fit as I’ve ever seen him so expect a big season from him and Kieren is obviously in a bit of form after being named among the best players in his recent final.”
Last season the side were desperately missing a dedicated ruckman, but have made the necessary change bringing in Liam Read, who was best on ground in Jabiru’s Division 1 premiership triumph.
Other recruitments include small forward Damien Dunn from the Tiwi Bombers and Kieren Mu, who previously played with the Nightcliff Tigers.
Nate Paredes will make his return this year while Connor West, who was a standout last season, will return as a fly-in.
The growing base of local talent such as Kobe Hodges, Jacob Long and Xavier Vallejo are now in the age bracket where they can start stepping into leader roles of the group.
Then juniors such as Ethan Bush and Thomas Dewsbury are starting to firm their spots in the squads, with under-16s Hickman medal winner Aaron McWilliams getting his senior chance this year.
“We identified some areas where we needed some help in the ruck and getting some good small forwards in to hopefully help out the guys we’ve leaned on in recent seasons,” Vallejo said.
“We’ve been kind of relying on the likes of Landt and Calder to get us out of trouble in games in the past so we’re looking at a few blokes to stand up this year and help them out.
“We’ve retained about 90 percent of our list, which probably won’t show right away considering the early bye but we will be at full strength after a couple of rounds.
“We won’t be changing our game style, we like to play an exciting brand, move the ball quickly and our high pressure shows with our tackle numbers through the roof.”
Nightcliff Tigers
Nightcliff remains a powerhouse club of the league and with plenty of returning stars will again be pushing for a return to the top.
The Tigers have made a couple of significant pick-ups with junior Jack Peris making his return after a stint on St Kilda’s list and former AFL Crow and recently retired Rory Atkins.
Byron Pickett Jr is another primed to be a gun in front of goal after booting 102 goals in just 10 games in the Western Eyre Football League, including two 20-goal hauls.
The side will again be led by co-captains Ryan Nyhuis and now three-time Nichols winner Brodie Filo with other significant names such as Brandan Parfitt and Nathan Brown also making returns.
And for third-year coach Leigh Crossman the early season buy-in and commitment from those trusted names sets the stage for an exciting season.
“We’ve got a really consistent key group and we won’t have to change a lot from last year in terms of how we play just a few minor things because finishing third isn’t what we’re about,” he said.
“We’re there to win and win grand finals in particular, that’s what every side should be aiming to do and we’re no different.
“We know NT footy is fluid in terms of players coming and going so it will take a bit to work out how we want to play, defensively we’re set up well so it will come down to working our attack.”
Goal kicking was an issue for the Tigers last season and it will be about players taking ownership of the forward roles to back up what is a formidable backline and midfield.
Jonathon Lanyon is one who could go full forward while Filo and Nyhuis know how to kick a goal when required.
Crossman is also excited to utilise the youth at Tigerland such as Gus Trigwell and Taj Murray who are both among the rising stars of Territory footy.
“We’ve also got Calvin Peris-Chong and Xavier Roberston and others, we’re really lucky to have a good core of juniors coming through,” he said.
“Focusing on the core group living here is really important, they’re the guys that are going to win you games of football.
“For us staying near the top is about being fit and having people available at the right time of year, it’s a long season so we have to be up for it.”
Nightcliff will be one side particularly happy to see the back of the fly-in rule after a brief blow with it last season, but are still a club keen to see the majority of their names relocated to Darwin.
“It takes the pressure off the league and clubs from policing each other and allows us to focus on the footy,” Crossman said.
“It rewards clubs with more backing but we walk a fine line of how many we fly-in and balance with the players we have living here, at Nightcliff we have a clear plan of what we want to do with it.”
Waratah
Waratah will welcome in some sons of former premiership players in a bid to put their hands on another flag, while a former AFL great will emerge as a season highlight.
Joel Stevens, returning from West Adelaide, and Nightcliff junior Zac Withers will link up with the Tahs men this season just as their fathers Nick Stevens and Lincoln Withers did in the 90s.
Then there’s Brownlow medallist Dane Swan, who will finally make his much anticipated appearance for the side four years after he was originally supposed to in Round 3.
Those early, strong announcements have second-year coach Rick Nolan excited for the season to come following a strong preseason.
“Numbers are good and in all honesty we’ve probably been training a bit harder than we did last year,” Nolan said.
“We’ve got two sons of premiership players coming in and that’s something we’re excited about, it’s always a transient competition so you can never be sure how many players come back.
“And Swan creates a bit of excitement for us having one of the greatest AFL players of all time at the club, it’s not something I’ve ever done before but we’re all looking forward to it.”
Many of the usual faces are making their return to the club with Scott Carlin, who polled brilliantly in the Nichols, gaining the captaincy.
Joel Hillis and Robbie Bartee are others coming out of a huge preseason and look the goods to hold down their positions.
The big in though is former Nightcliff player Cody Szust who has a SANFL and VFL career including stints at Port Adelaide and Port Melbourne.
On the club junior side of things the likes of Brody Embuscado, Oliver Poulson and Sebastian Cox will all re-join the fray post university.
Nolan pointed out Clay Shadforth as one to watch as well calling the player who’s been in Vic Coutry “an absolute gun” with the focus for the season building the depth based in Darwin.
“The quality of our preseason has been better and despite the rule changes we know the sides that win premierships are those that have players based in Darwin throughout the year,” he said.
“Districts are obviously the benchmark, we’ve just got to keep building and get as many players as we can based in Darwin and build our local base, and we’re getting there.
“We need more depth, that’s what we’re working on, we have a lot of juniors at training but the ones we have game time in will be a couple of months wait for after uni.”
Tiwi Bombers
The Bombers returned to the finals fight last season and they’ve made a statement of intent to remain there with the return of Willie Rioli Jr.
Rioli won an NTFL flag and Chaney medal while at St Mary’s as a teenager but Tiwi was the last club he played for in the Top End before his AFL career that included a premiership with West Coast.
Now the Territorian, who finished his career at Port Adelaide, is home and will make an impact on a young Tiwi side full of players brimming with potential.
“His experience is one thing but his leaderships and being a mentor for the young Tiwi fellas is going to be most important for the football club,” coach Patrick Bowden said.
“He’s a renowned footballer and we want him to enjoy his football, but we also want the younger players to gravitate to him and try to learn as much from him and his experiences.”
Among the Tiwi players to watch are Michael Thompson and Thaddeus Puautjimi who have grown stronger in the offseason and will get more chances to show their skills.
Human highlight reel Anthony Munkara and the experienced Kim Kantilla are others to watch, while Nigel Lockyer Jr and Jeremy Finlayson will make appearances for the club too.
“We have the four different training groups, but they’re working hard and we have quality coaches in Austin Wonaeamirri and Simon Munkara working with the groups on the island,” Bowden said.
“They’re doing a great job out there getting those Tiwi players working hard bringing some great leadership and experience.”
There’s plenty of on-field experience too in Ashton Hams, Braedon McLean and Sam Darley who allow the Tiwi youngsters to play the fast, skilful game the Bombers are famous for.
Last season the mix of experience and raw Tiwi talent paid dividends as the side returned to finals for the first time since the 2019-20 season and Bowden hopes to that progress continue.
“We’ve had a great bunch of blokes over the past couple of years who have played in the TIFL or down south developing themselves and getting better,” he said.
“We want to play fast and exciting footy as we always do, but we have to get the balance right and that means having a strong back line and moving well through the midfield.
“We want to win games but be unique and do it the Tiwi way as in speed and flair, we got a bit tired late last year so a massive focus will be on preparing the boys for the pressure of a long season.”
PINT
The Greenants have cemented themselves as stayers in the shape of the Premier League and now the goal has to be to remain a competitive outfit.
PINT enters its fourth season off the back of a sixth-place finish in which they were on the wrong side of some bad score lines but were largely in the fight.
Coach Mark Whiley enters his second year with a larger understanding of what Top End footy is all about and where recruitments need to be made, particularly in the forwards.
“It’s definitely different to anything I’ve experienced and that was part of the challenge of coming up last year knowing I would have to change and learn a few things,” he said.
“A big part of that has been getting a good list together and getting some good zero pointers back, that’s probably been our biggest focus.”
That list includes former Adelaide Crow Jimmy Rowe who has earned some real cred as a goal kicker in the SANFL for Woodville-West Torrens.
Murphy Short from Port Douglas is another coming in while Connor McDonald and Harry Maher are among those making their return to the side based at DXC Arena.
That’s not to mention some of the standouts for PINT of the past few years including Thomas Schott, Elliott Chalmers, Brad Ryan and Jacob Maloney.
“We’ve managed to build ourselves a fair list at this point and hopefully it keeps building,” Whiley said.
“This preseason has been good for us, I’ve been up here living this time compared to last and a good group has too so we’ve been able to get a couple of sessions in each week to get to know the boys.
“The fly-in rule change helps remove the grey area for us too, we had a lot of guys that could have probably come last year but then couldn’t because of the rule.
“I think it’s just more reasonable for guys who have stuff going on and allows us to be more flexible in how we recruit as with every other club.”
PINT’s first task will be against a Waratah outfit with a hunger for success of its own and the two sides meet in a Sunday encounter that will give early hints of the seasons.
“Tahs are a great team and well-coached and have no doubt recruited well, we may go in as underdogs but will do our best against them,” Whiley said.
“We know this season is going to be competitive with the names coming in and we hope to be there to.”
Wanderers
There’s been rumblings of a host of new names joining Wanderers, and this season we get to see how that talent injection lifts the foundation side.
For the most part the Muk Muks have a proud heritage of developing local talent and while it will be no different this year they have been targeting players from further afield too.
Billy Shanks, Harry Willis, Josh Werchon and Hamish McRae were all announced on the eve of the season start and are just some of the interstate players we will see.
The returning Cody Leggett is perhaps the biggest name with the WAFL player coming in as a playing-assistant to coach Aaron Motlop after an impressive run for the Eagles last season.
But as normal Wanderers are a side that rely heavily on their local base with Matthew Motlop, Daniel Fuller, Dylan Dos Santos and Daniel Clee among the club leaders making returns.
“We rely on our local base but we seeing a bit of a refresh as well with about five to 10 guys recruited to live up in Darwin,” Motlop said.
“They’re coming up to really immerse themselves in what the club is about and getting a real feel for how passionate our local players, supporters and volunteers are in the club.
“Cody is the big one and a huge return for us, a 100 gamer in the WAFL and now he’s invested in the club and rubbing shoulders with our young talented players, hopefully they can learn from him.
“Just the way he attacks the footy and stays in the contest is massive and you can really tell by the way he trains and applies himself that he will have a huge impact.”
Billy Crofts is another the Muk Muks will hope to get back but first the wait will be on the draft after he won a VFL flag with Footscray.
The Muk Muks have their junior talent as well to look out for including the impressive Sonny Smiler and Jaren Sambo.
Those investments have Motlop hoping the club can draw back the gap on the top sides, with Wanderers last season in finals contention until after the Christmas break.
“We have invested in our local group because until the local base matches the talent from elsewhere you can recruit all you want but it won’t be sustainable,” Motlop said.
“It will be an interesting season, the increase in points is great for everyone to try to level the competition but it’s not there just yet.
“What I can do as coach is focus on our guys, give opportunities and play a real Wanderers brand of footy, which works hard on both sides of the footy and make it something our supporters can be proud of.”
Darwin Buffaloes
It’s been a bumpy couple of seasons for the Darwin Buffaloes, but this season their want for success will be fuelled by the tragic recent death of one of their own - Willem Rockett.
Rockett died following a medical emergency at a preseason training, a tragic event that has united the entire squad who supported him through those moments for the season to come.
Buffaloes coach Phil Wills said Rockett’s death would galvanise the entire playing squad; particularly the senior men’s group who knew him as a trainer and a player.
“The whole team pulled together and have since stayed connected and checked in with each other after the tragic incident,” Wills said.
“We’re really looking to play this season in his spirit, which will be our thing at each game because he was one of the best blokes we knew.
“He would do anything for anyone, he would give you the shirt off his back and was always there to help out and whenever it gets tough this season we will think of him.”
The Buffaloes didn’t win a match until Round 14 last season and finished the year second from the bottom, but will take some confidence in having Wills as coach for an entire preseason this time.
Captain Jarrod Stokes will be one to look at again and comes fresh off a season with the Southern Mallee Thunder where the side reached the grand final and he was runner-up best and fairest.
He was joined by his brother Bradley Stokes with the pair forming what will surely be a core part of the club’s leadership group, alongside the club’s women’s coach Chris Atkinson.
Club juniors Tashaun Wright and Kalen Russell will be others to look out for and have been training the house down at the Buffaloes.
“The senior boys will still be there with a couple of additions, with a lot of lads willing to fly up and stay for some blocks of games,” Wills said.
“Wright and Russell are two up and coming juniors coming up after some strong seasons and will add numbers at training, which we want to see.
“It’s good to have had the full pre-season, there’s been the challenges of numbers but it’s been good to put some forward thinking things in place and get the vibe up.
“The most pleasing thing has been seeing what we’ve got, I don’t need the best players just the best team, we’ve heard the rumours from elsewhere but for us it’s about building the team chemistry.”
Buffs will also be looking to get a few guys from interstate on-board but are one of many clubs focused on building the local base.
“If you had the money you could fly in 22 players but that’s not sustainable, we’ve had conversations with some lads but we’ve focused on building the foundation of our club,” Wills said.
“We want to build our local base and get some relocates back up, we don’t want to be in the position and most of all we want to be competitive.”
Palmerston Magpies
For Palmerston the way is up, but it’s all about taking advantage of the junior players they have at their disposal.
The Magpies have had their struggles in recent years with glimpses of promise snuffed out when put against superior opposition.
But there’s a growing sense of confidence with coach Mark Tyrrell, who captained the club in their glory days, entering his second season and a strong set of juniors with more experience.
“It’s been good compared to last season where I didn’t know where we were as a club and where we were headed, we’re miles ahead of this time last year,” Tyrrell said.
“Back then we lost four or five of our senior players, but this year we haven’t, we have southern guys coming back and the kids have got another year of growth in them.
“We’re not going to be world beaters right away but it’s promising and we’re going to start showing a bit of improvement.”
NTFL veteran Shaun Wilson returns for his second year as club captain and has done a power of work to keep the group connected through the off season.
Premium ball winner Baxter Mensch returns from a two-year stint at the Darwin Buffaloes while other southern players including Nayef Hamed have kept in touch with the club.
When looking at the club’s future, Tyrrell has identified a strong group of juniors who will be heirs apparent to club leadership including Tyson Mattiazzo, who’s had a huge preseason, Joel Munnich, Deacon Summerville and Nathaniel Lampton.
Then there’s a couple of the club’s favourite sons Alwyn Davey Jr and Jayden Davey who may well make their return too after being delisted from the Bombers, only bolstering the Magpies.
“The Davey name is so strong at the club, we’ve given them time but have spoken through family to get them back,” Tyrell said.
“They will be here, we don’t know when or for how long but whatever we get from them is a bonus and a blessing.
“We still see this season as the haves and have nots, I think the bottom four teams will make some ground but the equalisation will still take some time.
“It won’t happen instantly because the points have opened up but from a period of time with more players coming up and relocating here.”
The Magpies will remain a mystery for at least the first week with their bye giving them an early look at the rest of the competition and what that might mean in terms of the fly-in rule change.
“To the top teams it’s their cherry on top while we use it to see if we can get guys up here and showcase the area for potential future relocate players,” Tyrrell said.
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Originally published as Here’s everything you need to know about each NTFL side ahead of the 2025-26 season
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