NT News journalist Craig Dunlop is a Cosmopolitan bachelor of the year finalist after being nominated as a joke

DESPITE having a reputation for turning women into lesbians, NT News journalist Craig Dunlop stands out among the male slob feast that is Darwin as a Cosmopolitan Bachelor of the Year finalist.

NT News journalist and Cosmopolitan bachelor of the year finalist as the magazine made him look. He does not really look this good. Picture: Cosmopolitan Magazine

• Horny roo hot for pig
• Wandering cocks on the loose

HE IS a pretty boy among a herd of pig shooting, beer gorging bogans for whom dressing up means buying new thongs to go to a funeral.

Craig Dunlop is not like that, he doesn’t shoot pigs.

But he does have a reputation for turning women to lesbianism and being a man who is very, very in touch with his feeling — too in touch with his feelings.

Dunlop wasn’t born in the Territory, few are, he came like most because he’s squandered his opportunities in the “real” world and went north. People either run to hide in Coober Pedy, Christmas Island or Darwin. And Darwin is where you go if your life is redeemable.

Dunlop is among 30 of the country’s hottest blokes for the Cosmopolitan bachelor of the year, a “new” competition which has taken over from Cleo’s annual hunt for eligible men after the magazine folded in January.

He was nominated as a joke but seemingly the magazine didn’t get the joke — or perhaps they did, it’s hard to find meaning and reason here.

“A workmate nominated me as a feeble attempt at workplace harassment, needless to say it blew up in his face,” he said.

“I know my mum has voted for me a few times. I don’t know what sort of message she’s trying to send me. I’m pretty sure she wants me to find a nice girl who reads teenage lifestyle magazines.”

Craig Dunlop pretending to sleep while working. He likes to lull his target into a false sense of security. Picture: Facebook

Dunlop said he would contact an ex-girlfriend for this article, who came out as a lesbian after the relationship ended, but with the warning, “she’s pretty successful and she might not want to be named for fear of public association with me.”

Fellow NT News journalist, and columnist — who shot to world attention earlier in the year when she was named the world’s first double banger, Croc and UFO reporter — Jill Poulsen, has worked with Dunlop for several years and sees him being a finalist as a win, of sorts.

“Was I surprised Craig made it as a finalist in Cosmo bachelor of the year?” she said.

“Yeah, sure I was, and I don’t mean in a mean way but the bloke has never once worn an ironed shirt to work and carries around a little yellow bag with dinosaurs on it.

“I guess it’s a bit of a win for mediocre men everywhere.”

Another women from his past — who did not want to be named — but said she knew him intimately, said he had a talent for being able to blur the gender lines in a relationship.

“And as a woman who has slept with him, I did consider batting for the other team afterwards,” she said.

“He’s a gentle lover, like a lady, but if I want to sleep with a lady, I want boobs attached.

“He’s also literally the hairiest man I have ever seen. It’s like he was dunked in Rogain as a child.”

"Do you need photos of me oiled up" - @dunlop_craig from @TheNTNews pic.twitter.com/mqazgkNsfK

— Courtney Todd (@courtjtodd) 12 September 2016

Although he is the paper’s main court reporter, Dunlop found infamy, like all decent NT News journos, by writing stories that would be “career killers” for your more, staid, self-important scribes who operate “down south”.

“I like Darwin and storytelling is the most fundamental cultural activity humans engage in,” he said.

“Also, you can buy mangoes here for $2 per kilogram.

“I once wrote a story about a kangaroo humping a pig.

“I broke the internet that day, kind of like that Kardashian chick but without balancing a champagne flute on my behind.”

When Craig Dunlop got his big break as a journalist. Picture: NT News

Under the front page headline, “I’ve got you babe” with a photo of a kangaroo named F**k It and a pig named Apples, caught mid-copulation, Dunlop gets lyrical about the illicit macropod — swine love.

A KANGAROO and a pig have struck up an intense romantic relationship in the tiny wayside town of Aileron,” he wrote.

“The animals’ owner Greg Dick said tourists were often taken aback at the sight of the kangaroo — named “F**k It” — mounting Apples the pig by the side of the road.

But he says he’s powerless to intervene in the outback love affair.

“It’s quite an unusual thing,” he said.

“I tried to take the pig away the other day and the kangaroo nearly tore the fence down.”

….But despite being a gentle lover, he said F**k It was sometimes unfaithful.

“He’ll try to (get on to) anything, it’s a wonder he hasn’t had a go at the geese,” he said.”

And that is not to mention the yarns about the UFOs stealing mangoes; the homeless man and Lord Mayoral candidate known as “The Rubbish Warrior” stripping naked in court; the “furious masturbator” at Royal Darwin Hospital; the bloke who went AWOL from prison work release to have hot chips with his girlfriend; and the receptionist from the NT Opposition leader’s office who drunkenly assaulted a charity boss on a plane.

It is a hectic pace as an NT News journo and he sometimes has to snort Coke to keep on going. Picture: Facebook

But he also knows how to relax. He does that by reclining seductively on a boat. Picture: Facebook

Cosmopolitan Magazine did not respond to questions about how Dunlop had become a finalist and what characteristics made him among the most appealing bachelors in Australia. Or even what went wrong with its processes that allowed him in.

This year the nominations were done through the Tinder app and the 300 men with the most “right swipes” from women “voting” for them were presented to the judging panel.

But is a step up from shaming yourself writing about people and animals and aliens shaming themselves.

Former winners include Eric Bana, Jason Dundas, Andy Lee, and Andy G. But there is hope, the original blue Wiggle, Anthony Field is also a former winner.

The winner will be announced in February.

Another female journalist who works with him, Tamara Howie said it was slightly unexpected.

“Craig’s an unlikely finalist, mainly because of the idea of being part of a competition implies a tiny shred of attainability for the desperate chicks jelling off to the photos,” she said.

“But anyone close to Craig knows there’s no room in his life for anyone else because of his ego.

“And it’s lucky he’s good looking so you can stare into those dreamy blue eyes for hours while he stutters out a sentence.

“Despite the Cosmo photos of him looking schmick in a suit, he has never worn anything similar to work and usually comes to work dressed like a lawyer with a heroin habit who hasn’t been caught yet.”

He is also good with his hands in a very blokey way. Not only can he type, he also risks getting his hands dirty by giving the thumbs down sign that the work car is broken, when he is standing near greasy areas. Picture: Facebook.

But he can also show his feminine side. He’s too good at showing his feminine side according to some women. Picture: Facebook

While another female colleague, Hayley Sorensen said he was the complete package ... in a way.

“He smells terrible sometimes,” she said.

“And he’s on a cadet wage. And he has the most befuddling fashion sense.”

But among Dunlop’s host of chick-melting qualities is his self-depreciating humour, essential for a hack at the bearded lady of Australian newspapers.

“I once did a bit of manscaping for a date and trimmed my chest hair, but then ran out of patience and still had the back hair going in its full, natural beauty,” he said.

“It was like a body mullet.

“Much to my disappointment they didn’t go for an underwear shot. They only seemed to do that with the guys who have been to the gym. I felt kind of body shamed.

“I drive a 1986 Mitsubishi Sigma, which is actually one of the best cars ever made in Australia, if not the best.

At work, probably writing about UFOs stealing mangoes, with journalist Tamara Howie, who thinks he has a large ego. Picture: Facebook

“I purchased it off of a woman called Thelma, there was no mention of a Louise, but I like to think that at some stage it’s been on a feminist journey of self discovery, ending with being driven off of a cliff.

“We’ve had plenty of adventures. There was that time I broke down near Wagga. Then there was the time I broke down in Tenant Creek. And the time I broke down in Ouyen. By adventures, I mean breakdowns.”

“Let’s just say that I get my value for money out of premium roadside assistance.”

Dunlop was asked on the official competition website, why people should vote for him.

“ ... sometimes average blokes deserve to win.”

But in a truer insight into the man, we reach to his own words again. The words of a desperate man — which he really is.

“The only thing that would be better than being one of the country’s most eligible bachelors would be, you know, having a girlfriend.”

Sara Longman think's Craig Dunlop's 1986 Mitsubishi Sigma is Darwin's sexiest car. Mainly because it has a square cup holder that fits a Pauls Iced Coffee container. Picture: Hels Orr

Here he is with a former girlfriend and his ideal woman. Picture: Facebook