Dan Murphy and Taelah Smith named Round 2 NTFL Rising Star nominees
A young Southern Districts player and a Palmerston standout who kicked three Round 2 goals each have been named the latest Rising Stars nominees. Read how they performed.
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A Southern Districts cross-code young gun showed his ability to play right across the ground on his way to winning the Round 2 Rising Star nomination.
Dan Murphy, 17, is a Crocs junior through and through and showed his budding talent with a three goal performance in just his second Premier League outing.
Districts beat Wanderers 21.18 (144) to 9.6 (60) with Murphy named among his side’s best by the club for his work rate and ability to pop up where needed.
Districts’ coach Shannon Rusca said he had been impressed with how quickly Murphy had taken to the top level of the game.
“He did awesome for what was just his second game of Premier League footy,” Rusca said.
“We played him in various roles like on a wing, as a small forward and as pressure forward and we thought he accounted for himself very well out there.
“He and his family have been involved in the football club for a long time, with Dan being a junior right from under-12s, so it’s fantastic to see him progressing through the ranks.”
Murphy has made a name for himself as a cross-code athlete having won the 2024 NRL NT Rising Star after a strong year with the Palmerston Raiders.
“These accolades are just deserts for him,” Rusca said.
“Anyone who knows Dan knows that his work rate is second to none, you could be out at the ground even for the offseason and he will be having shots at goal and refining his craft.
“He’s finding his feet at Premier League level now and will fit in where he can add value, but whatever instructions we give him he has been able to complete, he’s very coachable.”
Nightcliff’s Hau-Tze Rock impressed for the second time in as many rounds and is in clear contention to claim a nomination in the coming weeks.
Meanwhile, Palmerston’s Taelah Smith was named the women’s Rising Star after an impressive showing in the Magpies’ first game of the season.
The Palmerston women beat Waratah 5.12 (42) to 2.2 (14) with Smith scoring three of her sides goals, and bringing the pressure for much of the match.
It was her first goal that broke a stream of behinds for the Magpies, and produced the boost her side needed to push on and secure a rare win against a side they’ve historically struggled against.
Meanwhile Nightcliff’s Kate Martin impressed, as did Jayla Thorne who scored two goals for Wanderers in a tough match against the Crocs.
ROUND 1 - Frances Tipungwuti (Tiwi) and Keanne Hart-Aluni (Buffaloes)
A Tiwi youngster who showed intensity on and off the ball and plenty of promise has been named the opening round Rising Star nominee.
Frances Tipungwuti displayed a mature performance befitting his strong build up to the NTFL season, which included a full Tiwi Islands Football League season with the Muluwurri Magpies.
Off the back of that and a preseason where he has put in the hard yards alongside a Bombers outfit gunning for a strong season he showed what he’s made of in Round 1.
Tipungwuti got plenty of the ball with 17 disposals to his name, where he showed off his speed, but it was determination in defence that caught the eye of coach Patrick Bowden.
“He played a really mature game of football, particularly when he had the ball in his hands, and he got a lot of the ball,”
“His defensive work was also really good, he had a couple of rundown spoils and couple of tackle efforts that were really good, so all up I was happy with his performance.”
Tipungwuti played a couple of games for the Bombers in the 2023-24 season, but early signs are already pointing to him having a few breakout performances this season.
“He’s just a young fella who played a couple of games for us last year and we’ve kept an eye on him since then,” Bowden said.
“He played the whole season in the TIFL for the Muluwurri Magpies and had a really great season, and would have polled quite high in the best and fairest there.
“And he’s had a great preseason, barely missed a session and with form being a sign of preparation he’s done a great job preparing for the season.”
The Bombers kicked off their season in style beating Wanderers 19.9 (123) to 9.12 (66) to post one of their best Round 1 performances in quite a few seasons.
“We had a lot of confidence before we played that game, we just want to play a Tiwi brand as we did and continue the way we play,” Bowden said.
“PINT will be different this week in the way they structure up, so we’re going to have to try and handle that and continue to play our way.
“If we can handle their pressure then I think our pressure and offensive work should make it a really good game.”
Meanwhile, Darwin Buffettes Keanne Hart-Aluni was the standout youngster in the women’s competition scoring two goals as her side almost came back to beat PINT.
The reigning premiers got out to a quick lead in the opening quarter, but the Double Blues showed their stuff in the periods to follow to almost topple their foes.
Hart-Aluni was one of the standouts in that period and scored two goals in the come from behind surge, in which she showed her natural ball playing skills for all to see.
Saints’ Shakila Gardiner-Dunn, Tiwi’s Rosie Wilson and Districts’ Sophie Sawyer were among the other top young players in the women’s competition.
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