AFLW to return to Darwin for Dreamtime game between Richmond and Essendon

The AFLW’s return to the Top End later this year will play a major role in inspiring the next generation of Territory footy stars and bring the NT one step closer to a team.

The return of AFLW footy, namely the Dreamtime fixture, to the Top End will inspire the next generation of Territory talent hoping to take up the sport.

The AFLW Dreamtime match between Richmond and Essendon will be played at TIO Stadium on October 26, as the first top level women’s game in the Territory since 2019.

The match will be the fourth elite level game played in the NT this year, and plays a major role in securing the 20th license for the Territory.

But it will also inspire the next generation of young women to take up the sport and prove there is an avenue from the NT to the top level of the game.

Janet Baird ran water in the very first AFLW match played in the Top End between the Adelaide Crows and Fremantle back in 2016.

For the now 24-year-old from East Arnhem Land it was a catalyst on her journey which included the NTFL best and fairest in the 2018-19 season before she was drafted to the Gold Coast Suns.

Janet Baird, Nigel Browne, Lily Browne, Chief Minister Eva Lawler, Sport Minister Kate Worden and AFLNT chairman Sean Bowden at the announcement of the return of the AFLW to Darwin. Picture: Supplied

She eventually switched clubs to Hawthorn and then returned to the NTFL for St Mary’s in the 2023-24 season, where she featured in the side’s first grand final since 2011.

“Running water was so exciting, I was giving waters to the likes of Chelsea Randall and Erin Phillips and they became some of the biggest names,” Baird said.

“It’s really exciting that more AFLW players get to come up here and experience Darwin and our weather conditions.

“The young girls will light up with excitement, this is a direct pathway into the AFLW and we all know how important the sport is up here and in the remote communities as well.

“If you bring attention to these pathways kids light up, and that’s what motivates them to come up and maybe open up to other things such as education or health.”

Lily Browne is another young Territory women’s player who is pumped to get the AFLW Dreamtime game up to the Top End.

The Wanderers young gun watched the women as her experience of top class footy in Darwin, and it’s an experience that stuck with her.

“It means a lot to have them coming, footy is very important up here,” she said.

“When I was a little I watched the women play and it stuck with me, so now I play footy because of that.

“We had a book with the player’s names, including Stevie Lee Thompson who played for Wanderers, it was cool seeing her and thinking there is Darwin girls out there so maybe I’ve got a shot one day.”

The match builds on the success of the Dreamtime game in 2020, when Darwin was called upon as an alternate ground for the prestigious match during Covid.

Darwin to host AFLW Dreamtime match for first time

The AFLW is set to return to the Top End for the first time in five years when Darwin hosts the AFLW Dreamtime match.

It will be the first time the women’s Dreamtime game, between Richmond and Essendon, will be played outside Victoria.

The prestigious match has held a special place in the men’s competition for the past 20 years, and became a key fixture in the AFLW when the Bombers joined two years ago.

The Crows run onto the ground during at TIO Stadium the last time the AFLW was played in Darwin, back in 2019. Picture: Michael Willson/AFL Media

The NT has not hosted an AFLW game since 2019, when the partnership with the Adelaide Crows came to an end.

TIO Stadium previously hosted the 2020 Dreamtime match during Covid lockdowns in Melbourne, in front of a sell-out crowd under the limitations.

Since then Top End fans have had two AFL matches a year since 2022 with the Gold Coast Suns playing a doubleheader, while Melbourne play a match in Alice Springs each season.

Current Territory AFLW players include Danielle Ponter, who has two premiership wins with the Crows, and recent Gold Coast draftee Annabel Kievet.

The AFLW season is set to begin at the end of August, with the full fixture released in the coming days.

Originally published as AFLW to return to Darwin for Dreamtime game between Richmond and Essendon