Dual best and fairest winner Abe Ankers keen to continue state league football after career block
TERRITORY Thunder’s dual best and fairest winner Abe Ankers is reassessing his playing future after news broke of the club’s demise last week
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TERRITORY Thunder’s dual best and fairest winner Abe Ankers is reassessing his playing future after news broke of the club’s demise last week.
The 24-year-old Centralian was joint captain of Thunder’s 2019 — and last — NEAFL side where he was crowned club champion for the second successive year.
“I’m not too where I’ll be playing next (southern) season,’’ he said. “I’m from Brisbane so there’s an inkling for me to go home and play footy there or anywhere else on the east coast.
“One thing is for sure, I want to stay playing state league level football for the next few years and whether that’s in Brisbane or the SANFL remains to be seen.
“It’s pretty sad when I can’t go out and represent the NT next year, but at the same time, when one door closes another one opens in this game.
“I’m sure there will be some huge challenges out there for all the boys who played at Thunder as to where they go with their careers.’’
Ankers holds no bitterness toward Thunder’s administration despite the sudden disappearance of his football club.
But there is a sense of confusion on why the shutters were pulled down so suddenly on a decade-long project he loved being part of.
“I don’t envy the people who had to make the decision, I’m sure they didn’t just wake up one day and ‘I want to can Thunder’, Ankers said.
“There’s a lot more behind it and I’m sure we’ll find out more as time progresses.’’
In the short term Ankers is preparing for another season with NTFL club Waratah as they look to improve on a fourth-placed finish in 2019-19.
“Obviously the plan is to try and get some type of pre-season going in preparation for Tahs and try and get as fit as I can,’’ he said.
“Hopefully then I can take the next step with my footy career and continue to try and achieve my ambition of playing at an elite level.’’
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