AFL 2021: Northern Territory joins race for new team licence to be based out of Darwin

All the talk has been about Tasmania, but a new region is set to launch a bid for its own AFL team – and they have every reason to feel confident.

The Northern Territory will launch a bold bid to establish an AFL team when the league grants its next licence.

The team would be based in Darwin with plans already drawn up for a new stadium to be built in the city’s CBD.

Games would also be played in Alice Springs, with options for matches in Townsville and Cairns also being considered.

AFLNT chairman Sean Bowden said the bid was about activating and nurturing the talent in the Northern Territory — particularly in remote Indigenous communities — and inspiring those players towards an AFL career.

“You look at players like (Michael) ‘Mago’ McLean, Maurice Rioli, Mick Long and Andy McLeod who had to travel 4000km away from home to the freezing cold in Melbourne to get their chance,” he said.

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“We want to give those kids who grow up in the Northern Territory the same opportunities that exist for kids who grows up in Sandringham or Sturt. We want them to play in front of home crowds made up of friends, family and countrymen.”

The bid is based on a feasibility study, obtained by News Corp, which argues a side based in the NT would have huge social and economic benefits, particularly for Aboriginal people.

While consultants Bastion EBA concluded the NT’s small population and subsequent lack of football-related revenues meant a team could not be established under a traditional model, it has put forward the case for an “unconventional model”.

“The unconventional model emphasises social impact as the core objective of the team, which would be unprecedented in Australian, and potentially global, professional sport,” the report says.

The consultants say the value of that social benefit could be as great as $462 million, pointing to improved health, education and crime reduction outcomes if the NT had its own team.

The bid has the backing of the Northern Territory Labor Government, which funded the feasibility study.

Chief Minister Michael Gunner said it was important the Northern Territory was ready when a license becomes available.

“Territorians love their footy and we produce some of the AFL’s most exciting players who have been lighting up the competition for years,” he said.

“We deserve our own team. The social benefits of having a team in the NT would be significant for the Territory and the sport.”

Sydney Stack and former Tiwi Islander Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti in action in the 2020 Dreamtime in Darwin game.

The consultants estimate the initial capital expenditure required for the team at $76.5 million, assuming games are played at an upgraded TIO Stadium. This increases to $290 million if a new stadium is built.

The annual operating cost is estimated at $45 million with a predicted revenue of $30 million, leaving a $15 million shortfall.

But the consultants argue the social impact of the team would negate the funding shortfall.

“From Bastion’s research, the AFL would be making history in Australian sport by investing in a team that holds social impact as a primary objective,” the report says.

The consultants recommend a joint funding model with support from the Federal and Northern Territory Governments, Aboriginal Land Councils, and private enterprise, including sponsorship from resources companies.

The bid’s backers are also pointing to the potential economic benefits for the Northern Territory, particularly in tourism, with plans being considered for marque Dreamtime games in Darwin and Alice Springs, marketed to interstate supporters.

MAGIC: DARWIN NEEDS A NEW STADIUM

Michael McLean played more than 200 games at the top level and knows the importance of elite sport and the support programs it brings with it.

The former Western Bulldog, Brisbane and Allies representative player welcomes a feasibility study that outlines several sporting and social positives associated with a “home” AFL side.

But he warns a lot of work has to be down further down the production line, with junior development a major priority.

“It’s awesome to think we’ll have an elite sporting organisation based in Darwin and hopefully that will filter through to our development programs,’’ McLean said.

“At the moment we’ve got a lot of work to do and it’s also important an AFL side up here will improve all aspects of the local competitions across the NT.

“And you need a boutique stadium. I just came back from the Gabba (in Brisbane) last weekend and it’s just miles ahead of TIO Stadium.

“That’s not being disrespectful, especially when you look at Optus Oval in Perth, the Adelaide Oval and Marvel Stadium in Melbourne.’’

Darwin footy fans pack TIO Stadium for a Carlton v Gold Coast game in 2020. Picture: Che Chorley

McLean said it was a case of if you want to play with the big dogs, you’ve got to be ready for the whole show.

“That’s where you need to get your junior systems right, your development and your Academies and whatever they want to call them.

“They really have to become elite and right now I don’t think they are, in fact I think we’re way off it and we need a marked improvement in those areas.

‘But one would think inside the environment of an AFL club that would change really quickly.’’

Junior development and successful player pathways mean a lot to the man they call “Magic’’ in reference to his tremendous skills as a footballer.

“It means a lot to me because of the number of kids missing out on the elite level,’’ he said.

“We haven’t had enough kids coming through the system and others that have dropped off after only lasting for a short term.

“At the end of the day it’s not about egos, it’s about our kids and the future, where you have to make decisions and put systems in place for the kids.’’

TIME FOR AFL TO GIVE BACK TO THE TERRITORY

— Matt Cunningham, 360 view

Which Australian school has produced the best AFL footballers?

It’s been the subject of recent water-cooler debate as the Herald Sun lists the star alumni of various Victorian institutions.

But there’s a clear and unequivocal winner in this argument.

The school is long way from Melbourne. It sits on the side of the Stuart Highway about a kilometre out of Darwin’s CBD.

And in the past 40 years, St John’s College has produced six Norm Smith medals and 12 premierships.

Students who’ve gone on to AFL fame include Maurice Rioli, Michael Long, Andrew McLeod, Nathan Buckley, Cyril Rioli, Daniel Rioli and Willie Rioli.

The school’s record is emblematic of the incredible contribution footballers from the Northern Territory have made to the AFL since Maurice Rioli burst onto the scene at Richmond in 1982.

Since then, Territory footballers have lit up the national game, wowing fans with skills that at times seem to defy physics.

This has been sold as a great AFL success story.

But for every Long and McLeod who has dazzled on the MCG, there’s another whose career was stifled by the challenges of physical and cultural distance.

Liam Jurrah, Austin Wonaeamirri, Relton Roberts and Troy Taylor are among those who chose to head home when their AFL careers had just begun.

There are many more who never made the journey in the first place.

Even the great Cyril Rioli called time on his stellar AFL career aged just 28, so he could return home to Darwin.

Cyril Rioli grew up in the Tiwi Islands.

Most Australians would never have been to a remote Aboriginal community. Those who have would have been confronted by what they witnessed.

Crowded housing, crumbling infrastructure and little in the way of economic activity. But in each of those communities you’re almost certain to find a kid with a footy.

Junior footy looks different in the Northern Territory. The bounces are many and the packs are few.

It’s almost a reminder of how the game was meant to be played. A game that, unlike other codes, has no off-side rule or goalkeeper.

A game where anyone is free to run anywhere. Where the best way to defend is always to attack.

Most children are taught to play football. These kids were born to play. Every kick, handball, baulk and bounce looks like a natural extension of their wiry bodies.

Yet their path to a career at the highest level is littered with barriers. They’ve even been told they’ll only be drafted if one of their parents is white.

Former Adelaide recruiting manager Matt Rendell was widely criticised for those comments in 2012, but they’re proving sadly prophetic.

According to a feasibility study conducted into an NT AFL team, AFL clubs recruited 10 players from the Northern Territory in 2010 and 2011.

In 2018 and 2019 they recruited none. That’s not because of a lack of talent. Some clubs have become as risk-averse in their recruiting as they are with their game plans.

Better to chip it sideways to a safe option than take the game on through the middle.

Now, an ambitious group in the Top End it hoping to reverse that trend. It’s making a bold bid for an NT AFL team.

The group believes the team will have huge social benefits in a part of the country where levels of disadvantage are extreme.

But it also wants a kid from Barunga to have the same chance of reaching the highest level, as one from Berwick or Bayswater.

The Northern Territory has made a huge contribution to the AFL. It might be time for the game to give something back.

Originally published as AFL 2021: Northern Territory joins race for new team licence to be based out of Darwin