Former Northern Territory Thunder captain Shannon Rioli says the region’s AFL pathways ‘improving’

FORMER NT Thunder captain and current St Mary’s skipper Shannon Rioli believes the Territory has just reached a new beginning regarding its potential in the AFL.And with the 2020 Draft coming up in December, he could well be spot on.

AFL Draft hopeful and Wanderers star Joel Jeffrey at TIO Stadium. Picture: Che Chorley

FORMER NT Thunder captain and current St Mary’s skipper Shannon Rioli believes the Territory has just reached a new beginning regarding its potential in the AFL.

He could well be spot on after an impressive result for the Territory game earlier this month.

That was when former Darwin Buffalo Steph Williams (Geelong’s 27th pick) and former Palmerston co-captain Janet Baird (Gold Coast’s 54th pick) found themselves new clubs at the elite level.

“In five or 10 years time we might get back to getting three or four or five guys drafted every year, and not just one or two,” Rioli told the NT News, with the 2020 AFL Draft set for the week commencing December 7.

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Indeed, the Territory is now tracking in the right direction after former Buffalo livewire Mal Rosas was the region’s only male player picked up last year, going to the Suns.

But Wanderers star forward Joel Jeffrey (still in Darwin), Southern Districts’ Brodie Lake and Rioli’s cousin Maurice Rioli Jr (St Mary’s) are the Territory’s three male draft hopefuls this year.

AFL Draft prospect Maurice Rioli Jr playing for NTFL club St Mary's in February, 2020. Picture: Felicity Elliott/AFLNT Media

“Hopefully Joel can get drafted out of Darwin; Malcolm Rosas got (picked up) out of Darwin,” Rioli said.

“The more guys who get drafted out of Darwin the better it will be for our reputation.

“Another one is (North Melbourne’s) Jed Anderson – he got drafted out of Darwin.”

Rioli believes the right programs are now in place for more young stars to get picked up from Darwin – even if that means rural and regional Territory youngsters temporarily relocate to the Top End in what has the potential to become a strong and respected “football hub”.

Southern Districts’ AFL Draft hopeful Brodie Lake at TIO Stadium. Picture: Che Chorley

“We talk about the Territory and the Top End and it’s hard to send our resources far and wide,” Rioli said.

“For every kid who makes it there are probably 10 or 12 in every community who could make it but they don’t have the support.

“It might be a case of these guys coming to the Michael Long Centre, coming to school in Darwin and training with the Thunder program.

“And hopefully we strengthen the Gold Coast Adademy link with more programs and training for our people based in Darwin, and Alice could also be a central hub.

“The link with the Gold Coast Suns for guys like Malcolm is good – we saw that last year and with Joel this year.

“We saw some kids go down there recently and they spent some time with the Gold Coast Academy, played good footy and spent some time at their high performance centre.

“That’s a good start.”

NT Thunder Academy coach Jason Roe was delighted that seven Territory juniors – Jeffrey, Lake, Rioli Jr, Baird, Williams, Freda Puruntatameri and Mattea Breed got invited to AFL and AFLW Draft Combines this year.

“We’re in a really good position at the moment, and we haven’t had those numbers (in a long time),” Roe told the NT News.

“That’s a credit to the people behind the scenes in clubland and state level, and to each individual.

“With the talent we’ve got coming through, we’ve got a really good window to see a good number of our players get picked up in the next few years.

“Hopefully we see these numbers to continue to grow and we see more of our NT players make it to AFL and AFLW lists.”