NT task force reacts to Cairns AFL bid for 20th licence

The NT AFL team task force has vowed to keep fighting in its push to secure the league’s 20th licence, despite a strong showing from an interstate rival with ‘one of the best grounds available’.

The NT AFL team task force has vowed to keep fighting to secure the league’s 20th licence despite the announcement of an ambitious bid from a close neighbour.

The NT task force was first announced in 2021 in a bid to get the first wholly Top End team into the top level of the nation’s most popular sport.

Its efforts were recently bolstered by Tasmania’s recent successful bid to acquire the 19th license leaving another going begging if the AFL is to avoid having a bye every week.

However, Far North Queensland threw its hat into the ring this week with AFL Cairns general manager Craig Lees suggesting the city was better placed than Darwin.

“Cairns has the sustainability to be able to house an AFL club, with also having one of the best grounds available to them,” he said.

“We are probably better suited than Darwin due to our potential growth that has been shared by the council of what Cairns will look like by 2032.”

NT AFL task force co-chair Kate Worden says ‘getting a licence doesn’t mean putting your hand up’. Picture: Pema Tamang Pakhrin

Despite the announcement Sports Minister and task force co-chair Kate Worden said the NT was continuing to work away at its bid until the AFL was ready for a new team.

“Getting a licence doesn’t mean putting your hand up, you’ve got to be ready,” she said.

“The NT has been working for a couple of years now, we have a team of people putting together a proposal and business case that will be coming through by the end of the year.

“We know what that pathway looks like, we’ve been working very, very hard on what it looks like.

“The AFL know where we’re at and we would absolutely welcome the opportunity for an AFL team in the NT when they need us.

“You saw how long it took Tasmania, they went in all guns blazing demanding a team and we’re taking a different tack, saying we’ll be ready when a new license becomes available.”

Another point of contention is stadium capacity, with TIO Stadium, which recently hosted two Gold Coast Suns home games, having a capacity narrowly exceeding 12,000.

With a capacity of just over 12,000 TIO Stadium currently hosts AFL home games for the Gold Coast Suns. Picture: Dylan Burns/AFL Photos via Getty Images

However, Ms Worden said any talks of a new stadium were beyond the government’s capacity at this point in time.

“We already have AFL here at TIO Stadium, it is a great stadium and we know if we had AFL here those numbers would grow into the future,” she said.

“There are a lot of proposals (for a CBD Stadium) but such a stadium would require 365 days of patronage each year, that’s beyond our means at the moment.

“To get the AFL licence would be a brick towards that but we can’t put the cart before the horse, we’ve got to make sure we’re ready as a Territory when we’re needed.”

The idea of a Northern Australia team was explored in a 2021 case study which would have seen the team potentially play games in both Darwin and Cairns.

AFLNT was contacted for comment.