Morris On Monday: Representative football back at TIO Stadium with SANFL club Glenelg heading north again

REPRESENTATIVE football brings with it a sense of belonging, passion, excitement and anticipation the NTFL coaches and players will experience in large quantities next year, writes GREY MORRIS

North Adelaide coach Andrew Jarman, left, with NTFL coach Damian Hale on the eve of their 2006 clash. Picture: JULIANNE OSBORNE

THE return of representative football to the NTFL competition next year brings with it a sense of achievement and belonging.

Not since 2006 has the ochre, black and white jumper created so much attention and that was on a losing night against SANFL club North Adelaide.

It is a fixture doused in tradition and depending where you want to start, an interstate rivalry that goes back more than 50 years.

This writer saw the beginning of the modern era on Australia Day in 1985 when Glenelg made the trek north under coach Graham Cornes.

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He brought with him a group of players who would win a SANFL premiership eight months later and some of them — Steven Kernahan and Tony McGuiness — would go on to play in the AFL with Carlton, Western Bulldogs and Adelaide.

But what they thought was a practice match spiced with a few beers turned into a rout for Glenelg, Australia Day medallist Warren “Jacko’’ McCoy, ‘Ninny’ Briston and Bruno Long launching the John Taylor coached Buffaloes to a 35-point win.

There had been interstate clashes before. North Adelaide beat the Territory twice in 1966 and an incredible array of talent turned out for the “VFL All-Stars’’ a year later.

Big names like Royce Hart, John Nicholls, Bob Skilton and Hassa Mann were on the first leg of the “Galahs’’ tour of America and Great Britain and made Darwin a port of call.

The greats of Territory football met them in a one-off game at Gardens Oval and understandably went down by 11 goals.

The late Jimmy Anderson, Don Stokes and Aldo Rossetto, all champions of the NTFL, were on show that October, 53 years ago, together with Ralph Wiese, Steve Abala and the Bonson brothers, Ken and John.

Fast forward to next January and all the passion, all the excitement and all the honour that comes with pulling on an NTFL jumper will be reignited.

The coaches have already been named — Nightcliff premiership coach Chris Baksh and Southern Districts’ women’s premiership coach Tarmon Elliott will lead the NTFL into action against the 2021 Glenelg side, 36 years on from their predecessors.

The days when premiership coaches take charge of the NTFL rep sides is back, this time with both genders on a football menu (Saturday, January 23) for the ages.

And like all those who have gone before them, people like 15-time representative coach Taylor, Ian Smith, Mark Motlop, Rossetto, the late Terry Lew Fatt and Tony Shaw, the honour is all theirs.

But with that honour comes a big responsibility, to pick the best side available to wear the iconic ochre, white and black jumper and instil in every player the need to play above their weight as part of a huge celebration.

Beating Glenelg in both games will remind the head honchos in the southern states that we can play football on the same level as their own people, sometimes even better.

And one more thing. Congratulations to former Nightcliff junior and now Geelong footballer Brandan Parfitt on his first AFL Grand Final appearance this Saturday night.

Parfitt will join another NTFL junior, Richmond’s Daniel Rioli, on a centre stage transported to Brisbane for Australian football’s greatest day.

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Rioli is already a grand final veteran, with two Big Dances already on his resume.

It is the first time two Territorians have played against each other on the biggest day of the AFL calendar, may they both feature heavily in the match statistics.

And I know footy fans out there are wondering who this writer is tipping to get their hands around the premiership cup.

After much agonising over the makeup and key game features of these two great sides, I have decided on Geelong — by 14 points.