The first interleague clash in 10 years produces several positives in a return to town versus town

Interleague footy is alive and well despite the Centralian Redtails overwhelming Katherine’s Big Rivers league

Central Australian Redtail Nigel Lockyer Jr goes long despite the attention of Big Rivers pair Adam Parry, top and Keelan Kelly. Picture: GLENN CAMPBELL

REDTAILS president Rob Clarke has called for more interleague games as a means of developing young men from across the Territory into better people.

Clarke watched from the stands on Saturday night and like what he saw from a highly skilled and hard running Redtails side.

Their 50-point win over a brave Big Rivers side from the Katherine region added to some impressive performances from the Centralians.

“The lads were pretty impressive, Katherine were probably lucky the rain came in that last quarter because our players were pretty keen to finish strongly,’’ Clarke said.

“Kicking into a ridiculous wind and driving rain didn’t help us, but they did well to stop the opposition scoring too heavily.’’

Clarke said his players wanted to put on a show for their own people and others across the Territory.

“The lads were up and about for it,’’ he added. “They played with a lot of heart, strength and soul and that’s what we asked of them.

“We’ve got a very good program going now and not just in the footy sense. Off-field we’ve created a lot of structure in their lives that has made them better footy players and men.

“Playing more of these games is important, now it’s up to the powers that be as to where we go from here.’’

Big Rivers coach Mal Fox said his young side had learned a lot from the training, preparation and execution required to play at a higher level.

“We played a lot of young guys, five of them were under 20 to give them some experience on the big stage,’’ he said.

“They were to good for us with their skills, they were too clean, though we had our chances in the second quarter with all of those entries.

“We couldn’t get the ball over the goal line and when the footy came back the other way it was like a two or three goal turnaround, it was like climbing up a ladder and falling back down again.’’

“There’s got to be more of these game, even if we play them (Redtails) every year, or every two years and meet the Tiwis, Barkly and Gove leagues on alternate years.’’