The Northern Territory’s biggest sports stories of 2022 revealed
From an AFL legend’s NTFL debut, a slain basketballer to a former Australian cricket team manager appointed to oversee the Territory game, these were the year’s biggest sports stories.
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It was another huge year for Territory sport, and Territorians achieving incredible results, both across the country and abroad.
We saw an AFL legend make his NTFL debut in the most anticipated Men’s Premier League match in many years, a hockey player claiming back-to-back Commonwealth Games gold medals to a possible NBL licence bid brewing after the Darwin Salties’ stellar debut and a well-attended league pre-season.
It was also a year for controversy, with six violent incidents in just a few months – with four leading to court action – which triggered community leaders to call for safer club cultures and improved leadership.
From Aussie Rules, soccer, rugby, cricket, horse racking, basketball to hockey, these were the biggest stories in Territory sport in 2022.
30. Darwin’s potential NBL licence bid
After a successful opening season from the Darwin Salties in NBL1 North, and a well- attended NBL Blitz in October, the Territory has moved closer to a possible licence bid, with the NT Government committing to a feasibility study.
League boss Larry Kestelman is also due to visit Darwin later this year, or early in 2023, to inspect its likely home at the Darwin Convention Centre.
While the league has highlighted significant challenges which may thwart Darwin’s bid, including the tyranny of distance, it appears to be a more realistic proposal than an AFL team in the Top End at this stage.
29. Emma Stark
The St Mary’s product made history in August when she became the youngest person to officiate an elite game of football at just 16 years of age.
Stark, also a talented footballer with the Saints, took charge of the Round 1 match between Essendon and Hawthorn at Marvel Stadium.
It was the latest in a growing list of achievements for the teenager, who also set the record for the youngest female field umpire in a Men’s Premier League match back in October, 2021.
Very much a star of the future, Stark may have to chose between a career in umpiring and football down the track.
28. Gavin Dovey appointed CEO of Cricket NT
The former team manager of the Australian cricket team was lured back to the sport after quitting the national set up at the start of January.
However, with the departure of Joel Morrison and Cricket NT looking to cement itself as an off-season destination, the board saw the long term ally of national coaches Darren Lehmann and Justin Langer as the man to steer the Territory game into the future.
Keeping the Darwin & District Cricket Association happy while expanding the visionary Cricket 365 program will be high on Dovey’s agenda in 2023.
27. Deba George breaks three-point record in Darwin basketball
The great mate of Darwin Saltie Nate Jawai has enjoyed a big season for Ellas Titans in Darwin Championship Season basketball.
However, the former Cairns Marlin took his local game to new heights, both equalling, then breaking, the three-point record for the competition in just eight days, with 16 maximums.
The 37-year-old has certainly thrown his name up as Salties selectors look to beef-up its 15-man squad for the 2023 NBL1 North season.
26. St Mary’s and Nightcliff receive suspended fine for fly-in breach
Nearly a year after the Saints were stung $11,500 for a fly-in breach, which also suspended their coach Anthony Vallejo for four games, St Mary’s were in hot water again.
The Saints and Nightcliff received suspended fines for a Division 1 breach in January.
Unfortunately, the message was not heeded at Cazalys Arena with Palmerston found to have broken the rules over successive rounds, against St Mary’s and Southern Districts.
25. Mindil Aces make the final 32 in the Australia Cup
Territory soccer was put back on the map after the Mindil Aces made the final 32 of the nationwide event.
Sadly, the Aces would go down 6-0 to Avondale in the clash at Marrara in June.
However, it was also notable for the debut of young Barnaby Wood, believed to be the youngest player to take the field in an Australia Cup fixture at just 14 years of age.
24. Brandon Norris and Ethan Van Gelderen picked up by NRL franchises
The teenage rugby league stars are treading a similar path on the way to a possible NRL career.
Both products of the Northern Sharks’ junior system, Norris and Van Gelderen played in the club’s Under 18 premiership in 2022.
Then, Norris was picked up by the Brisbane Broncos Academy while Van Gelderen was selected in the Melbourne Storm’s Under 19 team.
The close friends could one day be playing on the same paddock together at the sport’s highest level.
23. PINT’s impressive Men’s Premier League debut
The Greenants have impressed plenty of NTFL watchers in their debut Men’s Premier League season.
A respectable 3-6 – plus two draws – and currently seventh on the ladder, Shannon Motlop’s men have taken the scalps of reigning premier St Mary’s and Palmerston while pushing top three teams Waratah and Southern Districts to the limit.
Just two points off fifth place, the Greenants are a serious show of making the finals in their first season in the Top End’s top flight.
22. Eric Guthrie, Daniel Bowles and Molly Althouse win NTFL’s highest individual honour
The popular Palmerston midfielder and Tigers gun defender were joint winners of the NTFL’s highest individual honour, the Nichols Medal.
Both were worthy winners with Guthrie a tireless force at Cazalys Arena while Bowles brought a touch of class to Nightcliff’s defence.
However, the latter might have celebrated the win a bit too hard, failing to attend AFLNT’s media opportunity the following day at TIO Stadium.
Meanwhile, Darwin Buffette Molly Althouse took home the Gwynne Medal for her dominant season in Women’s Premier League.
21. Robbie Butcher goes back-to-back
The Nightcliff Dragon picked up the top accolade at NRL NT’s night of nights, the 2022 Frank Johnson awards.
It’s the second year in a row the sport’s highest accolade, the Frank Johnson, has gone to Butcher, the standout for his A Grade side which struggled in 2022.
Butcher also has three Eric Johnston medals to his name for being the best and fairest in Darwin rugby union’s top grade.
20. Commerce-Pints Hockey Club’s golden run
It was a season like no other for Commerce-Pint’s female hockey players, with its three senior women’s teams each claiming a premiership.
Lisa Stevens would claim the flag in the top flight with a golden goal through a penalty stroke after the game was deadlocked at 1-1 against heavyweights Waratah.
19. Darwin Salties make the finals in first NBL1 North season
There were a plenty of unknowns when the Darwin Salties joined the NBL1 North competition in 2022.
However, on the back of the franchise’s big three – Makuach Maluach, skipper Jerron Jamerson and Tad Dufelmeier – coach Matt Flinn’s men made the first week of finals against USC Rip City, only to go down by three points.
With plenty of learnings from season one, and a few fresh faces promised, the Salties are eyeing an inaugural title in 2023.
18. Jeremy Hayward secures back-to-back Commonwealth Games gold
The Territory produced another Commonwealth gold medallist when hockey player Jeremy Hayward collected his second in a row in Birmingham earlier this year.
The 29-year-old, who learned his craft locally at Waratah Hockey Club, helped destroy India 7-0 in the decider.
17. Danielle Ponter wins an AFLW premiership with the Adelaide Crows
The St Mary’s product showed once again she belonged in the big league with two goals in her Crows’ third premiership in a 13-point over Melbourne at the Adelaide Oval in April.
Along for the ride was PINT footballer Jasmyn Hewett, who eventually left the Crows to focus on an aviation firefighting career.
It was Ponter’s second AFLW premiership after slotting three majors in a 45-point win over Carlton in 2019 in front of more than 53,000 people.
16. Brandan Parfitt wins an AFL premiership with Geelong
Five years after Daniel Rioli’s grand final heroics for Richmond in a drought-breaking flag, the Territory had another homegrown AFL player to cheer for in September.
Former Nightcliff junior turned Geelong premiership player Brandan Parfitt achieved his dreams with a goal late in the decider against the Sydney Swans, as the Cats won by a monumental 81 points.
Parfitt was an 11th hour inclusion as a medical sub after Max Holmes was unable to overcome a hamstring injury.
15. Sporting violence
A four-month period in Territory sport from late June was marred by six incidents of sporting violence, both on and off the field.
Four of which resulted in court action, including a post-match fracas in the car park at Darwin Football Stadium, while Tiwi Bombers, Waratah and Katherine Crocs footballers have been charged with assault.
Peaky body AFLNT also came down hard on two Big Rivers teams following a post-grand final brawl, resulting in suspensions and fines.
It triggered community leaders across Darwin to renew calls for improved leadership and cultures at sporting clubs.
14. Tiwi Bombers win first Men’s Premier League match in 988 days
On the back of their first home game in almost a year, due to Covid restrictions, the Bombers finally tasted victory in Men’s Premier League after 988 days when they overran PINT on Bathurst Island in late October.
There were emotional scenes after the game as players and supporters celebrated like they’d won the premiership, with new recruit Majak Daw almost lost for words.
After a dismal start to the season, senior coach Brenton Toy’s players have become a more competitive unit in Men’s Premier League and are showing positive signs for the future.
13. Tiwi Bombers women’s team makes history
It was a history making year on Bathurst Island with the Tiwi Bombers putting their first Women’s Premier League team on the field.
And it didn’t take them long to secure their debut victory, with a 48-point downing of St Mary’s at Gardens Oval in Round 2.
Currently sixth after a 4-7 start to the season, the lady Bombers are a chance of making finals in their debut season.
12. Feral pigs destroyed Adelaide River racetrack
Adelaide River racetrack organisers were forced to move its annual meet to Darwin after feral pigs caused damage to the track.
The pigs wrecked the turf just weeks out from the event, with the June race moved to Fannie Bay Racecourse.
It was the second time in three years the race was not held at its usual spot, following Covid in 2020.
11. Palmerston breach fly-in rules
The club was fined $10,000 and docked four competition points after its Round 8 and 9 clashes with St Mary’s and Southern Districts were found to have breached the league’s fly-in rules.
It was later revealed AFLNT was tipped off by a rival club, concerned the Pies had fielded five and six fly-in players respectively.
Nearly a year after St Mary’s and Nightcliff received suspended fines over a Division 1 clash, it remains one of the most important rules clubs need to adhere to.
10. Palmerston wins NRLNT premiership
Palmerston Raiders triumphed over Northern Sharks after a decade of hurt, winning 12-8 in a thriller of an NRL NT A Grade grand final.
The Sharks were unbeaten all year and with the 2021 premiership behind them, came in as the favoured side.
However, the Raiders put in a title-winning effort after half time.
9. Undefeated Sistaz
The Darwin Brothers women’s team claimed redemption in the NRL NT A Grade competition, winning a hard-fought grand final 26-12 over the Palmerston Raiders.
The “Sistaz” had gone unbeaten all season but all bets were off once they came up against reigning premiers Palmerston in the big dance, who won the match-up in 2021.
Captain Bianca Scrymgour was overjoyed with the efforts of her side saying all the hard work had paid off: “We were out for redemption and that’s what we did and it feels great.”
8. Green Machine rolls on
Another NTFL season, another St Mary’s flag.
The Saints produced its 33rd NTFL senior premiership, downing the highly fancied Waratah by 35 points in a bit of an anticlimax to the 2021-22 Men’s Premier League season at TIO Stadium.
On the back of Jackson Calder’s five goals, securing him the Chaney Medal for best on
ground, coach Anthony Vallejo’s men efficiently got it done at the business end of the year.
7. Ashanti Bush’s big kick
Territory product Ashanti Bush grabbed her first major accolade as an AFLW player following a spectacular goal in the final match of the season for the Gold Coast Suns.
It was judged the competition’s goal of the year.
The former Darwin Buffaloes star saved her best performance for the end of the season, kicking her first two top-flight goals in the opening half of the Suns’ Round 10 match against GWS Giants.
The first was a snap from 35m out but it was her second that caught the eye of spectators.
Bush retrieved the leather with a ground ball gather near the boundary, and then burned her opposition with her natural speed before she put boot to ball to score.
6. Slain Saltie
Local basketball fans were left stunned after Darwin Salties recruit Alier Riak was allegedly stabbed to death in Melbourne’s CBD in the early hours of March 13, just before the season started.
While he never took to the court for the franchise’s debut NBL1 North season, Riak left a lasting legacy for his teammates, who dedicated their opening round win over Red City Roar to their fallen comrade.
Riak, born in a Kenyan refugee camp before moving to Australia in 2005, was one of the first players recruited for the Salties’ debut campaign which ended with a quarterfinal loss to USC Rip City.
5. Waratah’s Ash Chandrasinghe makes five hundreds in a row
The Victorian import could have equalled the efforts of The Don with six successive first grade hundreds if not for unavailability in the second week of the final home and away match of Darwin Premier Grade.
Chandrasinghe, who would make his Sheffield Shield debut with the Bushrangers not long after, compiled five consecutive hundreds for Waratah during the 2022 season.
However, he did not get the chance to go for six in a row after the red caps fielded on day one against Palmerston.
4. Territory stars snapped up
It was a historic AFL National Draft for Territory football with four local products snapped up.
And three headed to just one club in Essendon, with Palmerston juniors Alwyn Davey Jr and Jayden Davey, plus Tiwi’s Anthony Munkara, having their names read out back in late November.
Topping off a brilliant few days for Indigenous football, Wanderers defensive ace Lloyd Johnston was also secured by the Gold Coast Suns.
3. Gary Clarke’sbig wins
It was a massive year for the champion Territory trainer, with two major victories within a few weeks of each other.
And they were all emotion charged after the tragic death of his son, Guy,
The trainer-hockey duo of Clarke and Jarrod Todd pulled off the rare Palmerston Sprint – Darwin Cup double, with Playoffs and Syncline saluting respectively.
The pair also took home the Alice Springs Cup for good measure.
2. W. Rioli Sr dies
One of the Territory’s true footballing icons died suddenly in July at just 50 years of age, triggering an avalanche of emotion, both on the Tiwi Islands where W. Rioli made his name, and in the wider community.
A big personality known for his cheeky smile, W. Rioli was a star player for St Mary’s and South Fremantle in the WAFL, before guiding the Tiwi Bombers and Imalu Tigers as head coach.
Also an influential administrator, Rioli Sr was farewelled by hundreds of mourners at St Mary’s Cathedral in August.
1. Gary Ablett Jr becomes a Pie
The biggest sporting story of the year.
The dual Brownlow and premiership-winning legend played for Palmerston against St Mary’s in Round 8 in the most anticipated NTFL match since Eddie Betts made his debut for the Pies a year prior.
The Little Master showed glimpses of his genius before being curtailed by a calf injury.
However, there have been unconfirmed reports the AFL legend may return for another game before season’s end.
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