Cunningham: Case for NT AFL team now $600m sweeter

If the biggest issue in the Northern Territory right now is crime – particularly youth crime – then it’s hard to think of a better solution than getting those kids out of court and into sport, writes Matt Cunningham.

Marika Carlton and Ella Fitz chase the ball during their Round 3 WPL clash. Picture: Celina Whan / AFLNT Media.

There are plenty of sceptics about the Northern Territory’s bid for an AFL team.

But if you need a reason why this team should happen, the Albanese Government has just given us 600 million of them.

That’s how much money the Federal Government plans to spend helping a team from Papua New Guinea enter the National Rugby League competition in 2028.

It’s enough money to run an AFL team in the Territory for more than a decade.

According to reports, the Federal Government believes the PNG NRL team is an issue of “sports diplomacy” that would help strengthen our ties with our neighbour and even push back against the creeping reach of China.

PNG Prime Minister James Marape says the team is a matter of “justice”.

The same arguments can be made even more emphatically for a Territory AFL team.

If the biggest issue in the Northern Territory right now is crime – particularly youth crime – then it’s hard to think of a better solution than getting those kids out of court and into sport.

Maria Rioli playing for the Tiwi Bombers in the 2024-25 NTFL season. Picture: Tymunna Clements / AFLNT Media

The experts who like to present evidence about the root causes of juvenile delinquency might like to do some studies on the impact of kids who play competitive team sport and whether it reduces their likelihood of ending up in the criminal justice system.

There’s no doubt having a local AFL team would increase the number of kids playing footy.

A Territory team would also give a much-needed boost to our tourism industry which has been smashed by cost-of-living pressures and exorbitant airfares.

Imagine the NT Buffaloes playing home games throughout June and July against Collingwood, Carlton, Essendon, Richmond, Adelaide and West Coast. It would be like the Darwin Cup every weekend, showcasing the Territory for all the right reasons.

As Richmond and Essendon prepare to play their AFLW Dreamtime clash tonight at TIO Stadium, it’s also worth considering the Territory’s impact on the growth of women’s footy. Because the NTFL was the frontrunner when it came to developing the women’s game and is now experiencing an unprecedented growth in female participants.

You’ll see it on a Monday night at footy grounds from Fannie Bay to Fred’s Pass.

Hundreds of girls and women turning out to play a game that only a few years ago was reserved for their male counterparts.

There you will witness silky foot skills, tremendous team work and some tackles that would make Tony Liberatore proud.

Shania Lami Lami playing for the Tiwi Bombers in the 2024-25 NTFL season. Picture: Tymunna Clements / AFLNT Media

These are the skills of girls who, like the boys, have been kicking around a footy from the time they could walk.

Women’s footy has taken huge steps forward in the past decade, and the Territory has been leading the way.

Forty per cent of players registered in the Northern Territory now are female.

That’s about double the average of the rest of the country.

Southern Districts now has more women’s teams than men’s, including four separate teams in the girls’ under 12 competition.

And the women’s Premier League teams share equal billing with their male counterparts on game day.

If the AFL wants a few tips on how to revive its flagging AFLW competition it could do worse than to look at how things are done in Darwin.

So whether it’s a matter of “justice”, “sports diplomacy”, giving disadvantaged kids a better chance in life or growing the women’s game – there are no shortage of social arguments for a Territory AFL team, and the AFLNT has done a good job arguing these points.

But a better argument is that the Australian Football League will not truly be a national competition until it has a team from the place that has given the game so many of its biggest stars.

And it would be a betrayal if the Federal Government prioritised funding a PNG team in the NRL, before the Territory has its own AFL side.

Originally published as Cunningham: Case for NT AFL team now $600m sweeter