Bathurst 1000, Top End Cup and netball carnival headline Week 2
Our weekly wrap of the best tales from across the Top End which sports fans need to read to be across all the action.
As we say goodbye to the Dry Season and hello to the Wet, sport in the Darwin region and surrounds changes face.
This Wet Season we are going to highlight the achievements of the Top End’s unsung athletes, recapping all the sports stories you might have missed each week.
October: Week 2
BATHURST 1000
It was a difficult weekend at the mountain for Darwin’s Bryce Fullwood who struggled for pace in his BJR Middy’s entry. Paired with Jaylyn Robotham as his co-driver, Fullwood looked off the mark during the great race. After a positive warm-up pre-race in which he clocked the eighth quickest time, he and Robotham did finish two places higher from qualifying, finishing the race in 22nd.
NTRU SEASON SCHEDULE
The wait is finally over with rugby in the Top End getting underway this weekend. As previously reported by this masthead, the NTRU kicks off its 2024-25 season this Saturday at Rugby Park, Marrara. Men’s A-grade and women’s grade will start their campaigns on Saturday while the men’s B-grade competition has a bye, and will commence next weekend.
NUNGA NETBALL CARNIVAL
It was a successful venture south for the under-15 Netball Northern Territory side as they competed in South Australia’s annual First Nations netball tournament. A competition that brings together the top Indigenous netballers from around the state, the NT side was one of 11 teams competing in the U15 bracket. Team NNT proved it was up for the fight, winning six of the 10 matches, finishing fifth overall in the standings.
MULTICULTURAL CUP WEEK 2
Rounds 3 and 4 are in the books following two more days of action packed T20 cricket at the weekend. India A have been dethroned atop the ladder following their defeat to Australia A who now sit first after their dominant victory. Australia B also jumped up the ladder, now second, boasting a 4-0 record like Aus. A. India C had the two standout performers from the weekend, opener Janu Varatharajannot smashed a 112* off 52 deliveries, hitting 16 fours and four sixes against Sri Lanka B. Varatharajannot’s teammate Dhavalkumar Patel was the pick of the bowlers after his spell against Pakistan A saw him take 5/29 off 4 overs.
TOP END CUP
NRLNT’s youngsters wowed the crows at the Katherine Sports Ground last Saturday as they competed in the 2024 Top End Cup. An off-season tournament for under-10s, 12s and 14s saw 15 sides from across the Territory including Alice Springs, as well as Kununurra from Western Australia, play 34 games across three fields in one day of league mania.
October: Week 1
INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION
The World Table Tennis Youth Contender 2024 tournament wrapped up at the weekend at Marrara. A tournament for players aged 11-19 years old, it is an internationally sanctioned event that draws in players inside the top 20 in the world for their respective age groups. Australian Nicholas Lum, who is ranked 36 overall in the world, won the 19 mens title and mixed 19s doubles title while Japan’s Sakurako Kagawa was victorious in the 19 women’s final.
GOLD CLASS CARE
Top End physio Bride Duggan is back at the Australian Institute of Sport, working with the incumbent Crocs and Sapphires at the trials for the FIBA U15 Oceania Champs. Duggan was part of the support staff that delivered elite level care during the Australian U17s triumph at the 2023 champs.
CULTURAL CUP REVAMP
The Top End Cultural Cup is back in action with a new look. The three weekend long T20 competition got underway, boasting 10 teams representing five different nations: three sides for India, two for Australia, Sri Lanka and Pakistan and one side from Bangladesh. As it stands, India A are leading the way atop the ladder with two wins from two after defeating Pakistan B by 83 runs and India B by 194 runs in a game that saw Palmerston’s premiership winning first grade captain Hamish Martin smash 106* runs off 54 deliveries and Prince Handa record 5/5 off his 4 overs.
NETBALL DEPARTURE
Darwin netball club PINT have said goodbye to one of their best. After delivering two seasons of back-to-back success, and three years in total, Liv Krygger is moving interstate. One half of the premier league and reserves coaching tandem, Krygger helped PINT secure four premierships in her time at the club.
BEST AND FAIREST
The St. Mary’s alum and three time premiership player Daniel Rioli was awarded with Richmond’s Jack Dyer Medal as the side’s best and fairest for 2024 at their annual awards night last week. The 27-year-old played 23 matches this season, recording elite metrics in his average tackles and handballs per game, above average metrics in his average disposals and metres gained per game and recorded average metrics of his total kicks per game.
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Originally published as Bathurst 1000, Top End Cup and netball carnival headline Week 2
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