Northern Territory Football League

Northern Territory Football League

Formerly	Northern Territory Football Association (NTFA)
Sport	Australian rules football
Founded	1916
First season	1916
CEO	Michael Solomon
No. of teams	15 (8 premier league, 7 reserves)
Country	Australia
Most recent champion(s)	Wanderers (12th premiership)
Most titles	St Mary's (33 premierships)
Official website	aflnt.com.au foxsportspulse.com/ntfl

The Northern Territory Football League (NTFL) is an Australian rules football semi-professional league operating in Darwin in the Northern Territory.

The league is one of the only, and the highest level, Australian Rules competitions played during the Australian Summer with the season beginning in October and ending in March, because cricket cannot be played during the wet season, due to high levels of rain, resulting in the football and cricket seasons being swapped. The league regularly attracts high profile semi-professional players from interstate leagues due to its lack of salary cap and the timing of the season, which allows players to play extra matches during the rest of Australia's off-season.

History

See Australian rules football in the Northern Territory

While most other Australian rules leagues in Australia operate during the southern hemisphere winter, the NTFL chooses to play in the Northern Territory's 'wet season' from October to March, primarily due to hard playing surfaces during the 'dry season'.

The NTFL was founded in 1916 with The Wanderers Football Club and Waratah Football Club as founding members. Waratahs are the only club to have competed in every season of the NTFL. Darwin (Buffalos Football Club) was formed in 1917, Nightcliff in 1950, St Marys in 1952, Palmerston in 1973 (as North Darwin), Southern Districts in 1987 and the Tiwi Bombers in 2006 (with full entry in 2007).

In the 1990s, the league ran into financial problems primarily due to the Northern Territory government luring the league to the new purpose-built stadium at Marrara Oval after its construction in 1991. The move pushed the league's operating costs up drastically despite contrary promises from the NT government. Marrara Oval is now known as TIO Stadium, as part of a naming rights deal with NT health insurance company, Territory Insurance Office.

During this history of the league it has exported successful players to other leagues, notable players have included Michael McLean, Maurice Rioli and Michael Long.

In 2006, it was announced that a team representing the Tiwi Islands, called the Super Tiwis would be added to the 2006/07 season for eight games against teams that would normally have the bye. They became a permanent part of the league in the 07/08 season as the Tiwi Bombers, clad in Essendon Football Club style guernseys of black and red.

There was also a push for an NTFL representative club to compete in the Adelaide-based South Australian National Football League (SANFL). The first of a series of trial matches was held in 2006, with a long term view of admitting a Darwin side into the SANFL. A strong crowd at Marrara Oval witnessed SANFL club North Adelaide defeat a composite NTFL squad by 27 points, demonstrating that a Darwin team could be competitive. There was a push to make the event an annual match, however, the NTFL decided on fielding a side in the AFL Queensland State League from 2009 (which became the Northern Conference of the North East Australian Football League in 2011) and the Northern Territory Football Club was formed.

In 2010 it was decided to merge the NTFL with the Top End Australian Football Association (TEAFA) to create a three division competition in which the NTFL would make the Premier League whilst the NTFL reserve competition and clubs from the TEAFA would incorporate the First Division and Second Divisions.

The 2012/2013 season saw Banks Bulldogs and the Central Australian Football Club placed on a four-match trial in the Premier League, for possible full-time inclusion. The Bulldogs, originally a part of the TEAFA competition, would stay in the NTFL Division One competition. But the CAFC team would continue their trial run in the Premier League, the number of games extended to 10 for the 2013/2014 season.

League Structure

The league consists of both junior and senior divisions. The A Grade competition is known as Premier League and includes eight clubs (Darwin, Nightcliff, Palmerston, Southern Districts, St Mary's, Tiwi Bombers, Wanderers, and Waratah). The reserves are divided into two divisions known as Division 1 (B Grade) and Division 2 (C Grade). Division one includes all Premier League clubs, excluding the Tiwi Bombers, and four other clubs which were formerly in the TEAFA competition (Banks, PINT, Tracy Village, and University). Division 2 consists of eleven clubs with the inclusion of Jabiru, Mindil, and Olympic. The A Grade Women's competition consists of eight clubs, including all Premier League clubs, except for the Tiwi Bombers replaced by Tracy Village.

The junior division is broken into age groups, under 18's, under 16's, youth girls, under 14's, and under 12's, with all age groups split into two divisions, except for under 18's and youth girls. Under 18's is the only junior division with a fixed number of clubs, including all Premier League clubs, except for the Tiwi Bombers replaced by Big River Hawks. The rest of the junior divisions vary based on participation levels each year, however, the clubs with juniors are all the Premier League clubs and Tracy Village.

Clubs

Current clubs

Premier League Clubs

Club	Nickname	Home Ground	Location	Entered competition	Premierships
Darwin	Buffaloes	TIO Stadium	Marrara	1917	23
Nightcliff	Tigers	Nightcliff Oval	Nightcliff	1950	3
Palmerston	Magpies	Northline Oval	Durack	1971	3
Southern Districts	Crocs	Norbuilt Oval	Freds Pass	1984	2
St Mary's	Saints	TIO Stadium	Marrara	1952	30
Tiwi Bombers	Bombers	Tiwi Oval	Wurrumiyanga	2007	1
Wanderers	Eagles	TIO Stadium	Marrara	1917	12
Waratah	Warriors	Gardens Oval	The Gardens	1917	14

Division One/Two Clubs

Club	Nickname	Home Ground	Location	Formed	Premierships
Banks	Bulldogs	Gardens Oval	The Gardens	1978	17
Jabiru	Bombers	Brockman Oval	Jabiru	1982	5
Mindil	Sharks	Gardens Oval	The Gardens	1991	1
Olympic	Spartans	TIO Oval No. 2	Marrara	2011	1
PINT	Greenants	Marrara Cricket Ground	Marrara	1982	7
Tracy Village	Razorbacks	Tracy Village Oval	Lyons	1978	1
University	Rats	TIO Oval No. 2	Marrara		13

Coverage

Media

Television

In 2006, NTFL premier league matches were broadcast nationally for the first time ever on ABC2 each Sunday afternoon from February to March. Previously the matches had only been shown in the Territory on ABC Darwin. In 2008, it reverted to local broadcasting. During the 2014/15 season, the Saturday 3.00pm premier league match was broadcast live on ABC in Darwin.

Radio

During the 2014/15 season, one premier league match was broadcast on ABC Local Radio, the match was either the late or early Saturday game and was an alternate match to the TV-broadcast game.

Internet

Internet broadcasting commenced through YouTube during the 2012/2013 season, followed by its inclusion on the ABC iView on-demand service the 2013/2014 season which uses the recordings taken from the match day broadcast. The TV broadcast match was simulcast live on ABC Grandstand on YouTube during the 2014/15 season.

Attendance

The NTFL attracts strong local crowds. The 2005 Grand final attracted a crowd of over 5,000 people. One of the biggest crowds was the 2010/11 Grand Final between St Mary's and Wanderers, with the Wanderers prevailing with a 28 point win, which attracted an over 9,000 crowd.

Results

2014/15 Premier League

Home and Away

Wanderers 2014/15 premiership team

2014/15 Premier League Ladder
	TEAM	P	W	L	D	PF	PA	%	PTS
1	St Mary's	18	15	2	1	1980	1082	182.99%	62
2	Southern Districts	18	11	7	0	1715	1426	120.27%	44
3	Nightcliff	18	11	7	0	1750	1746	100.23%	44
4	Tiwi Bombers	18	9	9	0	1948	1900	102.53%	36
5	Wanderers (P)	18	9	9	0	1403	1722	81.48%	36
6	Palmerston	18	7	9	2	1373	1569	87.51%	32
7	Buffaloes	18	5	12	1	1429	1702	83.96%	22
8	Waratah	18	3	15	0	1152	1603	71.87%	12
Key: P = Played, W = Won, L = Lost, D = Drawn, PF = Points For, PA = Points Against, (P) = Premiers								Click here for source

Finals

Left: Contest during the Southern Districts vs Nightcliff qualifying final.
Middle: Michael Bowden running off of half-back during the Southern Districts vs Wanderers preliminary final.
Right: Ruck contest between Ryan Smith and Neil Vea Vea during the St Mary's vs Wanderers Grand Final.

	Qualifying and elimination finals					Semi-finals					Preliminary final					Grand final
						1	St Mary's	161								1	St Mary's	49
						2	Southern Districts	54								5	Wanderers	83
	2	Southern Districts	144								2	Southern Districts	58
	3	Nightcliff	63								5	Wanderers	76
						3	Nightcliff	88
						5	Wanderers	102
	4	Tiwi Bombers	66
	5	Wanderers	85

2014/15 Division 1

Home and Away

Banks 2014/15 Division 1 premiership team.

2014/15 Division 1 Ladder
	TEAM	P	W	L	D	PF	PA	%	PTS
1	PINT	16	15	1	0	1278	577	221.49%	60
2	Banks (P)	16	13	3	0	1372	712	192.70%	52
3	Nightcliff	16	11	4	1	1099	844	130.21%	46
4	Waratah	16	11	5	0	1413	765	184.71%	44
5	Southern Districts	17	11	6	0	1459	704	207.24%	44
6	Tracy Village	17	9	7	0	920	887	103.72%	38
7	St Marys	16	7	9	0	964	1041	92.60%	28
8	Wanderers	17	5	11	1	953	1317	72.36%	22
9	Palmerston	17	5	12	0	879	1276	68.89%	20
10	University	16	2	14	0	522	1753	29.78%	8
11	Buffaloes	16	0	16	0	588	1451	40.52%	0
Key: P = Played, W = Won, L = Lost, D = Drawn, PF = Points For, PA = Points Against, (P) = Premiers								Click here for source

Finals

Left: Banks player evading a PINT player during the division 1 Grand Final.
Right: Ruck contest during the division 1 Grand Final.

	Qualifying and elimination finals					Semi-finals					Preliminary final					Grand final
						1	PINT	87								1	PINT	35
						3	Nightcliff	35								2	Banks	82
	2	Banks	49								3	Nightcliff	51
	3	Nightcliff	57								2	Banks	59
						2	Banks	42
						4	Waratah	16
	4	Waratah	50
	5	Southern Districts	23

2014/15 Division 2

Home and Away

Banks 2014/15 Division 2 premiership team

2014/15 Division 2 Ladder
	TEAM	P	W	L	D	PF	PA	%	PTS
1	Banks (P)	16	14	2	0	1703	473	360.04%	56
2	Olympic	16	14	2	0	1834	613	299.18%	56
3	Waratah	17	14	2	0	1512	681	222.03%	56
4	Jabiru	16	11	4	1	1287	751	171.37%	46
5	PINT	16	10	5	1	1060	1004	105.58%	42
6	Southern Districts	17	8	9	0	1114	1272	87.58%	32
7	Wanderers	17	7	9	1	968	955	101.36%	30
8	Tracy Village	16	4	12	0	622	1180	52.71%	16
9	Mindil	16	4	12	0	589	1484	39.69%	16
10	Palmerston	16	3	12	1	762	1345	56.65%	14
11	University	14	0	14	0	321	1714	18.73%	0
Key: P = Played, W = Won, L = Lost, D = Drawn, PF = Points For, PA = Points Against, (P) = Premiers								Click here for source

Finals

Left: Ruck contest during the division 2 Grand Final.
Right: Banks player kicking during the division 2 Grand Final.

	Qualifying and elimination finals					Semi-finals					Preliminary final					Grand final
						1	Banks	83								1	Banks	103
						2	Olympic	35								2	Olympic	37
	2	Olympic	52								2	Olympic	64
	3	Waratah	33								3	Waratah	57
						3	Waratah	65
						4	Jabiru	46
	4	Jabiru	68
	5	PINT	36

2014/15 Women's

Home and Away

Waratah 2014/15 Women's premiership team

2014/15 Women's Ladder
	TEAM	P	W	L	D	PF	PA	%	PTS
1	Waratah (P)	18	18	0	0	1400	356	393.26%	72
2	Tracy Village	18	13	5	0	861	400	215.25%	52
3	Wanderers	18	12	6	0	988	602	164.12%	48
4	St Marys	18	10	8	0	988	583	169.47%	40
5	Nightcliff	18	9	9	0	583	648	89.97%	36
6	Darwin	18	6	12	0	535	755	70.86%	24
7	Palmerston	18	3	15	0	335	1133	29.57%	12
8	Southern Districts	18	1	17	0	145	1358	10.68%	4
Key: P = Played, W = Won, L = Lost, D = Drawn, PF = Points For, PA = Points Against, (P) = Premiers								Click here for source

Finals

Left: Contest during the Women's Grand Final.
Middle: Marking contest during the Women's Grand Final.
Right: 2014/15 Women's best and fairest, Angela Foley, during the Women's Grand Final.

	Semi-Finals					Preliminary Final					Grand Final
	1	Waratah	30								1	Waratah	58
	2	Tracy Village	20								2	Tracy Village	4
						2	Tracy Village	46
						3	Wanderers	36
	3	Wanderers	60
	4	St Marys	53

See also

• AFL Northern Territory

External links

• Official website
• NTFL pages on Full Points Footy