DARREN MONCRIEFF
Wednesday 1 August 2012
WITH their draft links to the Northern Territory, the AFL's two expansion clubs, the Giants and Gold Coast, are making good their promise to put more back into NT football following another invitation of remote Indigenous players lacing up for a run.
On Saturday, in their North East Australian Football League (NEAFL) cross-conference match against NT Thunder in Darwin, the Giants' reserves fielded six Indigenous footballers from remote areas in the NT.
The players represented a broad cross-section of Territory footy in the orange and charcoal of the Giants at TIO Stadium. Some were from Arnhem Land in the east and Katherine and Wadeye in the centre and south-west.
When Gold Coast played the Thunder in July, two players from Galiwin'ku suited up for the Suns.
The Northern Territory is a designated recruiting zone for the Suns and Giants, and both clubs have a number of NT players on their official lists, including Indigenous men Liam Patrick from Lajamanu and Curtley Hampton from Alice Springs.
THEY WOULD BE GIANTS: Giants player Setanta O'hAilpin (at back) with (front, from left) Tyrese Dhurrkay, Francis Kintari, Basil Bara, Quintin Gurruwiwi, Roy Assan and Louie Narndu, before the game against NT Thunder in Darwin at the weekend.
The Giants Academy manager Lachlan Buszard supports the concept.
"It was sensational with our zone access to give six boys from the Northern Territory an opportunity to play in the NEAFL, and the most impressive things is some of these boys have come from over 600km away from play, and to socialise, train and play with AFL-listed players is pretty special for these guys," Buszard said.
"It was great to see after the game all of them wanting photos with the players, and getting their signatures and things like that. It was a great opportunity for these players to be exposed to the next level and play alongside some AFL stars.
"I thought they all handled themselves pretty well; they certainly hunted the footy and did everything asked of them.
"Basil Bara, from Groote Eylandt, plays in a three team competition and travelled for over 600km to take his place in the side, and for him to come and play on TIO Stadium and have all his family come down and watch him play, it is pretty special."
Among the players was Quintin Gurruwiwi from Galiwin'ku.
A one-time NT Thunder under-18s national represwentative, Gurruwiwi has played in senior grand finals in the Grooyte Eylandt Football League and has won best-on-ground awards.
Joining Gurruwiwi with the Giants were Tyrese Dhurrkay (Galiwin'ku), Francis Kintari (Wadeye), Basil Bara (Groote Eylandt), Roy Assan (Katherine) and Louie Narndu (Wadeye).
Added to those on Saturday were the Giants' AFL-listed players, Gerald Ugle, who made his AFL debut last week against Fremantle in Perth, and WA's Nathan Wilson.
For the record, the Thunder defeated the Giants by 82 points, 23.16 (154) to 10.12 (72).
The win keeps the Thunder tied in second place on the ladder with Southport after 18 rounds.
Buszard hoped the program of involving Territory players would continue in the future.
"I'd like to think this will continue, the NT has been our zone for the last three years, and we think investing in that is paramount for the future, not only for pathway for players to make it to the top but also AFL becomes a way to provide a holistic approach to health, harmony and education and teach them a lot to ensure they stay fit, healthy and active," he said.
AboriginalFootball@westnet.com.au
Last Modified on 01/08/2012 17:46