It's official: Tiwi Islands Football League will play its first dry season
THE virgin turf on the redeveloped oval at Nguiu on the Tiwi Islands has been christened with the first pre-season football matches taking place at the weekend.
That's right: pre-season.
The Tiwi Islands Football League (TIFL) has abandoned the 2008/09 competition and will play a seven-week pre-season comp which started last weekend. It will usher in the league's first dry season competition in 39 years of organised Tiwi footy.
TIFL officials revealed the switch today and will later make it official at a soon-to-be-called board meeting.
The league will keep the date of the 2008/09 Grand Final -- March 22 -- but that will now become the pre-season's grand final. It is understood the TIFL will then take a break and will play Round 1 of the 2009 season in April or May. It is believed the 2009 TIFL Grand Final will take place two weeks after the AFL Grand Final -- on Saturday, October 10, or Sunday, October 11.
The league will rubber stamp its final decision once all parties can come together.
Persistent rains and road closures meant that only four games could be played to the half-way point (January 1) of the 2008/09 season, forcing frustrated league officials to finally make the call.
Last season's grand finalists Imalu and Tapalinga played on the new-look Stanley Tipiloura Oval at Nguiu on Bathurst Island at the weekend with the Superstars defeating the Tigers by two points in the pre-season's first round. Wallama and Tuyu played the second game.
Oval redevelopment taking shape
WORK on the oval at Nguiu began after last year's grand final, and the new-look is starting to take shape.
The oval's alignment, previously at a troublesome east-west angle, has been changed to an almost proper north-south alignment. Goals are now at the commentary box end (north) and the town's pool end (south). The newly laid surface was described as similar to Marrara Oval's (NTFL's home ground) by Imalu coach Gideon Pangiraminni yesterday.
Light towers have been installed but changerooms and other infrastructure have yet to be completed. The oval has a fence surrounding its perimeter. The ground's dimensions are wider and longer than its original shape.
'It will be different': Imalu coach
GIDEON PANGIRAMINNI will forever be known as Tiwi footy's last wet season premiership coach. The Imalu mentor led his boys to the flag, the club's 15th, last year over Tapalinga. He said yesterday he was interested to see how 2009 would unfold.
"It's going to be different (but) it would be a good idea because a lot of the problems we've had was due to the road conditions," he said. "The (TIFL) board is obviously having a look towards doing it. (But) in the dry, a lot of us go camping instead of playing footy, and then we watch the AFL on TV."
Pangiraminni, who lives at Garden Point on the larger Melville Island, was happy to get a game under his belt and have a firsthand look at what will be Tiwi football's centrepiece, the redeveloped oval at Nguiu.
"It's a good ground, it was a bit hard and slippery for the players," he said. "It's similar to Marrara (Oval). It's bigger and wider and there's a bit more freedom but there's no shade at the moment and it was a bit hot there standing around in the sun trying to coach."
TIFL won't be the first to play for points
THE Tiwi Islands Football League's teams will not be the first to play for premiership points on the new-look oval at Nguiu. That honour will go to their countrymen in the Northern Territory Football League, the Tiwi Bombers, when they host Darwin Buffaloes on Saturday, February 14, Valentine's Day.
The Bombers v Buffaloes Round 17 NTFL match at Stanley Tipiloura Oval was confirmed yesterday and it will get underway at 1.30pm.
The AFLNT asked the seven clubs three months ago which of them wanted to play the first game against the Tiwis at Nguiu. The decision fell to Darwin Buffaloes.
Darwin Football Club president Jack Ah Kit yesterday said the trip for his club next month would be more than just about football and that he hoped his club could play there at least once each season.
"We jumped at the opportunity to play the first NTFL game for premiership points with the Bombers," Ah Kit said. "We'll renew acquaintances with the Tiwi people and with the people that support us -- we have a lot of support there -- and ensure our club has a cultural experience over there.
"We'll be going over there as a team with commitment and professionalism. They beat us by one point last time and even though we're not too well-positioned on the ladder, we've lost eight games by less than three goals, so we've been highly competitive."
DARREN MONCRIEFF
Darren@AboriginalFootball.com.au
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Last Modified on 14/01/2009 18:11