Dunolly has looked further North than their well publicized 2009 Darwin recruits for Season 2010 with three young Tiwi Islanders landing in Melbourne last Sunday. The trio will line up for Dunolly this weekend against Talbot.
The Tiwi Islands are 80km north of Darwin and boast the highest AFL participation level per capita in Australia. 35% of the 2000 residents compete in structured AFL competitions and is little wonder the Islands have produced names like Maurice Rioli, Cyril Rioli Jr, Michael Long, Austin Wonamerri, David Kantilla and many others that have been trialed at AFL Clubs.
The Tiwi Bombers have a cult status amongst the AFL community and narrowly missed out on the NTFL premiership by 10 points against the league Powerhouse St Mary’s. The Tiwi Island Football League (TIFL) is a 7 team competition with the Grand Final nationally broadcast on ABC.
Arnold Dulla, Dylan Kerinaiua and Douglas Timaepatua all compete in the TIFL and will add an X factor to the Dunolly Eagles. All are 17 years of age and will take some time to acclimatize to the cold Victorian conditions and style of football but will be an interesting addition to the Dunolly Eagles.
The link between the 2 teams is former Dunolly President Daniel McNamee who is the AFL Regional Development Manager for the Tiwi Islands. ‘It is a big move by the three boys to leave their Island home to experience Victorian Football. English is not their first language and this is a big step out of their comfort zone. There are no great expectations on these boys as they are only young and don’t have any NTFL experience but you never know what to expect. There might be a few more heading Dunolly’s way as they are the talk of the Islands.’
Lee Stewart coach of the Dunolly football Club says ‘It’s fantastic to have Arnold, Dylan and Douglas in the side. They have added a lot of excitement to our club and are certainly thrilling players to watch. All three have great attitudes and have fitted in with the team very well.’
Last Modified on 21/12/2010 12:21