Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Now, I tell you what, it's been a big week
in politics. It's always a big week in news, but
it is going to be and it already has been
a massive week when it comes to footy in the
top end. And joining me in the studio right now,
AFL and T chairman Sean Bowden, good morning to.
Speaker 2 (00:17):
You morning, Cody. Hard to believe the season's coming to
an end.
Speaker 1 (00:20):
Oh isn't it just now? It's already been a massive week. Obviously,
the Nichols Medal on Sunday night, the juniors finals all
this week and then we're heading into the seniors finals
on the weekend. I mean, like, how you feeling reflecting
on the week that was.
Speaker 3 (00:38):
First off, look, it's a great week for the football community,
and start off with our gala night in effect the
Nichols Medal, and thanks for your contribution, by the way,
that was terrific. You kept five hundred members of our
community in Czech for about four hours. It was valiant
and it was brilliant done. But it was a great
(01:01):
It was a great night and you just have to
look at the smiles and the looks on people's face
as they come in. You know that something good's happening
in the community and that people are comfortable with each other,
and even though you know, the season gets a bit
rough and tumbled at times and everyone's playing off for
premiership glory, to see the community come together like that,
male and female, men and women, boys and girls, it's
(01:25):
really terrific. And then this week we've had a series
of Grand finals already played, including last weekend.
Speaker 2 (01:31):
I'm told by Sam Gibson that eleven.
Speaker 3 (01:34):
And a half thousand people have already watched a Grand Final
at Too Stadium. That number might probably includes the preliminary
final last week, actually the men's and women's preliminary finals,
but that's just an extraordinary number of people come in
to watch, their kids and their nephews, their brothers and
sisters coming into watching and it really does I mean,
(01:58):
it just enhances the privilege of being in the the
role I'm in and watching that happen, it really is encouraging.
And then this week, you know, some cracking games.
Speaker 2 (02:06):
I expect a big crowd tomorrow as well.
Speaker 1 (02:09):
It is going to be massive tomorrow. Talk us through like,
talk us through the schedule for tomorrow because I know
some people listening will be wondering what time they need
to get there and you know who they're going to
be watching.
Speaker 2 (02:19):
Yeah, for sure.
Speaker 3 (02:20):
Well tonight it starts tonight with the andre Adaen Girls
and boys. So districts are playing Nightcliff and the Girls.
They'll be first. I think it's about six o'clock and
that there's some really high level talent in that both
those teams. And I actually saw the Nightcliff Girls Andre
Adan's last week. I sat with Michael McLean, Magic MacLean,
(02:41):
who's our talent man. I asked him who did he
have out there and he said, no, no, I'm just
just watching the talent. So it's extraordinary just to see
these are girls that have now come through from the
under twelve system and up really showing their stock. Then
the boys, both Nightcliffe and St Mary's are playing off.
Speaker 2 (02:59):
Both of them.
Speaker 3 (03:00):
Those teams have got clubs, have got massive junior programs
and again their eighteens are really strong with some really
high level talent. That's that's going to be a crack
of that game. So that's Friday night, that's tonight and
then kicks off tomorrow about two pm. We've got a
We've got a life member's lunch on at about twelve thirty,
(03:21):
so there's about one hundred or so come to that.
It's a really good lunch and we pass out this
year's life membership.
Speaker 2 (03:27):
So I think there's four ladies who.
Speaker 3 (03:30):
Are receiving life membership, including Jamie Lee Poor Jimmy, who
is a Tea week girl. So yeah, first I think
she's the first two week Mary done, or correct me
if I'm wrong, but I think she's the first to
have that player life.
Speaker 2 (03:44):
Membership, which is a huge, huge effort. And then.
Speaker 3 (03:50):
We'll go on to the prem reserves going Banks and
Points again, two big clubs who gear up for this one.
This is a this is a game that it's thick,
there's real there's real bragging rights involved here. And Pints
of course have got their senior team. Banks haven't yet.
That's a journey they're still on, but they're putting a
(04:11):
lot into this and that's going to be a cracker.
Speaker 2 (04:12):
That's at two pm. And then the women's game.
Speaker 3 (04:14):
Saint Mary's a nightcliff missing Pints for the first time
in a few years. Jazz Heward of course took out
the medal again and what a superstar.
Speaker 1 (04:22):
She's a class act.
Speaker 3 (04:23):
She just just a wonderful leader and going to be
coaching the NTFL versus a CFL Daniellas Springs on the
fifth of April. So congratulations to Jazz for that. But
she's not on the ground tomorrow. But you there's some
talent out there as well. St Mary's a nightcliff. You
would have seen it over the years. It's going to
be a great game.
Speaker 1 (04:42):
Well. I've watched the last couple of weekends as well,
and it has been some fantastic footy. Fantastic footy to
sit and watch with my daughter as well for her
to see, you know, the talent on display in that grade.
We're actually going to be catching up as well this
morning with a couple of Tigers players. We're all also
going to be catching up with the coach of Saint
(05:02):
Mary's and their captain from the women's team. So I'm
really pleased to do that. I think it'll be good
to find out how they're feeling ahead of the final
on the weekend.
Speaker 3 (05:10):
Yeah, and before I get onto the men's I mean
just touching on the women's game. In the junior grades,
we were at parody fifty percent boys fifty percent girls.
Speaker 2 (05:19):
In fact, I think in the tens and twelves. The
girls are outnumbering the boys. It's just fantastic.
Speaker 3 (05:25):
In the competition as a whole, it's forty sixty a
bit higher than forty female participation and so we're heading
to fifty to fifty, which is where we want to be,
is where we should be. And this year cady five
three hundred people played in the NTERFL.
Speaker 1 (05:41):
Wow.
Speaker 2 (05:41):
It's an extraordinary number.
Speaker 3 (05:42):
And that doesn't include the numbers of umpires, match managers, volunteers, officials,
committee members who tend to wear three or four different
hats on game day doing everything and support. So it's
the ladies, the girls and the women who've been driving that.
Speaker 2 (06:01):
So it's just fantastic.
Speaker 1 (06:02):
It is. It is so good to see. And I
you know, what I really like actually about AFL in
the Northern Territory is that, you know, the pathways for
boys and girls seem to be exactly the same. And
I think that that's a wonderful thing for really every
sport to strive for. And I know that I'm sure
they all do try to strive for that, but I
like the way it's really quite clear in AFL too.
Speaker 3 (06:26):
Yeah, and credit going back a decade or so. These
outcomes don't happen overnight. And Tony Frawley, who's a former CEO,
he really put his shoulder to the wheel on this
stuff with a support from AFL headquarters in Melbourne, and
so this is going to be the jurisdiction for girls.
I think Tony must have seen something fifteen years ago.
And so we're getting the rewards. Now, we've got to
(06:48):
keep going and we've got to find those talent pathways
that take those young men and young women who are
playing tonight, for instance, into the AFL itself. So that's
really important to us for tomorrow, you know, the big game,
the big game, the.
Speaker 2 (07:03):
Man distriction St. Mary's. I mean, it's going to be
a ripper.
Speaker 1 (07:09):
It's going to be an absolute cracker. Yesterday, of course,
who were joined in the studio by Anthony Valajio. He
joined me in the studio and I love talking to
him about the way, you know, with Saint Mary's it's
such a team and a family effort. Now then of
course I had Shannon Ruska and Michael Bowden in the studio.
Now I didn't even ask young Michael who his dad
(07:30):
was because I was more interested in him and his talent,
and then of course you know, I now realize it's
your your son. He's been I mean he's been playing
since under twelves.
Speaker 3 (07:43):
With the Crocs, that's correct, and before that with the
Howard Springs Lions, which were exist they don't anymore, so
it's the Crocs are the teens now. But yeah, he's
I'm very proud of Michael and his whole family's proud
of him, and he's going to be leading them out tomorrow.
And of course on the other side, I think there's
(08:04):
young young Valejo out there. There is shop a son
and he's playing, and Saint Mary's a just such a
incredible team and a community club and a family club.
Speaker 2 (08:15):
So and districts are the same.
Speaker 3 (08:17):
So I think the game will be played in good spirit,
but it'll be fierce.
Speaker 2 (08:21):
It'll be it'll be hard.
Speaker 3 (08:23):
I mean Jed Anders and Stephen Motlop on the one side,
you've got Dylan Land, Connor West Joel Garner on the other.
I mean, the on ball contest is going to be
it's going to be extreme and it's going to be
great to watch. You're seeing at the moment in the
interfl I think some of the best footy we've ever
seen up here, and the one on one contest as
players line up on each other and take them take
(08:44):
each other on in a fair and fierce way.
Speaker 2 (08:47):
It's something, it's something to watch. So it's going to
be a great game.
Speaker 1 (08:49):
Now, is this weather going to hold off? You know,
we've all been wondering if it's going to rain for
months now, and now the weekend that we don't want
it to rain, it's looking like it's potentially going.
Speaker 2 (08:59):
To one thing. Cadie, I think I certainly don't claim
to know anything about It's the weather and I'm not
going to predict it. You can't stop it.
Speaker 3 (09:09):
But let's hope it's clear and the weather outside of
the moment's beautiful. Let's hope it's a bit like that,
because that's going to just enhance the footy.
Speaker 1 (09:17):
Yeah, it's Look, it's going to be a fantastic weekend
of football. Just on that means Premier League gag. I
mean the Crocs they had four players in the top
ten of the Nichols Medal count. Like, It's pretty unprecedented,
isn't it To have that many in that top ten.
It sort of just shows you the depth of their side.
But then I mean Saint Mary's they can never be underestimated,
(09:39):
can they correct?
Speaker 3 (09:42):
Correct, never underestimated, And they're a team. They've got some
players that really believe in what they're doing and who
they're playing for, the same as the Crocs, as the
Crocs of I think Southern Districts might have built itself
now into one of the biggest actual playing clubs in
the country.
Speaker 2 (09:57):
They've had thirty two teams or thirty three teams on
the field this year. Mary's aren't far behind.
Speaker 3 (10:02):
So these to these two teams, the credits to their presidents,
their committees, their life members, everyone who's built them, and
they'll be they'll both bring big crowds, I think tomorrow,
So there'll be.
Speaker 2 (10:14):
A lot of groan and a lot of red, black.
Speaker 3 (10:17):
And white, and then everyone else in the middle sort
of keeping the two apart. But it's going to be terrific.
And you know, I think I think it's going to
be a draw myself.
Speaker 2 (10:27):
So and then will have to play some extra tide.
Speaker 1 (10:33):
Or maybe I mean, I don't know. I thought you
might have just been sitting on the fence there, sure,
and you're in your role, but no, you're not sure.
Speaker 3 (10:39):
I'm definitely hard to split them. It is, they might
have to be split it over.
Speaker 1 (10:44):
Yeah, I was going to say, am I allowed to
ask you as the chairman, who you think is going
to win the women's prems and the men's prems game
or not?
Speaker 2 (10:53):
Really?
Speaker 3 (10:54):
I think it'll be a draw, certainly in the men's
What about the women's very hard to spread. Saint Mary's
have got some really class players. I think Daniel Pontea
will be out there tomorrow, and there's a number of
other ladies and girls that are just fantastic in Nightcliff Well,
they showed their style last weekend knocking off pints, so
(11:15):
I'd put Saint Mary's nose in front at the moment.
But on Grand Final day, a bit like the weather,
one thing you know is that you just don't know,
and teams come out and it's who's got that little
bit of eigh the tiger, who's got that little bit
of energy, who really really wants it, and that often
determines the Grand Final.
Speaker 2 (11:32):
So in each of the grades.
Speaker 3 (11:35):
That will be something because of the because of the
I think the closeness of the competition and the equity
amongst the teams. I think that's something that will determine games.
Who really wants it.
Speaker 1 (11:45):
Where can people go to buy tickets if they want
to purchase early so they can sort of avoid the
line to some degree.
Speaker 3 (11:51):
Jump on the AFL in t website, and I think
that's a wise thing to do. Get in the grand
stand as well, if you get there early. So yeah,
get your ticket online and get there as early as
you can. And I think there's a bit of entertainment
between the games and halftime, and.
Speaker 2 (12:06):
There'll be a carnival atmosphere.
Speaker 3 (12:08):
There's food stalls out the back and stuff for kids
and various things, and there'll be thousands of kids there
there sort of milling around, running around over this NonStop eating.
Speaker 1 (12:19):
The shaved ice like they all love.
Speaker 2 (12:20):
Getting pumped up on Cordel.
Speaker 1 (12:24):
Well aofl NT chairman Sean Bowden. Great to speak with
you this morning. Thanks so much for your time, Katie.
Speaker 2 (12:30):
Thank thank you,