# Northern Territory Football Club

The Northern Territory Football Club, nicknamed NT Thunder, was a Northern Territory-based Australian rules football club that competed in the North East Australian Football League (NEAFL) between 2011 and 2019, and the VFL Women's between 2018 and 2019.
The club was disbanded at the end of the 2019 season, however its identity continues to be seen in the under-19s Talent League Boys and Talent League Girls competitions, where the Northern Territory Academy plays a handful of games each year.

## History

NT Thunder was formed in 2008 and were invited to join the West Australian Football League, but instead opted to join the Queensland Australian Football League (QAFL). At the conclusion of the 2010 QAFL season, the Thunder were invited to join the newly formed North East Australian Football League (NEAFL).
The Thunder finished the regular season with the best record in the Northern Conference and in doing so claimed their first ever minor premiership. The Thunder went on to prove their superiority by claiming the first ever Northern Conference NEAFL premiership by defeating the Morningside Panthers. A week later the Thunder defeated the newly crowned Eastern Conference NEAFL premiers, Ainslie Tri-Colours, to claim the first ever NEAFL premiership at Traeger Park.
The Thunder won two NEAFL premierships and entered a side in the VFL Women's competition in Victoria. By the end of the 2019 season, AFL Northern Territory revealed it could no longer justify keeping the club afloat, and announced its cessation from both competitions.

## Honour board

Legend:
 ^ Premiers, † Finals
Bold italics: competition leading goal kicker
| Season | Position | Chairman | CEO | Coach | Captain(s) | Best and fairest | Leading goalkicker (total) |
| 2009 | 6th | Paul Tyrell | Stuart Totham | Michael McLean | Jarred Ilett | Cameron Ilett | Darren Ewing (81) |
| 2010 | 4th† | Paul Tyrell | Stuart Totham | Murray Davis | Jarred Ilett | Cameron Ilett | Darren Ewing (78) |
| 2011 | 1st^ | Paul Tyrell | Stuart Totham | Murray Davis | Cameron Ilett | Jake Dignan | Darren Ewing (115) |
| 2012 | 3rd† | Lincoln Jenkin | Jarred Ilett | Daniel Archer | Cameron Ilett | Jason Roe | Darren Ewing (64) |
| 2013 | 7th | Lincoln Jenkin | Jarred Ilett | Daniel Archer | Cameron Ilett | Cameron Ilett | Darren Ewing (94) |
| 2014 | 4th† | Lincoln Jenkin | Jarred Ilett | Xavier Clarke | Cameron Ilett/Aaron Motlop | Cameron Ilett | Darren Ewing (73) |
| 2015 | 1st^ | Lincoln Jenkin | Brendan Curry | Xavier Clarke | Aaron Motlop | Richard Tambling | Darren Ewing (87) |
| 2016 | 5th† | Lincoln Jenkin | — | Xavier Clarke | Shannon Rioli | Cameron Ilett | Darren Ewing (58) |
| 2017 | 5th† | Lincoln Jenkin | — | Andrew Hodges | Shannon Rioli | Cameron Ilett | Darren Ewing (61) |

## Honours and achievements
### Premierships

| | 2011 NEAFL Grand Final | 2011 NEAFL Grand Final | 2011 NEAFL Grand Final | | |
| Saturday, 24 September (2:00 pm) | NT Thunder | def. | Ainslie | Traeger Park | |
| | 5.4 (34) 9.11 (65) 11.14 (80) 16.18 (114) | Q1 Q2 Q3 Final | 6.4 (40) 9.7 (61) 10.12 (72) 13.14 (92) | Andrew Ireland Medal: Cameron Ilett (NT Thunder) | Andrew Ireland Medal: Cameron Ilett (NT Thunder) |
| D. Ewing 5, A. McLeod 3, W. Farrer 3, C. Ilett 2, J. Dignan, R. Smith, R. Tungatalum | D. Ewing 5, A. McLeod 3, W. Farrer 3, C. Ilett 2, J. Dignan, R. Smith, R. Tungatalum | Goals | M. Crook 3, M. Lawless 3, B. Hughes 2, N. Paine 2, A. vandenBerg, D. Walker, C. Mathis | M. Crook 3, M. Lawless 3, B. Hughes 2, N. Paine 2, A. vandenBerg, D. Walker, C. Mathis |
| C. Ilett, S. Tapp, A. Motlop, K. Tyrrell, L. Egger, J. Dignan | C. Ilett, S. Tapp, A. Motlop, K. Tyrrell, L. Egger, J. Dignan | Best | D. Tow, M. Crook, B. Hughes, R. Tutt, R. Shirley, R. Tuohey | D. Tow, M. Crook, B. Hughes, R. Tutt, R. Shirley, R. Tuohey |
| | 2015 NEAFL Grand Final | 2015 NEAFL Grand Final | 2015 NEAFL Grand Final | | |
| Saturday, 19 September (6:30 pm) | NT Thunder | def. | Aspley | TIO Stadium (crowd: 5,889) | Report |
| | 3.2 (20) 6.8 (44) 10.10 (70) 11.15 (81) | Q1 Q2 Q3 Final | 1.3 (9) 4.10 (34) 6.11 (47) 11.14 (80) | Umpires: Alex Whetton, Cameron Barr, James Waldorff Andrew Ireland Medal: Chris Dunne (NT Thunder) | Umpires: Alex Whetton, Cameron Barr, James Waldorff Andrew Ireland Medal: Chris Dunne (NT Thunder) |
| C .Dunne 4, D. Ewing 3, M. Hagan, J. Lockwood, G. Turner, L. Patrick | C .Dunne 4, D. Ewing 3, M. Hagan, J. Lockwood, G. Turner, L. Patrick | Goals | E. Hipwood 2, C. French 2, T. Dickinson, G. Grose, M. Payne, C. Stevenson, N. Jackson, E. Sansbury, J. Neils | E. Hipwood 2, C. French 2, T. Dickinson, G. Grose, M. Payne, C. Stevenson, N. Jackson, E. Sansbury, J. Neils |
| B. Rioli, C. Dunne, D. Ewing, C. Ilett, J. Beugelaar, T. Motlop | B. Rioli, C. Dunne, D. Ewing, C. Ilett, J. Beugelaar, T. Motlop | Best | M. Payne, M. Hutchinson, J. Wagner, C. Stiller, J. Williams, G. Grose | M. Payne, M. Hutchinson, J. Wagner, C. Stiller, J. Williams, G. Grose |

### Club Champions

* 2009 – Cameron Ilett
* 2010 – Cameron Ilett
* 2011 – Jake Dignan
* 2012 – Jason Roe
* 2013 – Cameron Ilett
* 2014 – Cameron Ilett
* 2015 – Richard Tambling
* 2016 – Cameron Ilett
* 2017 – Cameron Ilett

### Grogan Medallists

The Grogan Medal was awarded between 2011 and 2013 to the best and fairest player in the NEAFL Northern Conference.
* Cameron Ilett (2011)

### Ray Hughson Medallists

The Ray Hughson Medal was awarded in the QAFL until 2010, and in the NEAFL Northern Conference between 2011 and 2013 to the leading goalkicker.
* Darren Ewing (2009) – 81 goals
* Darren Ewing (2011) – 115 goals
* Darren Ewing (2013) – 94 goals

### NEAFL leading goalkicker

The NEAFL leading goalkicker has been awarded since 2014 to the player who kicks the most goals in the NEAFL competition.
* Darren Ewing (2015) – 78 goals
* Darren Ewing (2016) – 58 goals
* Darren Ewing (2017) – 61 goals

### NEAFL (Northern) Rising Stars

The NEAFL (Northern) Rising Star was awarded between 2011 and 2013 to the best young player in the Northern Conference.
* Ross Tungatalum (2011)

### NEAFL Rising Stars

The NEAFL (Northern) Rising Star has been awarded since 2014 to the best young player in the NEAFL competition.
* Adam Sambono (2017)

### Premiership coaches

* Murray Davis (2011)
* Xavier Clarke (2015)

### NEAFL Coach of the Year

The NEAFL Coach of the Year has been awarded since 2014 to the best coach in the NEAFL competition.
* Murray Davis (2011)
* Xavier Clarke (2014)

### QAFL Team of the Year representatives

NT Thunder competed in the QAFL between 2009 and 2010 before joining the NEAFL.
* Darren Ewing (2009)
* Cameron Ilett (2009, 2010)
* Jarred Ilett (2009– captain)
* Peter MacFarlane (2009)
* Brett Goodes (2010)
* Zephaniah Skinner (2010)

### NEAFL Team of the Year representatives

Between 2011 and 2013, the Team of the Year representatives were from the Northern Conference. Since 2014, the representatives have been for the whole NEAFL competition.
* Darren Ewing (2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017)
* Cameron Ilett (2011– captain, 2013, 2014– captain, 2015– captain, 2016– captain, 2017)
* Shaun Tapp (2011)
* Ross Tungatalum (2011)
* Kenrick Tyrrell (2011)
* Jake Dignan (2012)
* Jason Roe (2012)
* Matt Rosier (2012)
* Chris Dunne (2013, 2014)
* Justin Beugelaar (2015)
* Richard Tambling (2015)
* Raphael Clarke (2016)
* Adam Sambono (2017)

### AFL players

The following is the list of NT Thunder players who have played at AFL level and the club they play(ed) for.
* Jed Anderson – Hawthorn and North Melbourne
* Dom Barry – Melbourne
* Jared Brennan – Brisbane Lions and Gold Coast
* Raphael Clarke – St Kilda
* Nakia Cockatoo – Geelong
* Alwyn Davey – Essendon
* Nathan Djerrkura – Geelong and Western Bulldogs
* Brett Goodes – Western Bulldogs
* Nikki Gore - Adelaide Women
* Steven May – Gold Coast
* Ryan Nyhuis - Fremantle
* Andrew McLeod – Adelaide
* Liam Patrick – Gold Coast
* Relton Roberts – Richmond
* Jason Roe – Brisbane Lions
* Zephaniah Skinner – Western Bulldogs
* Richard Tambling – Richmond and Adelaide
* Troy Taylor – Richmond
* Austin Wonaeamirri – Melbourne

## Club song

The NT Thunder club song is "We are the Territory Thunder".
We are Territory boys/girls We are Territory Thunder
Yellow, ochre, black and white We are out for plunder
Premierships are on our mind
We’ll tear our foes asunder
We are Territory boys/girls
We are Territory Thunder
We are Territory boys/girls
We are Territory Thunder
Ngiya pumanyinga (I am Thunder) Kuwa Ngintha pumanyinga (You are Thunder) Kuwa Ngawa pumanyinga, Ngawa pumanyinga, Ngawa pumanyinga (We are Thunder) Kuwa, Kuwa, Kuwa

## Match records

Correct to the end of round 17, 2017
* Highest score for: 193 points Round 18, 2010 (Gardens Oval) – NT Thunder 29.19 (193) vs. Broadbeach 8.3 (51)
* Lowest score for: 28 points Round 17, 2017 (Sydney Cricket Ground) – NT Thunder 4.4 (28) vs. Sydney Swans 25.24 (174)
* Highest score against: 174 points Round 17, 2017 (Sydney Cricket Ground) – NT Thunder 4.4 (28) vs. Sydney Swans 25.24 (174)
* Lowest score against: 15 points Round 13, 2014 (TIO Stadium) – NT Thunder 19.11 (125) vs. Sydney University 1.9 (15)
* Highest aggregate score: 287 points Round 4, 2009 (Victoria Point) – NT Thunder 20.11 (131) vs. Redland 23.18 (156)
* Lowest aggregate score: 89 points Elimination final, 2014 (TIO Stadium) – NT Thunder 7.11 (53) vs. Ainslie 5.6 (36)
* Lowest winning score: 53 points Elimination final, 2014 (TIO Stadium) – NT Thunder 7.11 (53) vs. Ainslie 5.6 (36)
* Highest losing score: 131 points Round 4, 2009 (TIO Stadium) – NT Thunder 23.18 (131) vs. Redland 23.18 (156)
* Greatest winning margin: 142 points Round 18, 2010 (Gardens Oval) – NT Thunder 29.19 (193) vs. Broadbeach 8.3 (51)
* Greatest losing margin: 146 points Round 17, 2017 (Sydney Cricket Ground) – NT Thunder 4.4 (28) vs. Sydney Swans 25.24 (174)
* Longest winning streak: 13 matches Round 11, 2015 vs. Sydney University (Henson Park) to round 1, 2016 vs. Gold Coast (TIO Stadium)
* Longest losing streak: 3 matches (achieved four times) Round 15, 2009 vs. Redland (Traeger Park) to round 17, 2009 vs. Southport (Carrara Stadium) Round 2, 2010 vs. Redland (Victoria Point Oval) to round 4, 2010 vs. Southport (Fankhauser Reserve) Northern conference grand final, 2012 vs. Brisbane Lions (Leyshon Park) to round 2, 2013 vs. Aspley (Graham Road Oval) Round 20, 2013 vs. Redland (Traeger Park) to round 22, 2013 vs. Aspley (TIO Stadium)
* Most goals in a match by an individual: 14 goals Darren Ewing, round 19, 2013 (Leyshon Park)