28 SPORT MONDAY AUGUST 14 2017

MORRIS ON MONDAY MONDAYntnews.com.au/sport NT’s finest deserve chance to compete on bigger stage ON THIS DAY August 14 1891: Allrounder Johnny Mullagh, a leading player in the 1868 Aborigi- nal tour of England, dies in Harrow, Victoria, aged 50. 1920: The Olympic Games open for competition in Antwerp, Belgium. 1929: Former world middleweight boxing champion Dick Tiger is born in Nigeria. 1936: The first Olympic basketball match is played between Estonia and France at the Berlin Games. Estonia won 34-29. 1948: Sir Donald Bradman is bowled by England spinner Eric Hollies for a in his final innings at in England, leaving him four runs short of an average of 100 in . 1959: Earvan “Magic’’ Johnson of LA Lakers and the US Dream Team (1992) is born in Lansing, Michigan. 1973: Olympic 1500m gold medal- list and former world record holder Kieren Perkins is born in Brisbane. 1983: First World Athletic Cham- pionships close in Helsinki, Finland. 1994: Zimbabwean Nick Price wins the 76th USPGA Championship by six shots, shooting an 11-under par 269.

Sydney FC’s Joshua Brillante and Warren Barry of the Darwin Rovers contest a header during the FFA Cup clash in Darwin Picture: MICHAEL FRANCHI

WHEN was the last time the very ers’ own Carl Marshall and goal- any length of time. attraction and opportunity football best of Darwin soccer strutted their keepers Nelson Nheu, Marcus Now the Territory’s women play- can present to its combatants. stuff on the national stage? Ashton and Kane McAdam in an ers are putting their hands up for The Darwin Cubs were an exam- That was the question this writer All-Stars side? representative football, creating the ple of this, before the cost of the pro- and Football NT boss Bruce Stalder All of them are capable at their potential for double-header match- ject became too much and a dream discussed at length during the FFA own trade and worthy wearers of a es involving the men and our best was extinguished. Cup match between Darwin Rovers Territory jumper. ladies. Fast forward a quarter of a cen- and Sydney FC 11 days ago. Hellenic fans will argue for years There have been occasional for- tury and a football side capable of The Rovers, a mixture of tradies this season’s Blues should have been ays into the representative arena, great things is within arm’s reach of and soccer-mad lads from England there against Sydney FC, only a the Arafura Games and a surprise the representative arena. and Ireland, were competitive thrilling 1-0 loss to the Rovers in a match against touring English Interstate football is a very real against Australia’s best club side for qualifying game preventing the Premier League club Chelsea in possibility, with Stalder’s contacts 24 minutes before Sydney’s superior Premier League champions in wait- 1974 are some of the very few throughout Queensland the start- fitness and ability to control the ing going out against the A-League examples. ing point for negotiations on regular football opened the gates to an 8-0 champion. So what is the answer? matches between the Norzone men win. Soccer, or football as the purists Interstate or international com- and women and representative sides MORRIS Would a Darwin representative call it and justifiably so, because it is petition or even intertown football out of Brisbane. side have done any better? Probably the only ball game played almost between Darwin and Alice Springs? The NT Government has been not, on account of the class of oppo- entirely with the feet, has suffered The logical answer is to our strong and forthcoming with its sup- ON sition on display. from an inferiority complex in the north, where the Singapore or Ma- port of Australian football and But it did highlight the absence of Top End for as long as this writer laysian league offer regular rep- rugby league, now is the time to lis- exciting Hellenic trio Geoffry Lino, can remember. resentative football. ten to Territory soccer’s blueprint MONDAY Helio Carvalho and thrill-a-minute Not because of a lack of class of Indeed, the courageous but fatal for the future and implement much- forward Sulav Maskey. players down the years, but because attempt to enter a Darwin side in needed expansion into a sport And what about Olympic goal the best of the best have never been the Singapore competition almost caught behind club boundaries for with GREY MORRIS poacher Michael Tsounias, the Rov- allowed to perform as a group for 25 years ago was an example of the way too long.

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