SPORT llllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll ntnews.com.au Thunder ready FROM THE Coach’s Box to strike Metro with DANIEL ARCHER NT boys learn some lessons

INDIVIDUALS participate in the season against Mt sport because it’s challeng- Gravatt (home), Labrador ing. Testing yourself and (away) and GWS Giants striving to improve brings a Reserves (away) before our sense of achievement once next bye. you accomplish your goals. The challenge is now to en- It has been a challenging sure we continue to improve start to the season for NT as individuals, and as a team,

PUB: Thunder to date with a total to go from a good team to a of nine games now played, great team in all areas like eight in the NEAFL and the Port . one Cup. This weekend we have five TNEWS NT The bye round for the re- players that will put on the presentative fixture has NT/QLD (Northern Confer- given us time as a group to ence) jumper to play NSW/ step back and assess. ACT (Eastern Conference) in We were very disappointed the representative fixture on in the result against Port the Gold Coast. Melbourne, especially after It is always an honour as a DATE: such a promising start. player to represent your We certainly were exposed state or territory. to the ruthless and intense Jerry Wilson and Dean nature that football needs to Staunton will play in the 25-MAY-2012 be played to be a great team. under-21s, whilst Cameron Port Melbourne displayed Ilett, Jason Roe and Jake all the attributes that make Dignan will play in the them a very impressive VFL seniors. team with an amazing This is a great opportunity record. for these players to challenge The lesson we can take is themselves against and not so much what we didn’t alongside the best from both or couldn’t do, but what they our competition and the PAGE: did and how we can improve Eastern Conference. to become the Port Mel- bourne of this competition. In the regular NEAFL 60 in action for Greater Western last year. Tomorrow he lines up for NT Thunder under-18s season we have a win-loss re- cord of 5-3 after a heavy FOOTBALL

COLOR: series format began in the The Thunder 18s are Egger round out the leader- travel schedule in the early By GREY MORRIS mid-1990s. ready to the Victor- ship group. stage of the season, with only ‘‘It’s definitely our best ians after two impressive Elliott-born Neade is one two games played in Darwin. INPEX AWARD TERRITORY Thunder’s ab- chance in a long time to beat wins against the Sydney of the great stories of foot- However, the group has ap- EACH week head coach Daniel Archer ility to defend and run hard the Vics,’’ Thunder coach Swans and GWS junior ball in the Territory. plied themselves very pro- awards votes 3, 2 and 1 to the best U23 player. A cash award of $500 will when in possession of the Brenton Toy said. academies in Wollongong. The 18-year-old on-baller fessionally to the demands be presented to the player with the

C football will be key factors ‘‘But the challenge for us will captain from the tiny community involved. most votes at the end of the season. in its bid to upset Vic is getting our mix of players for the second year in a row. 800km southeast of Darwin We have played a total of 45 Votes given for NEAFL games M Metro at TIO Stadium ready to go, with 10 of the 23 Senior contracted Thun- spent his formative years at players from across the NT only. Progressive after Rd 8 v tomorrow night. based interstate. der players Jack McEwin, West Alice Springs in the including Alice Springs, Y Broadbeach: Ben Rioli 10, Jed The under-18 national ‘‘The Vics will have an Ben Rioli, Braedon McLean, CAFL competition. Maningrida, Tiwi Islands, Anderson 9, Jack McEwin 6, Julian

K championship match rep- advantage with their height Jarrod Stokes and Damian Neade now plies his trade Hermannsburg, Mt Liebig, Lockwood 6, Kieren Smith 5, Damian resents Thunder’s best and strength, and overall Williams will assist him. with the North Ballarat Katherine and Nhulunbuy. Williams 4, Paul Campbell 3, Braedon McLean 2, Jayden Prior 2, Patrick chance to beat the high- class. What we have to do is Victorian-based Territor- Rebels in ’s TAC We are very much looking Heenan 1. flying Victorians since the compete for four quarters.’’ ians Jake Neade and Louis Cup competition. forward to the next stage of

NT Thunder Under 18s v Vic Metro WHAT’S ON THIS WEEKEND Saturday, May 26 at TIO Stadium, Darwin 6pm day — Womens: Waratahs v Aust Football Commerce-Pint at 6.30pm. Mens: National U18 Waratahs v Commerce-Pint at 8pm. NTRU, Rd 9 NT THUNDER VIC METRO Championships Horse Racing Tomorrow at Rugby Park: Casuarina Tomorrow at TIO Stadium: NT Thun- v Palmerston at 5pm. B: Ben Rioli Jack Long Jason Puruntatameri B: Jesse Boyd Sean Hetherington der v Victoria Metro at 6pm. Curtain- Darwin HB: Troy Lawton Damien Williams Louis Egger HB: Jackson Macrae Kristian Jaksch Luke raiser: NT Warriors v Arnhem Cats at Tomorrow at Fannie Bay: Six-race Soccer C: Braedon McLean Jack McEwin Jarrod Stokes McDonald 3pm. TAB program, headlined by $13,200 DFL, Rd 7 HF: Abraham Ankers Jack Williams Kevin Renehan C: AHA NT Handicap (1200m). Racing Men’s Premier League F: Roy Assan Sam Autio Willie Rioli Jr HF: Cricket from 2.27pm, with the last at 5.37pm. Foll: Tosh Kunoth Jed Anderson Jake Neade F: Ashlin Brown Tom Boyd Anthony Bonaddio DDCA, Rd 11 Alice Springs Tonight at Gray Oval: Palmerston v Int (from): Anthony Tipungwuti Nathan Woodley Foll: Sam Gilmore Darcy Bailey Two-day matches — Tomorrow at Hellenic at 8.30pm. Tomorrow at Marrara Cricket Ground: PINT v War- Sunday at Pioneer Park: Four-race Italian Club: Uni Azzurri v Casuarina Dominic Barry Sam Hocking Jack Hatcher Daniel Int (from): Jake McKenzie Cameron Conlon TAB program, headlined by the at 4pm. At Darwin Football Stadium: Stafford Kenny Ong Jason Cooke atahs. At Woodroffe Oval: Palmer- ston v Nightcliff. At Freds Pass: $10,500 Lasseters Hotel Casino Port Darwin v Darwin Olympic at Emer: Josh Lidgerwood Southern Districts v Tracy Village. Benchmark 65 Handicap (1200m). 8pm. Playing times: 11.30am-6pm. Racing from 2.40pm, with the last at Women’s Premier League 4.36pm. Greyhounds Tomorrow at Darwin Football Motorsport Stadium: Darwin Olympic v Litchfield Darwin at 2pm; Casuarina v Uni Azzurri at WHAT’S COMING UP Tonight at Winnellie Park: Six-race Speedway 4pm. TAB program, headlined by the Tonight and tomorrow: Australian Youth League Representative Match Southern Cross TV Best All-Rounder Street Stock Titles at Northline Saturday, May 26 at : Northern Conference under-21s v Eastern Conference under-21s at (383m). Racing from 7.39pm, with the Tonight at Darwin Football Stadium: Speedway. Gates open at 4pm with Mindil Aces v Darwin Olympic at 9am; Northern Conference seniors v Eastern Conference seniors at 11.15am. last at 9.42pm. racing from 5.30pm. 6.30pm; Hellenic v Port Darwin at NEXT WEEK — ROUND 10 8.30pm. Northern Conference — Saturday, June 2: Southport v Labrador at Fankhauser Reserve, 1.30pm; Aspley v Hockey Redland at Graham Rd, 1.30pm; Broadbeach v Lions Reserves at H&A Oval, 1.30pm; NT Thunder v Mt DHA, Rd 7 NTRL, Rd 8 Touch Football Gravatt at TIO Stadium, 6pm. Bye: Morningside. Tomorrow at Marrara Hockey Darwin Eastern Conference — Saturday, June 2: Sydney Hills Eagles v GWS Giants Reserves at Bruce Purser Oval, 2pm; Stadium — Mens: NUTS v Banks at Sunday at Richardson Park: South Belconnen v Sydney University at , 2pm. Sunday, June 3: Queanbeyan v Ainslie at Dairy Farmers 4pm; St Marys v East Darwin at 7pm. Darwin v Palmerston at 4pm, Night- Sunday at Allphones Park: Palmer- Stadium, 2pm; Eastlake v Tuggeranong at Manuka Oval, 2pm. Womens: NUTS v Banks at 5.30pm; St cliff v University at 5.45pm, Brothers ston Touch Football Come And Try Marys v East Darwin at 8.30pm. v Litchfield at 7.30pm. Day, 4pm to 6pm. Cross-Conference — Sunday, June 3: Reserves v Reserves at the SCG, 11.45am. Sun-

60 NT NEWS. Friday, May 25, 2012. www.ntnews.com.au