DARREN MONCRIEFF
Monday 19 September, 2011
BIRTHDAY boy Will Farrer had a 21st he won't forget for a long time: five goals, a contender for mark of the year, and a premiership medal.
Farrer (pictured), from Kununurra, and Tiwi man Ross Tungatalum were the leading goalkickers with five each for the NT Thunder in their 98-point, 26.22 (178) to 12.8 (80), mauling of Morningside in the NEAFL (Northern Conference) Grand Final on the Gold Coast on Sunday.
The win also means the Thunder will meet NEAFL (Eastern Conference) champions Ainslie, which defeated Sydney in Canberra on Saturday, in Alice Springs this weekend for the overall NEAFL premiership.
The margin on the Gold Coast, which came after a Thunder post-siren goal, sets a new record for Queensland football grand finals, bettering Southport's 94-point win over Mt Gravatt in 1997.
Farrer's leap, in which he literally stood on an opponent's shoulders and was at full stretch to take the mark, capped a memorable day for Top End footy.
After a slow start, which saw the Thunder concede the quarter-time lead by a goal, the Territorians shifted into gear.
AFL legend Andrew McLeod, a two-time Norm Smith Medal winner, used his trademark skills to pick out Thunder team-mates in good position by hand and foot.
Former Collingwood and Brisbane Lions defender Jason Roe played the 'quarterback' role to perfection across half-back. He was the driving force behind the Thunder's second-quarter surge. The premiership was his first in senior football.
One-time Western Bulldog and 2005 Indigenous All-Star Shannon Rusca nullified dangerous Panthers forward Shaun Mugavin who looked dangerous early.
Tungatalum showed why he was the league's Rising Star award winner with a superb display, his two goals inside 90 seconds to start the final term snuffing out any thought of a Panthers fightback.
Shannon Rioli, Charlie Maher and Bradley Palipuaminni were also among the goals and young tyro Jed Anderson named among the Thunder's best.
This was just the Thunder's third season in the Queensland-based league.
The team has a large Indigenous component, drawing players from across the Top End and north-west WA. The inaugural coach was AFL legend Michael McLean.
Yagmoor can hold head high
WHILE the Thunder players were celebrating, spare a thought for their vanquished foes, Far North Queensland's Peter Yagmoor among them.
The Cairns teenager (pictured) put in a tireless effort for the Panthers who were run off their feet by a rampant Thunder side.
Yagmoor, with his trademark raking left-footers, was, alongside his fellow defenders, overwhelmed by the slick Territorians.
Yagmoor moved from Cairns to Brisbane three years ago to complete his education with an AFL Queensland Michael Voss Scholarship.
In 2009, as a 15-year-old, he played a handful of games with the Brisbane Lions reserves side.
Last season, Yagmoor made his senior debut with Morningside while also playing for Queensland's under-18s side, the Scorpions.
This season, he was a Rising Star nominated (round 16) for the Panthers.
Yagmoor would have done his AFL prospects no harm over the course of the season, and there is talk Gold Coast will take him in one of the three AFL drafts.
Under AFL selection rules, he is eligible to be picked by the Suns as a Queensland zone priority selection.
AboriginalFootball@westnet.com.au
Last Modified on 20/09/2011 00:08