Manangoora Magpies one of nine community teams in pre-season carnival
THEY haven't played regular competition footy at Borroloola since 2006 but the remote community, on the Northern Territory's south-east near the gulf, will be having a go at this weekend's pre-season carnival in Darwin.
Borroloola will play as the Manangoora Magpies, one of nine community teams travelling to Darwin this week for the AFL Northern Territory's annual pre-season competition.
The other teams in the community division are Santa Teresa, which won it last year, Yuendumu, Central Arrerente, Imalu, Green River Saints, Warruwi Storm, Wadeye and Lajamanu.
The main prize, of course, is the chance to play at the MCG as the curtain-raiser to the AFL's Dreamtime at the 'G match between Essendon and Richmond.
But when Magpies team manager, coach and full-forward Stephen Anderson took one look at their draw in Pool A, he knew that that prize may be just a little out of reach for his side.
The Magpies have drawn to play two of the Territory's top Aboriginal football clubs, power sides and reigning premiers Imalu, from the Tiwi Islands Football League, and Yuendumu, recently crowned AFL Central Australia champions.
"I was just looking at the draw and thought if we win one game (on the weekend) we'll be happy," Anderson said from Borroloola today.
"You have to understand these other mob play in a regular comp and we haven't had that in two years. We only put our team together in one week."
The carnival, which gets underway on Friday, will be a three-day, round-robin series played at Marrara ovals 1 and 2 in Darwin and will incorporate Round 1 of the Northern Territory Football League's 2008/09 season.
It will be Borroloola's third only appearance at the annual carnival, which draws teams from around the territory.
Anderson, 25, was part of the community's Gulf Storm side that pushed Galiwunku in the community division final in 2005, but came up short. They returned last year as the Magpies but didn't really trouble any of the other teams.
Anderson said the main thing would be for the community to treat the carnival as a step to having regular competition there.
The Magpies will be made up of players from the four former teams at Borroloola: Yanyula Crocs, Mugalarrangu Tigers, Port McArthur and Outstation Magpies.
"We're going to Darwin to have fun and to get the idea of football in our community again," Anderson said.
"We want to start of with maybe having an under 14s competition, and rotating players amongst the teams so no big rivalries develop; get that going and build it up like that with a strong code of conduct in place. That's the plan for now."
* There are nine community teams in Pools A and B with TEAFA clubs University and Tracey Village, and a Timor side, included to bring it up to 12 for that division. Each team will play each other once within their respective pools. Pool A: Yuendumu, Central Arrerente, Wadeye, Tracey Village (TEAFA), Borroloola, Imalu. Pool B: Santa Teresa, Green River Saints, University (TEAFA), Warruwi Storm, DFR Timor All Stars, Lajamanu. The top four from each pool advance to the finals.
DARREN MONCRIEFF
AboriginalFootball@westnet.com.au
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Last Modified on 09/10/2008 11:26