Tiwi Islands Football League
Encyclopedia
The Tiwi Islands Football League is an Australian rules football
competition in the Tiwi Islands
, Northern Territory
, Australia
.
Australian Rules football is the most popular sport on the Tiwi Islands.
The Grand Final of the TIFL is broadcast each year on ABC Northern
and more recently, nationally on ABC2
and ABC1
.
The Tiwi Islands Grand Final is an event held in March each year that attracts up to 3,000 spectators and is a tourist attraction for the Northern Territory
. The Tiwi Australian Football League has 900 participants out of a community of about 2600, the highest football participation rate in Australia (35%). Tiwi footballers are renknowned for exquisite one touch skills. Many of the players have a preference for participating barefoot. Many of the male players also play for the St Marys Football Club
in Darwin
's Northern Territory Football League
.
1970/71 Irrimaru 15.6 (96) def. Pumaralli 9.14 (68)
1972/73 Imalu def. Tapalinga by 55 points (scores not known)
1973/74 Imalu 12.8 (80) def. Pumaralli 8.5 (53)
1974/75 Tuyu 11.8 (74) def. Imalu 10.13 (73)
1975/76 Pumaralli 13.16 (94) def. Tuyu 8.12 (60)
1976/77 Tapalinga 12.6 (78) def. Pumaralli 10.9 (69)
1977/78 Pumaralli 14.15 (99) def. Imalu 10.9 (69)
1978/79 Imalu 25.15 (165) def. Tapalinga 2.3 (15)
1979/80 Pumaralli 10.16 (76) def. Taracumbi 7.10 (52)
1980/81 Imalu 12.12 (84) def. Pumaralli 12.7 (79)
1981/82 Imalu 20.8 (128) def. Tapalinga 8.18 (66)
1982/83 Tapalinga 18.17 (125) def. Pumaralli 19.5 (119)
1983/84 Imalu 16.13 (109) def. Tapalinga 15.16 (106)
1984/85 Imalu 14.10 (94) def. Irrimaru 7.13 (55)
1985/86 Imalu 21.3 (129) v Tapalinga 19.15 (129) DRAW
1985/86 Tapalinga 24.12 (156) def. Imalu 22.3 (135) REPLAY
1986/87 Tapalinga 22.7 (139) def. Pumaralli 16.13 (109)
1987/88 Tapalinga 18.13 (121) def. Imalu 14.14 (98)
1988/89 Imalu 18.9 (117) def. Taracumbi 11.17 (83)
1989/90 Imalu 23.22 (160) def. Taracumbi 14.11 (95)
1990/91 Tapalinga 14.9 (93) def. Imalu 12.8 (80)
1991/92 Imalu 19.5 (119) def. Tuyu 12.10 (82)
1992/93 Imalu 15.8 (98) def. Irrimaru 9.11 (65)
1993/94 Imalu 22.25 (157) def. Tuyu 14.5 (89)
1994/95 Tuyu 15.12 (102) def. Irrimaru 11.11 (77)
1995/96 Imalu 17.9 (111) def. Tuyu 10.12 (72)
1996/97 Irrimaru 13.6 (84) def. Imalu 12.6 (78)
1997/98 Tapalinga 17.7 (109) def. Pumaralli 11.5 (71)
1998/99 Imalu 9.8 (62) def. Ranku 3.6 (24)
1999/00 Pumarrali 8.6 (54) def. Tuyu 6.12 (48)
2000/01 Ranku 12.7 (79) def. Taracumbi 9.7 (61)
2001/02 Tuyu 7.8 (50) def. Tapalinga 6.6 (42)
2002/03 Pumaralli 11.10 (76) def. Muluwurri 7.10 (52)
2003/04 Tapalinga 10.10 (70) def. Imalu 9.6 (60)
2004/05 Tuyu 12.9 (81) def. Muluwurri 10.3 (63)
2005/06 Pumaralli 7.7 (49) def. Muluwurri 6.8 (44)
2006/07 Muluwurri 25.6 (156) def. Imalu 12.4 (76)
2007/08 Imalu 12.9 (81) def. Tapalinga 10.8 (68)
2008/09 Tapalinga 12.9 (81) def. Imalu 11.7 (73)
2009/10 Tapalinga 9.15 (69) def. Imalu 4.6 (30)
2010/11 Imalu 13.10 (88) def. Ranku 6.7 (43)
The locals quickly took to the game and the first dedicated ground was built in 1942.
In 1944 the first games consisting of a full complement of 18 players and matches according to the rule book were played.
In 1954, the St Mary's Football Club began enlisting Tiwi servicemen, and in the following year with the assistance of a majority of Tiwi players won the NTFL premiership.
In the 1960s, the most talented export of the TIFL, David Kantilla
had a successful career in the NTFL, which reached a peak when he later became a professional player in the South Adelaide Football Club
(SANFL) premiership ruckman, and winning leading goal kicking and Best and Fairest
awards at the club. The league's top goalkicking award was later named after him.
The 1969/1970 Wet Season saw the first season of the TIFL, with 5 teams competing: Pumarali, Tapalinga, Imalu, Tuyu and Irrimaru.
In 1982, Tiwi Maurice Rioli
won the Norm Smith Medal
for the Richmond Football Club
, becoming one of the first Tiwis to succeed in the VFL/AFL. Michael Long was later to do the same in 1993. Adam Kerinaiua
played 3 games for the Brisbane Bears
in 1992. Malcolm Lynch
is a more recent product of the Tiwi Islands playing the AFL. Although these players were not from the TIFL, the success of these players in the elite Australian competition did much to boost the popularity of Australian Rules amongst the local Tiwi Islanders.
In 2006, it was announced that a Tiwi Islands Football Club
would join the Northern Territory Football League
initially known as the "Super Tiwis". The team began 2006 season as the "Tiwi Bombers".
Australian rules football
Australian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also called football, Aussie rules or footy is a sport played between two teams of 22 players on either...
competition in the Tiwi Islands
Tiwi Islands
The Tiwi Islands are part of Australia's Northern Territory, north of Darwin where the Arafura Sea joins the Timor Sea. They comprise Melville Island and Bathurst Island, with a combined area of ....
, Northern Territory
Northern Territory
The Northern Territory is a federal territory of Australia, occupying much of the centre of the mainland continent, as well as the central northern regions...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
.
Australian Rules football is the most popular sport on the Tiwi Islands.
The Grand Final of the TIFL is broadcast each year on ABC Northern
ABD (TV station)
ABD is the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's television station in Darwin, Northern Territory. The station was the first to go to air in Darwin, on 13 August 1971. Its studios are located in the inner city of Darwin, with analog transmitter on Blake Street and digital transmitter on Deloraine...
and more recently, nationally on ABC2
ABC2
ABC2 is a national public television channel in Australia. Launched on 7 March 2005, it is the responsibility of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's television division, and is available nationally to digital television viewers in Australia...
and ABC1
ABC1
ABC1 was a United Kingdom based television channel from Disney using the branding of the Disney owned American network, ABC.The channel initially launched exclusively on the British digital terrestrial television platform Freeview on 27 September 2004. On 10 December 2004 it was launched on...
.
Tiwi football
Northern Territory
The Northern Territory is a federal territory of Australia, occupying much of the centre of the mainland continent, as well as the central northern regions...
. The Tiwi Australian Football League has 900 participants out of a community of about 2600, the highest football participation rate in Australia (35%). Tiwi footballers are renknowned for exquisite one touch skills. Many of the players have a preference for participating barefoot. Many of the male players also play for the St Marys Football Club
St Marys Football Club
The St Marys Football Club, nicknamed, Saints, formed in 1952 is a member club of the Northern Territory Football League. It is famous for its record of success, with 28 NTFL premierships and 55 out of 57 possible final appearances....
in Darwin
Darwin, Northern Territory
Darwin is the capital city of the Northern Territory, Australia. Situated on the Timor Sea, Darwin has a population of 127,500, making it by far the largest and most populated city in the sparsely populated Northern Territory, but the least populous of all Australia's capital cities...
's Northern Territory Football League
Northern Territory Football League
The Northern Territory Football League is an 8 team Australian rules football semi-professional league operating in Darwin in the Northern Territory.The premier grade is the largest Australian rules football league in the Northern Territory...
.
Wet Season Grand Final
1969/70 Tapalinga def. Pumaralli (scores not known)1970/71 Irrimaru 15.6 (96) def. Pumaralli 9.14 (68)
1972/73 Imalu def. Tapalinga by 55 points (scores not known)
1973/74 Imalu 12.8 (80) def. Pumaralli 8.5 (53)
1974/75 Tuyu 11.8 (74) def. Imalu 10.13 (73)
1975/76 Pumaralli 13.16 (94) def. Tuyu 8.12 (60)
1976/77 Tapalinga 12.6 (78) def. Pumaralli 10.9 (69)
1977/78 Pumaralli 14.15 (99) def. Imalu 10.9 (69)
1978/79 Imalu 25.15 (165) def. Tapalinga 2.3 (15)
1979/80 Pumaralli 10.16 (76) def. Taracumbi 7.10 (52)
1980/81 Imalu 12.12 (84) def. Pumaralli 12.7 (79)
1981/82 Imalu 20.8 (128) def. Tapalinga 8.18 (66)
1982/83 Tapalinga 18.17 (125) def. Pumaralli 19.5 (119)
1983/84 Imalu 16.13 (109) def. Tapalinga 15.16 (106)
1984/85 Imalu 14.10 (94) def. Irrimaru 7.13 (55)
1985/86 Imalu 21.3 (129) v Tapalinga 19.15 (129) DRAW
1985/86 Tapalinga 24.12 (156) def. Imalu 22.3 (135) REPLAY
1986/87 Tapalinga 22.7 (139) def. Pumaralli 16.13 (109)
1987/88 Tapalinga 18.13 (121) def. Imalu 14.14 (98)
1988/89 Imalu 18.9 (117) def. Taracumbi 11.17 (83)
1989/90 Imalu 23.22 (160) def. Taracumbi 14.11 (95)
1990/91 Tapalinga 14.9 (93) def. Imalu 12.8 (80)
1991/92 Imalu 19.5 (119) def. Tuyu 12.10 (82)
1992/93 Imalu 15.8 (98) def. Irrimaru 9.11 (65)
1993/94 Imalu 22.25 (157) def. Tuyu 14.5 (89)
1994/95 Tuyu 15.12 (102) def. Irrimaru 11.11 (77)
1995/96 Imalu 17.9 (111) def. Tuyu 10.12 (72)
1996/97 Irrimaru 13.6 (84) def. Imalu 12.6 (78)
1997/98 Tapalinga 17.7 (109) def. Pumaralli 11.5 (71)
1998/99 Imalu 9.8 (62) def. Ranku 3.6 (24)
1999/00 Pumarrali 8.6 (54) def. Tuyu 6.12 (48)
2000/01 Ranku 12.7 (79) def. Taracumbi 9.7 (61)
2001/02 Tuyu 7.8 (50) def. Tapalinga 6.6 (42)
2002/03 Pumaralli 11.10 (76) def. Muluwurri 7.10 (52)
2003/04 Tapalinga 10.10 (70) def. Imalu 9.6 (60)
2004/05 Tuyu 12.9 (81) def. Muluwurri 10.3 (63)
2005/06 Pumaralli 7.7 (49) def. Muluwurri 6.8 (44)
2006/07 Muluwurri 25.6 (156) def. Imalu 12.4 (76)
2007/08 Imalu 12.9 (81) def. Tapalinga 10.8 (68)
2008/09 Tapalinga 12.9 (81) def. Imalu 11.7 (73)
2009/10 Tapalinga 9.15 (69) def. Imalu 4.6 (30)
2010/11 Imalu 13.10 (88) def. Ranku 6.7 (43)
Clubs
- Imalu Football Club (TigerTigerThe tiger is the largest cat species, reaching a total body length of up to and weighing up to . Their most recognizable feature is a pattern of dark vertical stripes on reddish-orange fur with lighter underparts...
s) - Walama Football Club (BulldogBulldogBulldog is the name for a breed of dog commonly referred to as the English Bulldog. Other Bulldog breeds include the American Bulldog, Olde English Bulldogge and the French Bulldog. The Bulldog is a muscular heavy dog with a wrinkled face and a distinctive pushed-in nose...
s (formerly Irrimaru Football Club) - Pumarali Football Club (ThunderThunderThunder is the sound made by lightning. Depending on the nature of the lightning and distance of the listener, thunder can range from a sharp, loud crack to a long, low rumble . The sudden increase in pressure and temperature from lightning produces rapid expansion of the air surrounding and within...
& LightningLightningLightning is an atmospheric electrostatic discharge accompanied by thunder, which typically occurs during thunderstorms, and sometimes during volcanic eruptions or dust storms...
) - Tapalinga Football Club (Superstars)
- Muluwurri Magpies (Magpie GeeseMagpie-gooseThe Magpie Goose is a waterbird species found in coastal northern Australia and savannah in southern New Guinea. It is a unique member of the order Anseriformes, and arranged in a family and genus distinct from all other living waterfowl...
- formerly Taracumbi Football Club) - Tuyu Football Club (Buffaloes)
- Ranku Football Club (EagleEagleEagles are members of the bird family Accipitridae, and belong to several genera which are not necessarily closely related to each other. Most of the more than 60 species occur in Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, just two species can be found in the United States and Canada, nine more in...
s) - Melville Island Roos Football Club (Kangaroos)
History
Br. John Pye and Br. Andy Howley introduced Australian rules football to Bathurst and Melville islands in 1941.The locals quickly took to the game and the first dedicated ground was built in 1942.
In 1944 the first games consisting of a full complement of 18 players and matches according to the rule book were played.
In 1954, the St Mary's Football Club began enlisting Tiwi servicemen, and in the following year with the assistance of a majority of Tiwi players won the NTFL premiership.
In the 1960s, the most talented export of the TIFL, David Kantilla
David Kantilla
David Kantilla was an Australian rules footballer who is recognised as the first Indigenous Australian to play in the South Australian National Football League. Throughout his footballing career he was known by his 'Anglo' name David Kantilla but also had his tribal name of Amparralamtua.Kantilla...
had a successful career in the NTFL, which reached a peak when he later became a professional player in the South Adelaide Football Club
South Adelaide Football Club
South Adelaide Football Club competes in the South Australian National Football League . Known as the Panthers, their home ground is Hickinbotham Oval , located in Noarlunga Downs in the southern suburbs of Adelaide....
(SANFL) premiership ruckman, and winning leading goal kicking and Best and Fairest
Best and Fairest
Best and Fairest is the term commonly used in Australian sport to describe the player adjudged to have had the best performance in a game or over a season for a given sporting club or competition while not receiving a suspension for misconduct or breaching the rules during that season.In the...
awards at the club. The league's top goalkicking award was later named after him.
The 1969/1970 Wet Season saw the first season of the TIFL, with 5 teams competing: Pumarali, Tapalinga, Imalu, Tuyu and Irrimaru.
In 1982, Tiwi Maurice Rioli
Maurice Rioli
Maurice Rioli was an Australian rules football player best known for his time spent with the Richmond Football Club in the Victorian Football League...
won the Norm Smith Medal
Norm Smith Medal
The Norm Smith Medal is the award given in the AFL Grand Final to the player adjudged by an independent panel of experts to have been the best player in the match.-History:The Norm Smith Medal is named after former Melbourne player and coach, Norm Smith...
for the Richmond Football Club
Richmond Football Club
The Richmond Football Club, nicknamed The Tigers, is an Australian rules football club which competes in the Australian Football League. Richmond shares healthy rivalries with Carlton, Collingwood and Essendon. After winning five premierships between 1967 and 1980, the club hit the depths in 1990,...
, becoming one of the first Tiwis to succeed in the VFL/AFL. Michael Long was later to do the same in 1993. Adam Kerinaiua
Adam Kerinaiua
Adam Kerinaiua is a former Australian rules footballer who played with the Brisbane Bears in the Australian Football League ....
played 3 games for the Brisbane Bears
Brisbane Bears
The Brisbane Football Club, formerly nicknamed The Bears was an Australian rules football club and the first Queensland-based club in the Victorian Football League . The club played its first match in 1987, but struggled on and off the field until it made the finals for the first time in 1995...
in 1992. Malcolm Lynch
Malcolm Lynch
Malcolm Lynch is an Australian rules footballer who last played with the Western Bulldogs in the Australian Football League .Originally from the Tiwi Islands, he has played football in the Northern Territory where he grew up....
is a more recent product of the Tiwi Islands playing the AFL. Although these players were not from the TIFL, the success of these players in the elite Australian competition did much to boost the popularity of Australian Rules amongst the local Tiwi Islanders.
In 2006, it was announced that a Tiwi Islands Football Club
Tiwi Islands Football Club
The Tiwi Islands Football Club, nicknamed, Bombers, began as a representative club competing in the Northern Territory Football League 2006/07 season.The club is notable as being the first all-Aboriginal team to play in a major competition....
would join the Northern Territory Football League
Northern Territory Football League
The Northern Territory Football League is an 8 team Australian rules football semi-professional league operating in Darwin in the Northern Territory.The premier grade is the largest Australian rules football league in the Northern Territory...
initially known as the "Super Tiwis". The team began 2006 season as the "Tiwi Bombers".
See also
- AFL Northern TerritoryAFL Northern TerritoryAFL Northern Territory is the governing body for Australian rules football in the Northern Territory, Australia. It supervises multiple leagues, but is mainly concerned with the co-ordination of the Northern Territory Football League...
- Northern Territory Football LeagueNorthern Territory Football LeagueThe Northern Territory Football League is an 8 team Australian rules football semi-professional league operating in Darwin in the Northern Territory.The premier grade is the largest Australian rules football league in the Northern Territory...
- Australian rules football in the Northern TerritoryAustralian rules football in the Northern TerritoryAustralian rules football in the Northern Territory has a history dating back to the 1910s and is the most popular sport in the territory, particularly with indigenous Australian communities in Darwin, Alice Springs and the Tiwi Islands....