Seven-local Australian Football identities have been selected to pick the Northern Territory Government AFL NT Team of the Century as part of Territory football’s 100th birthday celebrations.
Celebrating the best of Territory football from 1916-2016, three selection blocks will be conducted with the top 100 players to be announced in late March.
The committee will then select a squad of 40 to be named in June with the final 22 players, and coach of the century, set to be announced at a gala dinner on Friday, September 2.
The Team of the Century selection committee is made up of AFL NT chief Michael Solomon, historian Michael Barfoot, Vic Ludwig, Benny Lew Fatt, Shaun Hardy, Lincoln Jenkin, Jenny Sinclair, Charlie King and football writer Grey Morris.
AFL NT CEO Michael Solomon will chair the selection meetings as a non-voting member, while league historian Michael Barfoot will perform the role of secretary.
Photo: (back L-R) Michael Barfoot, Grey Morris, Charlie King, (Font) Bennie Lew Fatt, Michael Solomon and Vic Ludwig.
Please see below information on the selection committee:
Michael Solomon is the current AFL NT chief executive officer and will chair selection meetings. Prior to this Michael was involved in the strategic development and set up of AFL Media working as the Head of Operations. He also spent time working for Randstad before joining News Corp as an Executive Director.
Michael Barfoot is the league’s historian and will be performing the role of secretary. An AFL NT Life Member, Michael has been an AFL NT employee since 1981. He was also awarded an AFL Certificate of Merit in 2008, and was recognised for service to Football in the year 2000, receiving an Australian Sports Medal.
Vic Ludwig has been a player, an umpire and an administrator in the Territory. He held the positions of president of St Mary’s Football Club and a delegate to the NTFL for 41 years, believed to be a record in Australian Rules football administration. Awarded a NTFL Life Membership in 1969, Vic also became an NTFL delegate to National Australian Football Council In 1982. Referred to as the “Godfather of the Green and Gold”, he has been inducted into the AFLNT Hall of Fame.
Bennie Lew Fatt’s remarkable playing career spanned from 1954 to 1968 and saw him become both a Nightcliff champion and a genuine great of Northern Territory football. Lew Fatt was also a Nichols medallist and a premiership player, continuing to be an active club member of the Nightcliff Tigers.
Shaun Hardy is another former St Mary’s president and premiership player. A decorated player, Shaun was a former NT TEAL Cup Captain and a Northern Territory Schoolboys representative. Hardy is a present-day AFLNT board member. Shaun works for the Northern Territory Government as a Director of Strategic Projects and Development.
Lincoln Jenkin is acted as the Territory Thunder chairman and was an inaugural member of the football club, and a current board member for AFL NT. With a strong Territory football background having played in Central Australia and in Darwin, Jenkin has served on the board for seven years. A Territory resident for over 36 years, Jenkin has also served on a variety of football club committees and coached at several levels.
Jenny Sinclair is a former NTFL board member who brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the committee. Jenny became the first female to manage a league when she served as the president of the CAFL in Alice Springs. Later elected as the NTFL Junior Football Council, Jenny became an inaugural board member of the Northern Territory Football Development Foundation and later became the president of the foundation.
Charlie King is a veteran ABC sports broadcaster and keen follower of football in the Territory. Awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM), Charlie’s broadcast achievements include becoming the first Indigenous Australian to commentate at an Olympic Games. His career outside of broadcast includes playing, coaching and umpiring at various levels of the game.
NT News football writer Grey Morris has been covering Northern Territory football for over two decades. During his time, he has seen a galaxy of champion players and coaches. Grey was also an inaugural member of the NT Hall of Fame selection committee.