AFLNT is proud to announce the Board of Directors has welcomed three new members to serve the governing body of Territory football.
The AFLNT Board Meeting on February 29 accepted the recommendations of the Nominations Sub-Committee to nominate Colleen Gwynne, Dianne Borella, and Kathy Sadler to the AFLNT Board.
Colleen Gwynne has been a Territorian for the past 30 years and has a deep understanding of Territory football and its role in the community. An eight-time Premiership player and coach with St Marys Football Club and the Waratah Football Club, Colleen is the current coach of the highly successful Waratah Women’s Senior team.
Colleen is no stranger to the MLLLC as she is actively involved in the Thunder Women’s State Academy Program as a development coach and brings a wealth of experience with her to the AFLNT board.
She has been a senior member of Government since 2002, holding commissioned office positions in the Northern Territory Police and in Government. Colleen is the current Northern Territory Children’s Commissioner.
Dianne Borella becomes the first Indigenous female to ever serve on an AFL sanctioned State-Body Board. A Life Member at the Nightcliff Football Club where all three of her sons have played, she is an active member of the Nightcliff Junior Committee, assisting with various match-day tasks and social functions.
She has also been involved with football in the Nhulunbuy region and in Katherine. Upon her return to Darwin in 1997, Dianne regularly hosted rural and remote young Indigenous and non-Indigenous footballers who played for Nightcliff.
Her first involvement with AFLNT was as a timekeeper in the junior competition and has been the official timekeeper of the NT Thunder since its inception.
Dianne holds a Masters in Public Health at Deakin University and was contracted by Catholic Care NT to develop the first ever Nightcliff Football Club ‘Domestic Violence Action Plan’ in 2014-2015.
Kathy Sadler has been entrenched in local football for over 15 years and currently holds the position of Waratah Football Club Secretary. She previously served as the Treasurer for five years and was a Waratah Committee member. She is the quintessential volunteer and still serves the Tahs on a weekly basis in a variety of roles; including time keeping and team managing.
She currently holds the position of CEO for the Cancer Council Northern Territory, an organisation dedicated to reducing the impact of cancer on all Territorians. Kathy also sits on the Red Cross Northern Territory Advisory Board and holds a Masters of Community Management from the University of Sydney.
AFLNT Chairman, Ross Coburn said the three candidates were outstanding, bringing strong club experience, and a depth of corporate, Government and not-for-profit leadership over many years.
“I am extremely proud to announce three new Board members with Colleen, Dianne, and Kathy accepting positions on the Board.
“All three nominees are such capable people, with a proven passion to serve the game.
“Personally, I am very fortunate to be witnessing this period of change in our game, both the last and next decade has and will arguably see more change than the previous hundred years of Australian Rules football, particularly in the Northern Territory.
“We are delighted to have three extremely strong new Board members, both with current and past club board experience. Colleen, Dianne, and Kathy will bring great insight and new energy to the Board, and we look forward to their contributions,” Mr Coburn said.
Mr Coburn also thanked the outgoing Stephen Criddle for his long and very exemplary service to AFLNT.
Stephen Criddle was a Founding Member of the PINTS Football Club and a former AFLNT Tribunal Commissioner before serving on the AFLNT Board of Directors for seven years.
AFLNT inaugural Hall of Fame Inductee Ted Liddy has been reappointed to the Board.
AFL General Manager Game and Market Development, Simon Lethlean praised the AFLNT Board for their strong commitment to gender and cultural diversity.
“I am delighted to hear today that the AFLNT Board of Directors has increased Indigenous and female representation to their Board.
“It is truly great to see AFLNT lead the way in this space on and off the football field,” Mr Lethlean said.
L-R: Rychelle Vines (AFLNT Executive), Dianne Borella (AFLNT Board), Jennifer Le Quesne (AFLNT Executive), Amy Blake (AFLNT Executive), Colleen Gwynne (AFLNT Board), Kathy Sadler (AFLNT Board)