AFL Northern Territory (AFLNT) is excited to announce the return of representative football in Central Australia with the 2024 TIO Central Australian Football League (CAFL) taking on St Mary’s.
This will be a historic matchup between 2023/24 TIO NTFL Premiers St Mary’s Football Club and a Central Australian Football League (CAFL) Representative Side.
After a successful representative match in 2023, reigning TIO NTFL Men’s Premier League Premiers St Mary’s will head south to play the best of the CAFL competition at TIO Traeger Park in Alice Springs on Saturday 20 July 2024.
Just 5-points separated the two teams in last year’s match up, with CAFL narrowly losing to Waratah and CAFL Representative Abraham Ankers taking home best on ground honours.
Past AFL Player for the North Melbourne Football Club, and AFLNT Regional Academy Coach Matt Campbell credited the performance of his representative side post-match “Most importantly it was a very good contest, a close game and the crowd got into it, so we'll go back to the Alice, regroup, and get ready for another one.”
Campbell will again coach the CAFL team and welcomed the return of a CAFL representative team for its second year. “Last year we saw the success and pride locally for all players selected, it’s a massive opportunity for local players to showcase not only their talent, but also the talent across the CAFL. Being able to pull on the CAFL guernsey will always be a great honour for players.”
Earlier this year, the St Mary’s Men’s Premier League side won their 34th NTFL Premier League Flag, beating modern day rivals Nightcliff Tigers in a blockbuster TIO NTFL Grand Final.
President of St Mary’s Football Club, Carol Stanislaus said despite being in the off-season, the club was looking forward to the opportunity. “We’ve got a long-standing history with the Central Australian competition, with many of our players travelling from the red centre over the years to be a part of our squads”
We look forward to getting some younger talent in the side to have the opportunity to play against the CAFL representative team, and we’ll still have some familiar St Mary’s names in our side.”
We’ll use the time while we're there to connect with the local community, hosting AFL programs and clinics over the few days”
Head of AFL NT Sam Gibson praised the return of representative football and said, “Representative matches continue to be a great way to showcase and celebrate our clubs, leagues and communities that are at the forefront of community football right across the Northern Territory”.
The CAFL has a rich history so being able to bring this game to the Red Centre is really important to AFLNT. Having St Mary’s coming to Alice Springs is fantastic and we thank them for their commitment to the game.”
In addition to the CAFL vs St Mary’s fixture there will also be other games featured on the day including a feature women’s game, providing local talent more opportunities to showcase their ability.
This year’s event is proudly supported by Yeperenye Shopping Centre, who have widely supported football in Central Australia for several years.
Further information on how to access tickets and game day information, will be released shortly on the AFLNT website.
