The U16 Men’s NT Thunder Academy team departed for the Gold Coast today to compete in the annual AFL National U16 Championships.
There’s a Long, a Rioli and a Jeffrey in the team carrying on a strong tradition of representing the NT like their fathers did in the past, and they are joined by a new crop of Territory talent excited to pull on the NT jumper.
Round 1 was played on Monday 11 June at Blacktown International Sports Park, Sydney against NSW/ACT. In cold conditions, NT went down 16.9.105 to NSW/ACT 6.7.43.
Throughout the week-long championships Round 2 and Round 3 will be played at Metricon Stadium and Yeronga where the NT will face Gold Coast and Queensland.
AFLNT Manager of Talent and Pathways, Wally Gallio is excited about the talented team the Northern Territory has attending this year’s championships.
“We consistently punch above our weight and this year is no different. I believe we have a talented team of up-and-coming stars that can go far.
“I know a lot has been taken away from the Round 1 loss. It provided players with the perfect opportunity during training to improve in certain areas of their game,” explained Gallio.
AFL National U16 Championships fixture:
ROUND 2
10am Tuesday 10 July
NT Thunder vs Gold Coast
Gold Coast, QLD
ROUND 3
12.15pm Saturday 14 July
NT Thunder vs Queensland
Brisbane, QLD
B: Max Palmer, Braith Hodges, Andy Moniz-Wakefield
HB: Brodie Lake, Clarence Baird, Jamal Lynch
C: Jonty Patrick, Deacon Braun, Malcolm Rosas
HF: Copeland Ford, Joel Jeffrey, Stanley Tipiloura
F: Brett Johnson, Tyrell Lui, Maurice Rioli
FOLL: Joshua Hollamby, Dominic Forbes, Jeffrey Simon
INT: Sandy Brock, Jacob Long, Graham Moniz-Wakefield, James Box, Luke Roberts
Follow AFLNT social media to keep up to date with the results.