Many sports are played in the Northern Territory of Australia.

Animals in sport

The Katherine Show & Rodeo and Noonamah Tavern Rodeo

Australian rules football

Australian rules football is the Territory's most popular sport, particularly with indigenous Australian communities in

Darwin Darwin may refer to: Common meanings * Charles Darwin (1809–1882), English naturalist and writer, best known as the originator of the theory of biological evolution by natural selection * Darwin, Northern Territory, a territorial capital city i ...

Alice Springs Alice Springs ( aer, Mparntwe) is the third-largest town in the Northern Territory of Australia. Known as Stuart until 31 August 1933, the name Alice Springs was given by surveyor William Whitfield Mills after Alice, Lady Todd (''née'' Al ...

and the Tiwi Islands. The governing body for football in the territory is the AFL Northern Territory. 18% of all Territorians in 2017 participated in Australian Football, the highest participation rate in Australia (and second worldwide). The sport also produces more professional Australian Footballers per capita in the

Australian Football League The Australian Football League (AFL) is the only fully professional competition of Australian rules football. Through the AFL Commission, the AFL also serves as the sport's governing body and is responsible for controlling the laws of the gam ...

than any other state or territory. The Northern Territory is home to several representative teams, most notably the Aboriginal All-Stars. Also the Flying Boomerangs represent Australia internationally and the Northern Territory has a strong local competition, the Northern Territory Football League. A professional club, the Northern Territory Football Club (NT Thunder) was formed in 2008 and competed in the second tier semi-national NEAFL competition. Following a 2018 scoping study, in 2021 the Northern Territory AFL taskforce launched an official bid to enter a team into the national

(AFL) competition which is under consideration by the league for entry around 2030. Since the debut of

Reuben Cooper Reuben Cooper (born 14 August 1951) is a former Australian rules footballer. He is notable for playing for the South Melbourne in the Victorian Football League (VFL - now AFL). Biography Cooper, an indigenous Australian was born into a footballi ...

in 1969 a large number of Territorians have played in the AFL, though a significant percentage have launched their professional football careers from other states, particularly South Australia. A proportionately high number of AFL players per capita are now from the Territory. Perhaps the most accomplished born and raised player is

Australian Football Hall of Fame The Australian Football Hall of Fame was established in 1996, the Centenary year of the Australian Football League, to help recognise the contributions made to the sport of Australian rules football by players, umpires, media personalities, coa ...

r Andrew Mcleod. Fellow Hall of Famer Nathan Buckley is the only Territorian to win the prestigious Brownlow Medal. Darwin-born Shaun Burgoyne holds both the AFL games and goals records with 407 games and 302 goals. Burgoyne and Cyril Rioli have played in 4 AFL premierships, more than any other Territorian.

Baseball

Baseball NT is the governing body of baseball within the Northern Territory. Baseball NT is governed by the Australian Baseball Federation. Organised baseball is played in

and Katherine. Darwin has four clubs; Nightcliff Tigers, Palmerston Reds, Pints and Tracy Village Rebels. The East Darwin Beasts disbanded in 1986 and the

South Darwin Rabbitohs The South Darwin Rabbitohs are a semi-professional Rugby league club based in Marrara, Northern Territory. They play home games at TIO Stadium Marrara Oval, currently branded TIO Stadium under a naming rights agreement (and previously als ...

disbanded in 2004. For a brief history of baseball in Darwin, see Darwin baseball league and Northern Territory Buffalos. In Darwin, baseball is a dry-season sport, played between April and September each year. Alice Springs has five teams; Bulls, Cubs, Demons, Panther and Redbacks

Basketball

Basketball Northern Territory (BNT) is the governing body of basketball in the Northern Territory. The major association in the territory is Darwin Basketball Association (DBA). In 2022, the Darwin Salties will debut in the Queensland-based NBL1 North competition, making the NBL1 the first Australian sport league to have clubs based in and playing out of every state and territory in Australia.

Combat sports

Boxing NT is the governing body for amateur boxing in the Northern Territory and is affiliated with Boxing Australia. There are four clubs for affiliated with Judo NT they are Darwin Judo Club, Marrara Judo Club, The Judo Studio and Top End Judo Academy. Only two clubs for affiliated with

Australian Karate Federation Australian Karate Federation is the governing body for the sport of Karate in Australia. Brief history Soon after the Australian Karate Federation was established in 1970, the National team represented Australia in the inaugural World Karate ...

they are Okinawan Chinese Martial Arts Association and Darwin Shotokan Karate.

Australian Armwrestling Federation Australian Armwrestling Federation is the governing body for the sport of Arm wrestling in Australia. History The Australian Armwrestling Federation is an organisation dedicated to the growth of the exciting sport of armwrestling within Austr ...

holds Northern Territory Championships

Cricket

Cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

is administered by

Northern Territory Cricket Northern Territory Cricket, formally the Northern Territory Cricket Association, is the governing body for cricket in the Northern Territory of Australia. Cricket in the Northern Territory has produced state contracted players which include Kan ...

Cycling

Cycling is administered by

Cycling Northern Territory Cycling, also, when on a two-wheeled bicycle, called bicycling or biking, is the use of cycles for transport, recreation, exercise or sport. People engaged in cycling are referred to as "cyclists", "bicyclists", or "bikers". Apart from two- ...

. The Darwin Cycling Club was established in 1955.

Field hockey

Field hockey is administered by

Northern Territory Hockey Association Hockey Australia is an organisation that formed from the merger of the Australian Hockey Association and Women's Hockey Australia in 2000. It is the national body responsible for the promotion, development and administration of field hockey in A ...

and was formed in Darwin in 1948 Hockey was first played in the Northern Territory in Darwin in 1940 NT Stingers and NT Pearls compete in the

Australian Hockey League The Australian Hockey League (AHL)AHL Webpage
was Australia's premier national domestic

...

Fishing

Million Dollar Fish was first held in 2015 and is the richest competition in Australia.

Golf

Golf is administered by

Golf Northern Territory Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various Golf club, clubs to hit Golf ball, balls into a series of holes on a golf course, course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standar ...

. four clubs with full 18-hole designs are Darwin Golf Club, Palmerston Golf & Country Club,

Alice Springs Golf Course Alice Springs Golf Club is a golf club in Australia. It is located in Desert Springs, Northern Territory. It was formed in 1985. It has hosted several notable golf tournaments. The Alice Springs Golf Course, an 18-hole championship layout golf c ...

and Tennant Creek Golf Club.

Ice sports

Winter sports are played at Darwin Ice Skating Centre.

Motorsport

hosts a round of the

Supercars Championship The Supercars Championship is a touring car racing category in Australia, running as an International Series under Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) regulations, governing the sport. Supercars events take place in all Australian ...

every year, the

Darwin Triple Crown The Darwin Triple Crown (formally known as the Betr Darwin Triple Crown) is an annual motor racing event for Supercars, held at Hidden Valley Raceway in Darwin, Northern Territory. The event has been a regular part of the Supercars Championshi ...

, bringing thousands of motorsports fans to the Hidden Valley Raceway. The Hidden Valley Raceway facility also contains a drag strip as part of Hidden Valley Raceway's main straight, and a nearby Speedway, Northline Speedway, for short circuit dirt surface racing. In the south of the Territory, Australia's biggest Off-Road Race, the Finke Desert Race is held over a long circuit which takes in the settlement of Aputula on the

Finke River The Finke River, or ''Larapinta'' (Arrernte), is a river in central Australia, one of four main rivers of the Lake Eyre Basin and thought to be the oldest riverbed in the world. It flows for only a few days a year and when this happens, its wate ...

. The event is based out of Alice Springs Inland Dragway. Hidden Valley Raceway

Australia's only twin circuit mud racing track is at Top End Mud Racing. Red CentreNATS is an automotive lifestyle festival with

Burnout Burnout or burn-out may refer to: Entertainment * ''Burnout'' (film), a 2017 Moroccan film * ''Burn Out'' (film), a 2017 French film * Burnout (ride), a Funfields amusement ride in Australia * ''Burnout'' (series), a racing game series created by ...

competitions and

drag racing Drag racing is a type of motor racing in which automobiles or motorcycles compete, usually two at a time, to be first to cross a set finish line. The race follows a short, straight course from a standing start over a measured distance, most c ...

event's. The Outback Air Race starts in Darwin and finishes in

Coffs Harbour Coffs Harbour is a city on the Mid North Coast of New South Wales, Australia, north of Sydney, and south of Brisbane. It is one of the largest urban centres on the North Coast, with a population of 78,759 as per 2021 census. The Gumbaynggirr ...

. Ross Macpherson Smith and Keith Macpherson Smith won the

1919 England to Australia flight In 1919 the Australian government offered a prize of £A10,000 for the first Australians in a British aircraft to fly from Great Britain to Australia. Of the six entries that started the race, the winners were pilot Ross Smith, his brother Kei ...

air race.

Netball

Netball is administered by Netball Northern Territory.

Territory Storm Territory Storm, also referred to as Northern Territory Storm or NT Storm, is an Australian netball team that represented Netball Northern Territory in the Australian Netball League. Territory Storm played in the ANL between 2008 and 2019. Betw ...

represents Netball Northern Territory in the

Australian Netball League The Australian Netball Championships, formerly the Australian Netball League, is an Australian netball competition. Since 2008 it has served as a second level competition, initially below the ANZ Championship and later below Suncorp Super Netb ...

Rugby league

Rugby league is administered by the Northern Territory Rugby League. The territory has the highest participation rate per capita for Rugby League than any other state governing body in Australia. The National Rugby League has conducted numerous clinics and hosted regular pre-season matches in the territory since 1998. Local domestic competitions are based in Darwin, Alice Springs, Katherine and Gove. A combined Northern Territory team also participates in the

Affiliated States Championship The Affiliated States Championship is an annual rugby league competition run by the Australian Rugby League involving the four affiliated states (Victoria, South Australia, Northern Territory and Western Australia) plus the Australian Federal Po ...

Rugby union

Rugby union is administered by the Northern Territory Rugby Union. Local senior club competitions are based in

and Katherine. Clubs in Darwin have women's teams and junior competitions, and

Nhulunbuy Nhulunbuy () is a township that is the sixth largest population centre in the Northern Territory of Australia. Nhulunbuy was created on the Gove Peninsula in north-east Arnhem Land when a bauxite mine and a deep water port were established ...

on the Gove Peninsula has a junior rugby competition. The

Darwin Hottest Sevens The Darwin Hottest Sevens, known as the Hottest 7s in the World or the Hottest 7s, is a rugby sevens tournament held annually in Darwin, Australia on a weekend in early October. The event is sponsored by Heineken and is hosted by the Northern ...

tournament is hosted in Darwin each January, with Rugby sevens club teams from countries including Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Malaysia, and Singapore competing. Darwin's Hottest 7s, with a prize pool of $65,000 in 2013, is the richest Rugby sevens tournament in the Southern Hemisphere.

Racing

The Darwin Cup Carnival culminating on the first Monday of August is a very popular horse race event for Darwin Turf Club and draws large crowds every year to Fannie Bay Racecourse. The first Darwin Cup winner at Fannie Bay was Satan's Son in 1956. Between events at the Darwin races 1915

Alice Springs Turf Club has the Pioneer Park Racecourse in Connellan, Northern Territory. The

Camel Cup The Camel Cup is an annual camel racing festival held in Australia. The race usually takes place at Blatherskite Park in the town Alice Springs, Northern Territory. The event is organised by the Apex Club of Central Australia. History The first ...

is an annual camel racing festival held in

. There is one

greyhound racing Greyhound racing is an organized, competitive sport in which greyhounds are raced around a track. There are two forms of greyhound racing, track racing (normally around an oval track) and coursing; the latter is now banned in most countries. Tra ...

track in Darwin at Winnellie Park on Hook Road. It is the only track in the Northern Territory.

Sailing

Darwin Sailing Club has hosting regattas and sailing events, from NT Championships and frequent Australian Championship regattas to World Sailing Grade 3 Match Racing regattas and World Championship regattas. Gove Boat Club established in 1971 and is one of the oldest.

Shooting sports

Sporting Shooters Association of Australia has

shooting range A shooting range, firing range, gun range or shooting ground is a specialized facility, sports venue, venue or playing field, field designed specifically for firearm usage qualifications, training, practice or shooting sport, competitions. So ...

s and facilities in Micket Creek (at Berrimah),

(at Ilparpa) and Tennant Creek.

Soccer

Football Northern Territory Football Northern Territory (FNT) is the state governing body for soccer in the Northern Territory, Australia. It is affiliated with Football Australia, the national governing body. The Territory is also separated into three zones – Northern, ...

is the governing body for football (soccer) in the Northern Territory. The Territory is also separated into three (Northern, Central and Southern) zones which have their own zone councils which administer leagues locally running their own league and cup competitions. The Darwin Football Stadium was officially opened on 28 July 2007 when it played host to an

A-League A-League Men (known as the Isuzu UTE A-League for sponsorship reasons) is the highest-level professional men's soccer league in Australia and New Zealand. At the top of the Australian league system, it is the country's premier men's competiti ...

Pre-Season Cup game between

Perth Glory Perth Glory Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Perth, Western Australia. It competes in the country's premier men's competition, A-League Men, under licence from Australian Professional Leagues. Founded in 19 ...

and Melbourne Victory. On 2 July 2009,

teams, Adelaide United FC and North Queensland Fury played a pre-season friendly at the stadium. Reigning Football Federation Association Champions Adelaide United defeated Darwin Olympic 6–1 in a cup match at Marrara Oval in August 2015. Michael Tsounias scored the lone goal for the home side. Alice Springs's most successful soccer club is

Alice Springs Celtic FC Alice Springs Celtic FC is an Australian soccer club based in Alice Springs, the Northern Territory. The club was one of the first football clubs to be founded in the FFNT Southern Zone Premier League. The club is part of the Football Northern ...

The Refugee World Cup was held in Darwin.

Swimming

Swimming is administered by Swimming Northern Territory. Darwin hosted the 1992 Australian Short Course Swimming Championships at Casuarina Pool.

Tennis

Tennis is administered by Tennis Northern Territory.

Events

The Northern Territory also hosts state and international sporting events. These have included: * The Barefoot Crab-Tying World Championships * The annual

in Alice Springs. * Since 1991 Darwin has hosted the Arafura Games every two years until its cancellation in 2012. * The Australian Wallabies rugby union side trained in the Northern Territory in September 2002 in preparation for the World Cup in 2003. Wallabies coach

Eddie Jones Edward, Eddie, or Ed Jones may refer to: Architecture * Edward Vason Jones (1909–1980), American neoclassical architect * Edward Jones (English architect) (born 1939), English architect who designed the Saïd Business School * Edward Jones (Wel ...

credited the Territory training camp as playing a crucial role in their upset semi-final victory over the New Zealand All Blacks. The Wallabies camped at Mount Borradile in

Arnhem Land Arnhem Land is a historical region of the Northern Territory of Australia, with the term still in use. It is located in the north-eastern corner of the territory and is around from the territory capital, Darwin. In 1623, Dutch East India Compan ...

and encountered a 4-metre saltwater crocodile. Jones stated; "the Darwin camp for us was very positive, as the guys physically and mentally benefited from training in the heat, and it was a very important experience for us". * In July 2003, Darwin hosted its first international test cricket match between

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

and Bangladesh and then

and

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

in 2004. Two portable pitches were installed at Marrara in June 2003 for the Bangladesh test. The installation was supervised by Melbourne Cricket Club curator Tony Ware. * Bangladesh defeated the NT Chief Minister's XI in Darwin in July 2003. Bangladesh won by two wickets after being given a second innings target of 187. *

defeated Bangladesh by an innings and 132 runs in Darwin in July 2003. Bangladesh's best batsman Habibul Bashar scored 54 off 82 balls before being bowled by

Stuart MacGill Stuart Charles Glyndwr MacGill (born 25 February 1971) is an Australian former cricketer who played 44 Test matches and three One Day Internationals for the Australian national cricket team. He is a right-arm leg spin bowler, who has been cred ...

. Both Australian and Bangladesh players were presented with commemorative medallions by NT Minister for Sport

John Ah Kit John Leonard Ah Kit (22 July 1950 – 12 July 2020) was an Australian politician. He was the Labor member for Arnhem in the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly from 1995 to 2005. Early life Ah Kit was born on 22 July 1950 in Alice Springs, ...

and Cricket Australia chairman Bob Merriman. The medallions were to mark the test cricket match between the two countries. *

defeated the Northern Territory Chief Minister's XI in a four-day cricket match in June 2004. Sri Lanka won by five wickets, chasing 187 to win. Tillakaratne Dilshan was not out of 66. *

defeated Sri Lanka at Marrara Oval in July 2004 by 149 runs. Sri Lanka was bowled out for 97 and 162. Australian bowler

Michael Kasprowicz Michael Scott Kasprowicz (born 10 February 1972) is a former Australian international cricketer, who played all formats of the game. He is a right arm fast bowler. He represented Queensland and played in the English county scene at first clas ...

finished with figures of 7-39. Sri Lanka criticized the condition of the Mararra Oval wicket in the wake of the defeat. Acting Australian captain Adam Gilchrist stated that the wicket was "...not quite up to Test standard". * Darwin hosted an AFL match between Collingwood and the Aboriginal All-Stars on 12 February 1994. The All-Stars beat Collingwood 13-10 (88) to 10-8 (68). Prime Minister Paul Keating tossed the coin at the beginning of the match. * The Western Bulldogs defeated Essendon 18.12 (120) to 14.8 (92) in an Ansett Cup match on 13 February 1999. * The Western Bulldogs defeated

Carlton Carlton may refer to: People * Carlton (name), a list of those with the given name or surname * Carlton (singer), English soul singer Carlton McCarthy * Carlton, a pen name used by Joseph Caldwell (1773–1835), American educator, Presbyterian ...

17.14 (116) to 10.10 (70) at

TIO Stadium Marrara Oval, currently branded TIO Stadium under a naming rights agreement (and previously also known as Football Park), is a sports ground in Darwin, the capital of Australia's Northern Territory. The ground primarily hosts Australian rules ...

on 18 June 2005. The match was played in front of 13,047 fans. *

Port Adelaide Port Adelaide is a port-side region of Adelaide, approximately northwest of the Adelaide CBD. It is also the namesake of the City of Port Adelaide Enfield council, a suburb, a federal and state electoral division and is the main port for the ...

defeated the Western Bulldogs 14.21 (105) to 13.13 (91) on 7 August 2006 at

. The match was played on front of a record crowd of 14,100 people. * The Western Bulldogs defeated The Fremantle Dockers by 26 points at

TIO stadium Marrara Oval, currently branded TIO Stadium under a naming rights agreement (and previously also known as Football Park), is a sports ground in Darwin, the capital of Australia's Northern Territory. The ground primarily hosts Australian rules ...

on 16 June 2007. * The Western Bulldogs defeated

20.15 (135) to 11.15 (81) at

on 28 June 2008 in front of 11,400 fans. The victory gave the Bulldogs a temporary hold on the top of the AFL ladder. *The Bangladesh national cricket team played three

One Day International A One Day International (ODI) is a form of limited overs cricket, played between two teams with international status, in which each team faces a fixed number of overs, currently 50, with the game lasting up to 9 hours. The Cricket World C ...

(ODI) matches in Australia in 2008 at Marrara Oval,

. The Australians, captained by Michael Clarke, comfortably swept the series 3–0. * The Western Bulldogs defeated

21.11 (137) to 7.2. (44) at

on 13 June 2009. *

defeated

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

in an AFL match at

on 28 May 2011. The final score was 13.11 (89) to 10.14. (74). * The Western Bulldogs defeated The Gold Coast Suns in an AFL match at

on 18 May 2012. The Bulldogs overcame a three-point deficit at halftime to win 9.18 (72) to 4.10 (34). * The Western Bulldogs defeated

on 1 June 2013. The final score was 10.7 (67) to 8.10 (58). * The Parramatta Eels were defeated by The West Tigers 20–4 in a NRL match at ANZAC Oval in

on 16 February 2015. The West Tigers were presented with the RFDS Challenge trophy after their victory by Chief Minister Adam Giles, minister Gary Higgins and Royal Flying Doctor Service chief executive Mick Toomey. The Parramatta Eels were sponsored by the Northern Territory Government. * The West Coast Eagles defeated The Melbourne Demons in an AFL match at

on 4 July 2015. The final score was 16.18 (114) to 9.6 (60). * The Parramatta Eels defeated the Penrith Panthers 10–4 in an NRL match at

on 8 August 2015. * Darwin hosted the quarter-final tie of the

Davis Cup The Davis Cup is the premier international team event in men's tennis. It is run by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and is contested annually between teams from competing countries in a knock-out format. It is described by the organis ...

starting 17 July 2015. A grass stadium court and two practice courts were built for the event. Lleyton Hewitt led Australia to victory over Kazakhstan with a straights set win over Aleksandr Nedovyesov in the final deciding match. In doing so Australia came back from a 2–0 deficit. It was reported that 12,332 people attended the three-day quarter final tie. * Hawthorn Football Club brought their

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

and

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

premiership cups to Darwin on 16 November 2015. The cups were on display at the Waratah Sports Club. *

Palmerston Magpies The Palmerston Football Club, nicknamed, Magpies, is an Australian rules football club, currently playing in the Northern Territory Football League. They were first called Internationals before entering the NTFL, then they were called North Da ...

were affected by the Essendon supplements scandal when Alwyn Davey and Leroy Jetta were suspended in January 2016. Jetta played in the side's mid-field while Davey was the team's coach. Davey and Jetta were two of 34 current and former Essendon players banned for the 2016 season. The Northern Territory was the only place in Australia where Australian Rules Football was played at the time of the announcement of the suspensions. * Peter "The Chief" Graham defeated Julius "Towering Inferno" Long for the World Boxing Foundation heavyweight championship at the Darwin Convention Centre on 27 February 2016. Graham won on points after a cut above his right eye caused the fight to be stopped. It was judged that the cut was a result of an accidental head clash. Graham was ahead on all three judges' scorecards after five rounds of the 12 round contest.

References

{{Australian sport