The Northern Territory news Sat 4 Sep 2021
NT news
The Northern Territory news; NewspaperNT
2021-09-04
English
Community newspapers -- Northern Territory -- Darwin.; Australian newspapers -- Northern Territory -- Darwin.
News Corp Australia
Darwin
application/pdf
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News Corp Australia
https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/C2019C00042
https://hdl.handle.net/10070/848943
https://hdl.handle.net/10070/849098
48 SPORT SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2021 NTNE01Z01MA - V1 IN the immediate moments following last weeks game between Port Adelaide and Geelong a familiar phrase bellowed around Adelaide Oval: Theres history here in the making. True though that may have been for the Power, for the Cats, it was all just a little bit of history repeating. And so it was, again, on Friday night, when Geelong dusted itself off to book a third straight appearance in a preliminary final and an incredible 11th in the past 15 years. That was after the sides 15.13 (103) to 10.8 (68) win over GWS in its semi-final clash. As he has done in the past three seasons and four of the past five, Chris Scott found a way to quickly overcome the disappointment of a qualifying final loss. The cohesion between Geelongs midfield and forward line that was so lacking just seven days earlier was plain for all to see. Against the Giants, Geelongs typical controlled ball movement was complemented by patches of moving the footy on with urgency as required. Despite the good early work of GWS backmen Nick Haynes and Phil Davis, it allowed its key forwards, Jeremy Cameron and Tom Hawkins, more time to assert their presence in the air. The impact of Hawkins cannot be overstated. There are few forwards with his physical presence and when the ball is delivered to him the way it should, there are in turn few defenders capable of shutting him out of the game. The 33-year-old finished with five goals. Geelong midfielder and Territorian Brandan Parfitt shapes as a potential hard-luck story this September after suffering a hamstring injury. Parfitt was subbed out at quartertime. Cats move on with convincing win over Giants GWS Shane Mumford and Geelongs Rhys Stanley. LACHIE YOUNG CHRIS CAVANAGH VICTORIAS JUNIOR STARS MISS CHANCE TO STRUT STUFF ITS season over for Victorias top junior footballers in another blow for the states draft prospects. The remainder of the NAB League season for metropolitan teams has been cancelled and the AFL confirmed on Friday that Vic Country and Vic Metro will not compete at the national under-19 championships. South Australia and Western Australia kicked off the carnival last weekend in Perth but, for the second consecutive season, Victorias top draft chances wont get an opportunity on the national stage as a result of the states Covid situation. All levels of the game across Australia have been impacted by the health pandemic this year and it has been another challenging year for everyone connected to football, AFL Talent Pathways boss Tristan Salter said. These players represent the future of Australian Football and like all footy fans, were disappointed we cant host the best football talent in Melbourne this year. Father-son prospects, and Oakleigh Chargers pair, Nick Daicos and Sam Darcy have confirmed their place at the top of the draft pool Last year, despite the junior football blackout, 12 of the first 20 players drafted were from Victoria the average over the previous five years was 13. AFL FLAGS VACCINE PASSPORTS GILLON McLachlan says vaccine passports to attend AFL games next year are a plausible possibility but stopped short of a vaccination mandate for all AFL players in 2022. Richmond chief executive Brendon Gale said on Thursday a mandate would have to be carefully considered by the league to make a community stand. The AFLs working group on vaccinations has now begun an information roll-out to AFL players and encouraged them strongly to become double-vaccinated when supply is available. McLachlan said on Friday it was natural the league would have to consider vaccine passports to safeguard the league when bumper crowds return. Forget what I think, the people in industry and the government are signalling its a possibility. Vaccine passports to restaurants, its a real thing in the frame. It has to be on the table here. Either to be vaccinated or have a negative PCR test, its what is going on in other countries, its been discussed. There is no position here but clearly it has to be something as a plausible possibility. But McLachlan stopped short of a vaccine mandate as the league considers the potential fallout of Covid positives in the league next year. Many NFL teams are now 100 per cent vaccinated ahead of the season opener next week, with a range of restrictions and incentives for teams with differing statuses. We have got to have that conversation with the key stakeholders, McLachlan told 3AW. We have run a clear education program across the industry, all clubs have had that in the player cohort, we are really strongly encouraging everyone to get vaccinated players and coaches and the decision on the final settings will be made by the end of the season and we dont need to have the final position until we have supply, which we dont at the moment. I think I have been pretty clear. We need to be vaccinated as a community to get out of this tough position we are in. We need to work through the process with the clubs and player union on our final setting but we are pretty strong we need to be vaccinated. JON RALPH Gillon McLachlan. Danihers time to stand up as Lions field small forward line in final LIONS coach Chris Fagan has made just the two changes to his starting side ahead of Saturdays all-important battle with the Bulldogs but all eyes will be on the forward line. With key forward Dan McStay ruled out through the AFLs concussion protocols, plenty of questions have been asked on the make-up of Brisbanes forward line, who are now missing two of their key goal kickers in McStay and Eric Hipwood. Plenty of responsibility now rests on the shoulders of 201cm tall Joe Daniher with the club naming second-year midfielder Deven Robertson and key defender Jack Payne in the starting side this week. Paynes inclusion could potentially see a late reshuffle at the Lions but one thing remains the same, Daniher is the last of Brisbanes trio of tall forwards theyve relied on for much of the year. If Fagan does opt to keep Daniher as the one big forward, surrounded by high-pressure smalls, it would be in a similar vein as Richmond in 2017. Midfielder Zac Bailey said Daniher will be crucial for the Lions to succeed in advancing to next weekends preliminary final. Hell be massive for us, Bailey said. Apart from last weekend, he kicked a goal in almost every game. Hes shown hes an important player for us. With Macca going down, hes going to have to stand up this week and create that contest we know he can. He brings a lot of x-factor to our team. For a big man, he brings that x-factor alongside guys like Charlie Cameron and Linc McCarthy. The burden falls on Joe Daniher and Charlie Cameron for the Lions in the absence of the injured Dan McStay (above). Pictures: Getty Images CHRIS HONNERY