The Northern Territory news Sat 16 Apr 2022
NT news
The Northern Territory news; NewspaperNT
2022-04-16
English
Community newspapers -- Northern Territory -- Darwin.; Australian newspapers -- Northern Territory -- Darwin.
News Corp Australia
Darwin
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News Corp Australia
https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/C2019C00042
https://hdl.handle.net/10070/869965
https://hdl.handle.net/10070/870141
Saturday, April 16, 2022 SPORT 69 V1 - NTNE01Z01MA STAWELL has often been the unlikely venue for a sneak peek at greatness, with Olympic champion Cathy Freeman a regular before she became the worlds best. This weekend another special talent will again grace the grass of Central Park in the womens Gift. Torrie Lewis has burst on to the Australian sprinting landscape over recent months, with the 17-year-old Queenslander already being labelled as the next big thing. She will run off scratch in the Stawell Gift after some blistering performances, in cluding running 11.35sec when second in the open 100m Queensland championship behind unbeaten flyer Ella Connelly, who is five years her senior. Lewis has already qualified in the 100m, 200m and 400m for Augusts world junior championships in Colombia. Her coach Gerrard Keating, a former national 100m champion, said he expected his rising star to be off the back mark. We predicted she would be off zero, Keating said. Its an honour to be on such a mark at such a young age. Beach sprinter Bree Masters, who finished third in the Gift in 2019, is also off scratch, with Mia Gross starting at 0.75m. New Zealands Eddie Nketia is the scratch marker in the mens 120m Gift ahead of Australian champion Jake Doran (0.5m). South Australian young gun Aidan Murphy, the son of former Olympian Tania van Heer, is off 0.75m along with Jack Hale and 2019 Gift winner Dhruv Rodrigues Chico. The AIA Vitality womens 1000m invitational will feature Olympians Linden Hall and Catriona Bisset. The Gift heats are on Saturday, with the final telecast live on Channel 7 on Monday. Young gun shows true Gift for Stawell shot Queenslander Torrie Lewis. Scott Gullan Uniteds glorious chance to keep title hopes alive WESTERN United can ill-afford to blow a golden opportunity to get its A-League premiership bid back on track when it meets the competitions worst team, Perth Glory, in Launceston on Saturday. United has won just one of its past six matches and suffered an embarrassing 4-1 loss to Wellington Phoenix in its last start. But, despite the form slump, second-placed United remains within striking distance of top-of-the-table Melbourne City. The John Aloisi-coached team is eight points adrift of City but has played three less matches than the competition leader, meaning Uniteds premiership destiny is in its own hands. But United must also contend with third-placed Melbourne Victory, which meets the Jets in Newcastle on Saturday night. Victory is just three points behind United. While Glory hasnt won in 13 matches, Aloisi isnt treating the clash as a must-win. However, there is no doubt that failing to beat Perth would put a massive dent in Uniteds title bid and leave Aloisis men in danger of eventually being overtaken by Victory. We know there are five games left, were aware of the position were in, Aloisi said. Menzies overwhelmed to earn nod DARWIN cricketer and Northern Territory representative Tom Menzies has been selected in the best-of team from the under-19 national championships in Mackay. While the Territory finished at the bottom of pool B with two wins and three losses, Menzies was recognised for his consistent performances, taking six wickets at 19.66 from four games. His best match with the ball came against South Australia were he claimed 3-13 in a four-wicket victory at Great Barrier Reef Arena. The Eagle said he was stunned to be selected I wasnt really expecting it at all, Menzies said. You could probably see me shaking standing next to the other boys (during the ceremony), but it was an honour to be selected. It was the last thing I was expecting, Im pretty overwhelmed right now with these emotions. He was also proud to be part of an NT outfit that scored several wins at the tournament. We got a couple of wins under our belt, that doesnt usually happen with us, he said. In their final game against South Australia on Thursday, a T20 fixture, the NT made 5-127 off its 20 overs (Jayllen Naganayagam 51), which was passed with 10 balls to spare. After the game, Naganayagam said youngsters Menzies, leg spinner Charlie Smith and medium pacer Charlie Kemp had taken charge during the tournament. They really carried our bowling attack, he said. Naganayagam was pleased to produce a decent score after slowly building over the tournament. Im glad I could finally do it in the last game, he said. Territorian Tom Menzies was recognised for his consistent performances, taking six wickets at 19.66 from four games. Ben Cameron legend fan of nt launch pad DARWIN and the Northern Territory remain an ideal launching pad for Australian teams to train and play in before heading overseas for international tours, Test legend Greg Chappell says. The former Australian captain told the NT News Darwin was an excellent location to host developing countries, such as Zimbabwe, which is scheduled to play three one-day internationals in August in Northern Australia. Cricket Australia is due to make an announcement on the location of the matches this month. Chappell said he was a great fan of playing more cricket up north, including Alice Springs, which would increase local participation. Ive been to Darwin many times . . . I would love to see it developed as a cricket-playing area, he said. I think its a great location, particularly middle of the year, just a great opportunity to get international sport there in a growing region which offers different conditions, from other parts of Australia. Particularly at that time of the year when you cant play in the southern states. Im a big fan of the NT and Darwin as a venue. I think its important to keep cricket growing in all parts of Australia. He said he hoped a precedent had been set with Australia training in Darwin before a tour of Bangladesh in 2017. Its an ideal launching pad for an international team to many parts of the world, not least the subcontinent, Chappell said. Thats something else that needs to be explored. I think the opportunity is there. He also said the Cricket 365 program was a fabulous initiative, which brought short-form stars from across the country to the Territory for the Strike League. Its what has to happen in the region for the game to continue to grow, he said. International cricket has not been played in the Territory since September 2008 when Australia hosted Bangladesh for three one-day internationals. However, Chappell (pictured) stopped short of saying the Territory had been ignored for almost 14 years. He said Darwin could play a key part in Cricket Australias overall strategy to have a variety of venues where cricket can be played all year round. The opportunities to play (in the middle of the year) . . . are there, he said. Im a big believer that we need to play more cricket in the off-season. Were not going to travel or take on (lowerranked countries) . . . in the middle of our summer, so its a great opportunity to make up c o m m i t ments to developing countries. However, he stressed the facilities and playing conditions needed to be at an international level in Darwin and Alice Springs to host games. Chappell had visited the Territory many times through his involvement in junior development and once played in a charity game involving Joel Garner at Gardens Oval. I loved the Gardens facility, I thought that was a terrific ground, he said. Chappell backs international action for regionBen Cameron