Demons v GWS match in Alice Springs could be scrapped as council slams AFL for ‘bullying’

The AFL and Alice Springs Town Council are locked in a dispute which could see the Melbourne and GWS Giants match scheduled for the Northern Territory town in July scrapped.

The Demons and Giants match is part of an annual agreement to play an AFL clash at TIO Traeger Park in the red centre.

However ongoing violence in Alice Springs has caused the local council to temporarily cancel the Central Australian Football League’s [CAFL] community competition because of fears of incidents at the ground.

That decision has gone down like a lead balloon at AFL HQ, with top brass concerned about the impact the scrapping of community footy will have on the game in Central Australia. 

News Corp has reported that a leaked email from the AFL to Alice Springs Town elected members questioned the viability of the round 16 match because of the cancellation of community football and called for it to be re-instated.

Kysaiah Pickett of the Demons played in the Alice Springs fixture in 2022 against Port Adelaide but may not be returning if the AFL scraps the 2023 fixture

James Harmes, Bernie Vince, Nathan Jones, Sam Frost and Jack Watts of the Demons wearing Indigenous Round jerseys in the 2017 match in Alice Springs

Alice Springs mayor Matt Paterson responded to the directive from the AFL, calling it ‘extremely shortsighted’ and accusing the AFL of bullying the community of Alice Springs into changing its mind.

‘I think it’s pretty immature and a classic case of bullying and they need to take a look at themselves,’ Paterson said.

‘I’ve often said policy makers and politicians shouldn’t make decision for Alice Springs when they’re based in Darwin, Canberra or in this case Melbourne.

‘There’s a disconnect.

‘If AFL want to bully the community of Alice Springs into changing our minds, they’ve completely read the room wrong.

‘I don’t know if any of the executives have been to Alice Springs in the past 12 months but I think they should come here before they make those decisions.’

The council’s decision to bar community competition football from its grounds has caused tensions between the Alice Springs Town Council and AFLNT to escalate. 

Young fans in Alice Springs would be robbed of top flight footy along with community footy if the standoff between the AFL and Alice Springs Town Council is not resolved

Fans surround Liam Ryan of the Eagles to get a picture with the AFL star during the 2019 match held in Alice Springs

The All-Stars perform the war cray before the exhibition match between Richmond and the Indigenous All-Stars in Alice Springs in 2013

The CAFL’s 10-team community division has a licence agreement to play at Traeger Park that expires in September 2025 and it had been hoped the competition could resume in a shortened format last month.

However council has stood firm on the ban and kept the gates at Traeger Park shut to community footballers because of ongoing violence in the town.

AFLNT has made several structural changes to the fixture from 2022 to ensure the competition will be ‘delivered safely’ and will see ‘reduced visitation to Alice Springs’. 

This includes having a seven-round fixture – with four of the seven rounds played across a fortnight – with 12 remote games when ‘safe and practical’ and a reduced finals series. 

It is a reduction of two rounds compared to 2022 and five rounds less than in 2021.

In a statement, AFLNT said it intended to continue working with all key stakeholders to progress CAFL football in 2023 for the ‘betterment of the community’ following a special summit on March 20.

‘The importance of football to communities across the NT is widely recognised,’ the peak body said.

‘Football is a powerful tool and a positive influence on many who are engaged, including players, coaches, umpires, volunteers, families and supporters of clubs.

‘We are committed to ensuring that football continues to play a positive role in Central Australia and all Territory communities.’