The 2023–24 NTFL season was the 103rd season of the Northern Territory Football League (NTFL), the highest-level Australian rules football competition in the Northern Territory. The season began on 6 October 2023 and concluded on 16 March 2024, with three divisions for both the men's and women's competitions.
Notable events Following a 55-point loss to the Tiwi Bombers in round 12, the Palmerston Magpies terminated the contract of Men's Premier League coach Josh Heath. Heath had signed a two-year contract extension in February 2023, and was replaced in March 2024 by Mark Tyrrell. During the Men's Premier League elimination final between PINT and Southern Districts, PINT player Warrick Williams threw an umpire to the ground during a melee involving several players. Williams was suspended for 20 weeks and deregistered as a player after pleading guilty at an independent tribunal. On 2 March 2024, several players from Tracy Village broke out into a brawl in the Darwin CBD following "alleged tensions". The club launched an investigation, which resulted in three players being deregistered from the club and one player facing an "extended suspension". One week before the NTFL's awards night, the name of Dennis Dunn was removed from the award for leading goalkicker in the Premier League (which had been known since 2009 as the "Dennis Dunn Medal"). The NTFL cited Dunn "attempting to smuggle a pound of cannabis to the Tiwi Islands", which he had been charged and convicted for in 2016.
Men's Premier League
St Mary's won the Men's Premier League (MPL) premiership for the 34th time, defeating the Nightcliff Tigers by 13 points in the grand final.
Ladder + Team Qualification 1 St Mary's (P) 16 13 3 0 1763 804 219.3 52 Finals series 2 Nightcliff Tigers 16 12 4 0 1460 814 179.4 48 3 Waratah 16 11 5 0 1533 908 168.8 44 4 Southern Districts 16 11 5 0 1633 975 167.5 44 5 PINT 16 10 6 0 1132 908 124.67 40 6 Darwin 16 8 8 0 1274 1487 85.7 32 7 Tiwi Bombers 16 4 12 0 1058 1495 70.8 16 8 Wanderers 16 3 13 0 814 1758 46.3 12 9 Palmerston Magpies 16 0 16 0 568 2086 27.2 0
Finals
Club best and fairest Club Winner Darwin Nightcliff Tigers Palmerston Magpies PINT Southern Districts Jed Anderson St Mary's Tiwi Bombers Wanderers Jaxon East Waratah Scott Carlin
Men's Division 1
Tracy Village won the Men's Division 1 premiership for the third time and the second year in a row, defeating the Jabiru Bombers by 14 points in the grand final.
Ladder + Team Qualification 1 Jabiru Bombers 15 14 1 0 1165 549 212.2 56 Finals series 2 Tracy Village (P) 15 12 3 0 1185 576 205.73 48 3 St Mary's 15 7 8 0 830 742 111.9 28 4 PINT 15 7 8 0 695 685 101.5 28 5 Banks 15 4 11 0 560 979 57.2 16 6 Waratah 16 1 14 0 363 1267 28.7 4
Finals
Club best and fairest Club Winner Banks Dion Parker Jabiru Bombers Riley Patterson PINT St Mary's Tracy Village Waratah Adam Govers
Men's Division 2
Southern Districts won the Men's Division 2 premiership for the first time, defeating the Nightcliff Spartans by 1 point in the grand final.
Ladder Tracy Village forfeited its round 15 match against Nightcliff Spartans, with the Spartans awarded a 10-goal victory. Additionally, Darwin forfeited its round 18 game against the Palmerston Rats, with the Rats also awarded a 10-goal victory.
In round 18, Southern Districts defeated Tracy Village 30.17 (197) to 0.0 (0). However, the scoreline was later removed with both teams disqualified.
+ Team Qualification 1 Nightcliff Spartans 14 12 1 1 0 1395 290 481.0 52 Finals series 2 Palmerston Rats 14 10 0 4 0 1106 531 208.3 40 3 Southern Districts (P) 14 9 0 4 0 881 418 210.8 36 4 PINT 15 6 0 9 0 418 881 57.8 24 5 Darwin 12 3 0 9 0 367 996 36.9 12 6 Tracy Village 15 0 0 14 0 227 1298 17.5 0
Finals
References