Tara Murray
Williamstown’s Jacinta Reid hadn’t planned on heading up to the Northern Territory to play football this season, but one phone call changed all that.
After a year with no football due COVID-19, the Seagulls co-captain decided to make the trip north to get a kick in the Northern Territory Football League.
“I just got a call,” she said. “I was talking to an ex-player and a men’s manager at WIlliamstown and they were talking about it.
“Then a coach up here called me and I thought I can’t do anything else back home, that I may as well go.
“It was perfect timing. I’d always loved to come up, but never had an opportunity until now.”
Able to put her job on hold and living with her parents in Bacchus Marsh, Reid quickly put things into place to head up to play for Pint.
Players from interstate are nothing new for the NTFL, with players each year flying in and out to play.
This year though, with most Victorians not getting to play at all, 100s’ of players have escaped north for six months to return to the field.
Reid is one of five Williamstown women’s players who will be playing up there.
Danica Pedersen and Eliza Straford have signed with Waratahs, while Ash Melnikas and Isabelle Porter will play with St Marys.
“It’s so exciting,” Reid said. “Most are playing for different clubs though, so there will be a bit of a rivalry.
“But it will be awesome with us all up here.”
Reid spent two weeks in quarantine when she arrived in the Northern Territory. There were a few hundred others in quarantine as well, as plenty of interstate footballers converged on the state.
“It’s pretty good,” she said while still in quarantine. “We can go for walks and runs, as many as we want.
“I can kick the footy up here with a couple of guys, we’ve just got to wear our mask
“It’s pretty chilled and everyone is friendly, which makes it a lot easier.”
Returning to the field once the season starts in October, will be a relief after a long 12 months, without playing football.
Reid said not being able to play, let alone train had been difficult.
“I had two ankle recos in September last year and I worked really hard with my rehab and everything and I was all set to play my first practice match. Then COVID happened and I didn’t even get to do that.
“It was pretty hard at the start to stay motivated and I couldn’t be bothered doing stuff.
“One of my good friends Loz does pt [personal training], so I was doing pt three times a week, that really got me motivated and pushed me to the limits.”
With plenty of players heading up from the VFL competition, Reid said she was expecting the level of competition to be pretty strong.
“We are out [of quarantine] for a couple of weeks and then straight into it.
“The team I’m with is pretty good and made it to finals last year. I’ve spoken to the coach a lot and he seems pretty good and they’ve recruited well, so hopefully we’ll go alright.”
Among those who were in lockdown with Reid, was Diggers Rest footballer Luke Delahey.
Like Reid, Delahey is from the Bacchus Marsh area.
“I actually met her in quarantine,” Delahey said. “I saw her wearing her Bacchus Marsh singlet and struck up a friendship.
“There’s plenty of country footballers up here giving it a go.”
Delahey is already out of quarantine and hitting the training track ahead of the season kicking off in early October.
He said quarantine was too bad and likened it to living in Victoria.
“You could still exercise as much as you could and I had a mate next door to me.
“We just watched plenty of NBA and footy frenzy number two was on, so footy on every night and I brought the playstation up.”
For Delahey the decision to come up to the Northern Territory wasn’t primarily based around playing football.
Being a school teacher and with schools closed in Victoria, it hasn’t been an ideal situation.
“It was probably more work to be honest,” he said.
“It worked out well. I’m actually a school teacher and with schools closed down south, I thought it would come up here and work.
“The club has helped me find work and with flights and accommodation and things like that.
“It has all sort of worked out well.”
A uni friend, who had played with Southern Districts Football Club, put Delahey in touch with the club, which has had plenty of players from the Ballarat region play previously.
The coach of the Crocs, Matt Cannard is originally from Sunbury, and is also good friends with Diggers Rest coach Jamie Lobb.
Delahey said the biggest thing for him was adjusting to the heat and humidity, something you wouldn’t find on a Saturday in the Riddell District Football League.
It’s not the first time he’s been to the top end, having travelled up and played the NT Thunder while at school at St Pat’s in Ballarat.
Delahey said he expected the quality of the competition to be high.
“I will know five or six boys who are coming up here, there’s a lot of fellows coming up to play,” he said.
“I think the standard will be pretty high, looking at all the people who were in quarantine from Victoria.
“There’s a lot of state league players as well. It won’t be at VFL standard, but it will be a good country level standard.
“Most of the guys up here know how to play and they’re all pretty quick, it’ll be good footy from judging what I saw at the intra club.”
Having made the decision to head north to play football, Delahey kept up his skills and fitness while in lockdown in Melbourne making it easier for once he arrived in the Northern Territory.
“I sort of kept training throughout the break as there was the hope that we would get back to play, then the second wave hit.
“I kept training and kept myself fit, having the idea to come up here in September.
“I kept training throughout with a few boys, my ex-teammates at Darley were training with me and a few Ballarat boys as well.
“We kept training a few times a week to keep the fitness up as you need to be fit up here to get a kick.”
Delahey isn’t the only local who will play up there this season.
Dylan Tarzcon, who has been playing at Riddell, has signed with St Marys, along with Sunbury Lions player Jack Landt and his brother, former Lion, Dylan Landt. Another couple of Lions, Jake Sutton and James Cree are also heading up.
Bundoora big man Matt Dennis is one player who has made a name for himself in the competition, playing with Palmerston Magpies over several years.
He is back playing for the Magpies again this year.
