The possibility of a first grade Northern Territory AFL side looks further from reality than ever, as past players and officials mourn the loss of the NT Thunder.
Tanking crowd numbers, a lack of draft picks and a haemorrhaging of hundreds of thousands in sponsorship funds have assisted in the demise of the Northern Territory's top-tier AFL team.
Statistics show the extent of the damage.
"In 2010 we had 27 players on the [AFL] list, today there are 13. The figures don't lie," said AFL NT CEO Stuart Totham.
"Something in our system is not right … we can't stand back and let the program go backwards," Totham said.
The numbers, being used by the AFL NT to justify the disbandment of the NEAFL men's and VFLW women's sides, show that NT Thunder sponsorship had plummeted from $626,000 in 2015 to $302,000 by 2019.
They show crowd attendance fell from 18,709 in 2015 to just 4,018 by this year.
Former captain mourns loss of team
Retired NT Thunder captain Cameron Ilett said the players had reacted with "shock and disappointment" to the news.
"It's also been a time to reflect on some of the really positive things that the club has been able to do as well," Ilett said.
"But overall it's been quite sad."
Mr Ilett conceded that crowd numbers and draft picks had fallen off in recent years.
"I'd hate to be judged just solely on that, because the football club means a lot more than that," he said.
AFL NT to sharpen focus on grassroots
The NT has for decades been known as a prodigious breeding ground for AFL talent, from the Rioli and Long dynasties to Liam Jurrah, Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti, Dom Barry and Nathan Djerrkura.
But this was no longer happening, said Mr Totham.
"The Thunder and the NEAFL was putting resources in the wrong place, and not allowing enough kids to get into programs and the opportunity to play at the highest level," he said.
The AFL NT said it would now sharpen its focus on grassroots and remote Territory footy clubs, and on building better relationships with first grade AFL teams.
One club name that has been floated as a potential future partner was the embattled Gold Coast Suns, although Mr Totham would not directly confirm.
"If there's an opportunity for us to get more players on the list, that's a good result," he said.
An NT AFL team possible 'in fullness of time'
The Northern Territory Government puts $300,000 into AFL partnerships in the NT per annum, and Sports Minister Lauren Moss said she had learned from NT Thunder's dissolution through news reports.
"I'm incredibly disappointed to learn this through the media," Ms Moss said.
"But we have a very good relationship with AFL NT, and I have no doubt we'll have good conversations about this."
The NT Government last year committed $100,000 to a scoping study to assess the future viability of an AFL team based in the Northern Territory.
The results were slated for a midyear release, but have so far not been made public.
Mr Totham said the chances for a Territory team was still a possibility.
"If in the fullness of time there's opportunities to have our team back again, we'll be looking really closely at it," he said.
