‘If you are not winning, you are learning’ are words that I have reflected on from the moment coaching became a passion.

Darren Reeves writes about the excitement of four NT players going off to Combine testing, vowing that everyone will do what they can to have the boys put their best foot forward.

It’s an exciting weekend as we are fortunate to play at GMHBA Stadium in Geelong, and we come up against a relatively young and inconsistent Cats team.

A few weeks ago, I shared a quote with our playing group…The quote was a picture of a graph with the heading “Ways We Will Grow”, in it 70% was taken up with the word ‘Failure’, 20 % said ‘More Failure’.

I am excited to announce that Alice Springs youngster Shoneeka Abbott and Alice Springs product Celina Whan, will make their highly anticipated debut, along with Tayla Hart-Aluni, who has earned the call up after performing exceptionally well at the Under 18 Championships.

The chance for our young talent to be exposed to the AFL environment is invaluable.

There is a real buzz around the place, knowing we will be playing at our familiar TIO Stadium in front of our loyal supporters.

Injuries have been a constant for us throughout the year and to be successful more often than not there is a lot of luck along the way, especially on this front.

We know our home games are few and far between, so it is crucial we learn from our mistakes and get the job done in front of our family and friends.

We are really looking forward to two home games in a row playing at our beloved TIO Stadium in front of our family and friends.

What we have taken away from our last two games has been that we have won or drawn six of our eight quarters, but it hasn’t translated into a positive result.

At our main training session on Wednesday, two of our senior players, Shannon Rioli and Phillip Wills presented to our playing and coaching group the history of the magnificent guernsey we will wear this weekend.

The belief is really growing in this group, and I am extremely excited about our first doubleheader at home.

It’s an old saying; ‘a week is a long time in football’, but never has there been a more accurate statement.