By Murray Silby
NT Thunder continues its efforts to right its 2018 season on Saturday night, but it will have to do it against the NEAFL’s second-placed side.
Thunder, with a 3-7 win-loss record, hosts Southport (7-3) for Round 13 at TIO Stadium in Darwin and has plenty of work to do in the second half of the season if it’s to feature in the finals.
Both teams are coming off byes last round, but the Sharks have won three of their last four games before that, including a remarkable 110-point victory over ladder leader Sydney University.
In contrast, Thunder has lost its past four games.
The squad is confident though, that the week off, playing at home and the hard work players and the coaching staff have been putting in will see a turnaround in form.
The club also celebrated its 10th season with the announcement of its team of the decade over the bye weekend.
Eight current players were named in the side – brothers Ben and Shannon Rioli, former captain Cameron Ilett, current vice-captain Abraham Ankers, on-baller Richard Tambling, ruckman Ryan Smith, goal-sneak Ross Tungatalum and full forward Darren Ewing.
Ilett was named rover and captain of the team of the decade while Thunder’s current skipper, Shannon Rioli was named on a wing.
He said it was a great honour to be included among such a talented list.
“Going into the night I didn’t quite know what to expect,” Rioli said. “I was quite nervous.
“When Ben’s name got called out first I got quite emotional there for him and I was really happy and then guys I’m really close with like Ross (Tungatalum), the Ilett brothers (Cameron and Jarred) and hearing all their names get called out was really special for me and to have my name called out alongside them was pretty special.
“It’ll be one of those things I look back on with a lot pride when I finish up my footy days.”
Rioli said he’d love it if it was possible to see the team play a match together.
“We were looking at the team and saying, ‘Geeze, if you could go back just before a few of the guys finished up their playing days and get the guys, who are still running around now, it’d be an amazing feeling’.
“I think I’ve been lucky enough to play with every one of those guys in the team so I’m really lucky to have played footy with them all and I know how good they all are as players and that’s why I’m so happy to be named alongside them.”
Although Thunder fans won’t be able to see that side, made up of the club’s best players over the past 10 years, run out on Saturday night, Rioli said there’s plenty of talent to call on in the current squad that they will see.
“We know we’ve got the talent on our list and we know we’re capable of playing some really good footy,” he said. “We’ve seen that in patches this year and you look at the first two games we played against the Lions and Aspley and we had two really good wins and for some reason things haven’t quite gone our way since then.
“We’re working really hard to correct things off the field and hoping that will correlate on the field.”
NEAFL Round 13: NT Thunder v Southport – 6:30pm Saturday 30 June, TIO Stadium, Darwin