Almanac Book Review: ‘Redtails in the Sunset: The untold story of the Central Australian Football Club’

 

 

Redtails in the Sunset: The untold story of the Central Australian Football Club – Darren Moncrieff

Review by Barry Nicholls

 

Living and working in Alice Springs for seven years, from 2002 to 2009, was a transformative experience for me, not only career-wise but also personally. I arrived alone. By the time I left, I had a partner and three children under four.

 

In my first year in the Red Centre, I worked for Rupert Murdoch’s Centralian Advocate in likely the lowest-paying reporting job in Australia. Every weekend I would sit on the balcony of the Central Australian Football League Members lounge overlooking the ground, observing and writing about the club and community football competitions. These games weren’t just about sport; they also served as important meeting places where fans gathered and supported their sides.

 

Community matches featured teams from far and wide. Yuendumu, Central Anmatjere, Ti Tree, Papunya, Haast’s Bluff, and Ltyentye Apurte, all played on the expansive lush grass of Traeger Park, just a short drive from the town centre. These games, less formal than the club league, at times resembled a ballet, with players moving gracefully and athletically across the field. There were more spectacular high marks taken in one afternoon than in an entire season of the AFL.

 

Don’t assume Alice Springs is a quiet place; it often buzzes with activity. Northern Territory-based stories are complex and captivating. While later working in radio I would sometimes, write down the story in detail to better understand it. Grasping the intricacies and politics of native title and Aboriginal Land Councils were neither simple nor quick. Covering the chaos and madness of Northern Territory politics was equally challenging.

 

During one two-and-a-half-hour ABC radio program, I interviewed Pulitzer Prize-winning author Geraldine Brooks, former Australian Test captain Ian Chappell, and five-time British Open champion Peter Thomson in the studio. In Alice Springs, celebrities (often sporting) from across Australia were always coming through, making it a lively hub.

 

With around 30,000 residents, the town’s ninety-five takeaway liquor outlets enabled  a culture of heavy drinking, which occasionally resulted in major social challenges. While  at times wild, the town remained welcoming, with a lively arts scene and a diverse community. Its significant Indigenous population and a 1,000-strong workforce at Pine Gap, along with international backpackers and the public sector made up the cultural melting pot.

 

Club and community football played a vital role in Central Australia, serving as a unifying force and a source of community pride. In my experience, it was also one of the few places where black and white people came together.

 

When I eventually left Alice Springs, a combined NT football team called NT Thunder entered a regional Queensland football competition – the North East Australia Football League.  Soon I was living and working in regional Western Australia, hosting a daily three-hour program heard across a third of Australia’s landmass, and now with four young children. My time in the Territory soon faded into the distance.

 

Having recently read Darren Moncrieff’s Redtails in the Sunset, memories of Central Australia came flooding back.

 

The tragic death of a young Aboriginal man from the Rovers Football Club led to the creation of a Central Australian football team, the Redtails, which briefly played in the Northern Territory Football League.  But it was more than a football team; the club was set up as a way of encouraging young Aboriginal men into study and work.

 

In his book, Moncrieff recounts the side’s journey, emphasising the logistical, financial, and other challenges the nascent club faced.   It also details some of the social history of the Northern Territory during the four years of the club’s inception , existence and then disbanding – 2012 to 2016.  The Redtails heroically win their first clash against the powerhouse of  NT football, St Marys, before initially holding their own in Darwin in the big league of the NTFL. But soon enough success becomes elusive.

 

After playing four games in their debut season, the Redtails had eight fixtures in the largely disappointing second season. The battle between the codes of  Australian Rules Football and elite cricket clash played out when it came to finding a home venue for the Redtail’s second season. Big personalities were revealed including Alice Springs footy legend Rob Clarke and Tony Frawley , the then head of the NTFL.

 

While the Redtails  as a footy club folded, its legacy remained. The Redtails Pinktails Right Tracks Foundation now lives on in helping indigenous youth across Central Australia. Where a lack of finance was part of the reason of the demise of the Redtails Football  Club, the foundation is set to thrive after a philanthropic $57 million donation earlier this year.

 

A snapshot of the Northern Territory in all its glory, power plays and contradictions is found in Redtails in the Sunset an entertaining and revealing examination of football and life.

 

 

You can hear Barry speak at:

 

Nov 4   State Library of SA
More info:  https://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/events/tuesday-talks-books-my-life-barry-nicholls

 

Nov 5   ASSH
Details and RSVP: Bernard Whimpress       [email protected]

 

Nov 6   Payneham CC
Details and RSVP: Malcolm Ashwood          [email protected]

 

 

You can read more from Barry Nicholls Here

 

 

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