THE DARWINIAN THEORY: The rapid evolution of fanatical support for the Essendon Football Club at the Top End of Australia.

Okay, perhaps this wasn’t exactly what celebrated biologist Sir Charles Darwin had in mind but it is a theory being wholly embraced by Essendon Football Club.

There is no doubt Essendon is the most popular AFL club among the locals of Darwin and the Northern Territory as a whole – it only takes one trip north to understand that fact.

The reason for the support is probably two-fold. Firstly Essendon was the pioneers when it came to playing football up north.

A team driven by one of the game’s great thinkers, it was unthinkable to Kevin Sheedy that the club wouldn’t head to Darwin to showcase Aussie Rules football at the highest level and it did so for the first time in 1986.

It has done so seven times since its initial venture which included one trip to Alice Springs.

Despite the stifling heat, the seven-hour plane trip and the unfamiliar surroundings, the club has never balked at the chance to give local fans a close-up look at their beloved Bombers.

Secondly, Essendon Football Club has been blessed with some of the greatest aboriginal talents this game has seen.

They have been embraced by this club and in turn they have produced spectacular football. Michael Long and Gavin Wanganeen are the two that readily spring to mind.

Both are greats in their own right – champions of the game and champions of their cause. Presently the club is also home to Dean Rioli, Marcus Pickett and Corey McGrath. Before them came Derek Kickett and Willie Dick among others. The large aboriginal population of Darwin naturally gravitated to Essendon.

These two factors combined have seen the popularity of Essendon skyrocket in Darwin.

Peter Atkinson is the General Manager of the Northern Territory Football Development Foundation says support for Essendon in Darwin would be greater than that of the next three most popular clubs combined.

“They are by far the most popular club in the territory and that is not just because of your success. There is a real attachment that Kevin Sheedy has very skillfully developed because there is a perception, particularly among the aboriginal community, that there is a genuine commitment to making things better for them,” Atkinson said.

“We welcome Essendon to the Northern Territory with open arms. They just have a different attitude and people pick up on that – they are always very positive. It’s not all that convenient to play up here but the club uses the trip in a whole lot of terrific ways.

“I’m close enough to see it is also an education process for the players. I’m not convinced all other clubs have been smart enough to pick up on that. People in the top end notice that. It also extends to the willingness of players to do clinics and let locals get involved on match day. Essendon embraces everyone involved in football in Darwin and they deserve all the rewards they get in terms of support.

“The fact is that Essendon does it better than any other club that visits Darwin. Some of the clubs come up just because they have been forced to come up by the AFL or their club board decided they wanted to play a game up here.

Atkinson said the attitude of the Essendon players was always more professional than that of other clubs – something he credited to Kevin Sheedy and Michael Long.

He said Essendon Football Club, along with Long and Maurice Rioli, had opened the eyes of the wider AFL community who previously had a real hesitancy when it came to looking at recruiting players from the Northern Territory. He said that 14 years ago that belief wasn’t there – Aboriginal kids didn’t believe they could make it. Atkinson says Essendon Football Club is the major reason that attitude has turned around.

“What has happened since Essendon has been coming up is a willingness to take seriously the natural talent that is in and around Darwin,” Atkinson said.

“There was a perception prior to games being played up here that you had to go and play in Adelaide or Perth to have a chance at playing AFL football – Long was recruited from West Torrens and Maurice Rioli from Fremantle.

“But in the last10 years there has been an increase in the credibility of football in the Northern Territory that we directly link to Essendon’s visits – as a result recruiting people are prepared to look at our young players.”

Long is obviously the key link between Essendon and the Northern Territory at the moment and Atkinson said his influence extends well beyond football.

“He has generated a belief that it is possible to make it and Michael Long has almost god-like status in the territory. His stand on racial vilification has further enhanced that status – he is seen as a man of great principle,” Atkinson said.

“He has created a real link between Essendon Football Club and this region and subsequent visits have only served the strengthen that link. Essendon games in Darwin are bigger than our Grand Final in terms of the attention that it draws to the code.

“Essendon Football Club has had some excellent role models at the club that are Aboriginal and that is not just Michael Long – there have been a number of others going back to Derek Kickett among others.”

Essendon’s trips north have also given the NTFDF a much-needed financial boost, according to Atkinson.

“There hasn’t been any increase in terms of the number of kids playing the game. However, the AFL has followed on from the work done by Essendon and they now invest far more willingly in the Northern Territory to the extent where the development arm of NTFL now receives 60% of its funding from the AFL – that is an amount of around $650,000,” he said.

“The affect has been a development of the confidence of people investing money in football in the Northern Territory and that there is going to be a worthwhile return. We now have 22 NT players on AFL lists and the more we get the easier it will become to produce role models and sell our programs throughout the whole community.”

Kevin Sheedy says Essendon’s ventures north are about much more than football. They are also about bringing this country closer together. The vast chasm between north and south needed to filled.

“I first went to Darwin in 1974 and after that I wondered how can we get the top end of Australia to have greater contact with the bottom end of Australia – and initially that was simply from a football point-of-view,” Sheedy said.

“But I didn’t think the two new enough about each other. I know that when I was growing up I knew very little about Darwin. I felt we could build a bridge between the two cities using football.”

Sheedy believes the bridge between north and south is slowly being built, insisting it was never going to happen in five minutes. He is proud of the fact Essendon has played a significant role.

“I have never had poor feedback from the people of Darwin since we have been going up there. I think recent history has given the people of Darwin confidence that the rest of Australia is thinking about them more than ever before – particularly since the cyclone. I don’t believe it should take a cyclone for people to get to know a town,” he said.

“We have filled in for trips to Darwin when other clubs have let them down. They have called us and said we have spent all this money on advertising and this team has pulled out – two days later we ring up and say we will be there.”

“There were reservations about our initial trip. I have pushed for a lot of things and I don’t always win – that’s fair enough, you don’t win every battle you go into. But we have been very good as a club when it comes to supporting Australia and Australian Rules Football.

“And I think we are getting rewarded for it. We are trying build a bridge with a very shy person and I don’t think most Australians understand why that is the case after 200 years. It’s a reflection of the focus that was lost on what was around us when we first came to this island.

“I think we have only really touched base with our native Australians in the past 10 years in terms of football. When we moved from VFL to AFL we were truly national and that must mean embracing the whole country.”

But Sheedy also believes the trips to Darwin are a great learning experience for his players, a great way of developing them as people.

“I think the development of players and a club involves understanding what Australia is about. If you want to be a great sporting organisation in this country it is not just about the suburb that the grandstand is built in,” Sheedy said.

“A part of wanting to be successful is naturally winning premierships but it is also about developing the people of that club. The classic case at this club is Neale Daniher – he won the club best and fairest in his first year, broke down three times with knee injuries and now is coaching Melbourne. There is more to football than just playing.”

Chief football writer for the NT News newspaper Gray Morris says the whole city virtually grinds to a halt when Essendon is in town.

“The build up our newspaper went for the best part of three months. We first mentioned it at the end of November last year and of course the game was played on January 28,” Morris said.

“Essendon Football Club is the AFL as far as many people are concerned up this way. The whole city virtually comes to a standstill when they play up here. They have average crowds up here of about 12,000 which is tremendous up this way.”

Morris also paid tribute to work and initiative shown by Kevin Sheedy – something that Michael Long and the rest of the side has been able to build on.

“Kevin Sheedy has been magnificent throughout the time Essendon has been coming to Darwin. As far as I am concerned, when you think what he has done for Australian Rules Football he is the new Mr Football – he has taken over from Teddy Whitten,” Morris said.

But ask any local and as far as they are concerned Michael Long is Mr Football. He is revered by all for his achievements in football as well as his stand on racial issues. For Long, the homecoming is the most satisfying part of the side’s push into Darwin. To leave home and join Essendon was something he struggled with in his early days at Essendon – it’s hardly surprising that the chance to head home brings a smile to his face.

“Having family and friends up there I really enjoy going back there and seeing them again and playing in front of them. They are the major reason I like playing football up there,” Long said.

But Long is well aware of the bigger issues that surround Essendon’s forays north. He is the major reason the locals turn out to watch Essendon but he is quick to acknowledge the work of Sheedy.

“I know Kevin loves going up there and he pushes for us to go up there every year. He has really led the way in looking for players in places that other teams wouldn’t look. He has promoted the red and black up that way and people have just embraced the side because of the interest the club has shown in the NT. Essendon has gone out of its way to play up there and people appreciate that,” Long said.

“I go back first and foremost to see my family and friends. I don’t really think about the fact I might be giving people the belief that they can make it at an elite level. That is not so say I don’t want to have that affect on people – I hope I do influence the young men and women up there and that they excel at their chosen sport.”

“Nowadays with teams like the Territory Thunder, who play in the under 18 competition, there are so many more opportunities for sportspeople from the Northern Territory to succeed. That extends to areas such as coaching and facilities as well.”

Long firmly believes the 22 NT footballers currently on AFL lists is just the tip of the iceberg.

“It is growing every year as clubs become aware of the natural talent in a lot of the Aboriginal players. There are so many more playing in the AFL today and I think they have only scratched the surface – if they look harder they will find a lot more talent,”Long said.

Let’s hope much of that talent finds its way to Windy Hill.