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Katie Woolf spoke with AFL NT CEO Stu Totham · 360 with Katie Woolf

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: But we know that footy fans can finally gear up
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: for a twenty twenty one AFL game in the top end.
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: The Gold Coast Suns are set to take on the
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: Melbourne Demons at TiO Stadium on July twenty four. And
• 0:12
  Speaker 1: joining us on the line right now is Stuart Totham,
• 0:15
  Speaker 1: who is the CEO of AFL n T. Good morning
• 0:18
  Speaker 1: to you, stew.
• 0:19
  Speaker 2: Good morning Katie. How are you to very.
• 0:21
  Speaker 1: Well mate, Great to have you on the show and
• 0:23
  Speaker 1: great news over the weekend.
• 0:26
  Speaker 2: Yeah, well, it was terrific news. How we sort of
• 0:30
  Speaker 2: we thought we'd sort of lost the opportunity to get
• 0:32
  Speaker 2: some games here that pretty quickly last week, and thankfully
• 0:37
  Speaker 2: we had a pretty motivated Gold Coast Sun head office
• 0:42
  Speaker 2: and North Turky government, so we managed to get a
• 0:45
  Speaker 2: game in the top end of what cracker it is,
• 0:47
  Speaker 2: with Gold Coast improving in their performance last couple of
• 0:50
  Speaker 2: weeks and obviously Melbourne at the top of their game.
• 0:53
  Speaker 1: Yeah well, and I know that the game was scheduled
• 0:57
  Speaker 1: to take place into state, but it has been moved
• 0:59
  Speaker 1: to a Saturday night slot in the territory as a
• 1:02
  Speaker 1: result of those COVID nineteen restrictions. Stu, do you reckon
• 1:05
  Speaker 1: that we're going to see as many people going to
• 1:08
  Speaker 1: that game as what we would usually just given the
• 1:10
  Speaker 1: fact that it is a Saturday night and and it's
• 1:13
  Speaker 1: you know, at a bit of a different time I
• 1:14
  Speaker 1: guess of the year to what we'd usually have it.
• 1:18
  Speaker 2: Yeah, potentially there'll be some impact. Thankfully that the Chief
• 1:22
  Speaker 2: Medical Officer has given us approval for full crowd. So
• 1:26
  Speaker 2: it's twelve and a half thousand and certainly there's some
• 1:29
  Speaker 2: competing events would show and like, so it will be
• 1:32
  Speaker 2: a bit of a chance to get a crowd here,
• 1:33
  Speaker 2: but we hope the territory community will support it and
• 1:37
  Speaker 2: get through the turnstars and really enjoy some top class
• 1:41
  Speaker 2: af L footy on the twenty.
• 1:42
  Speaker 1: Fourth, Stu, is it a difficult process for you guys
• 1:45
  Speaker 1: at AFL and T to you know, to sort of
• 1:48
  Speaker 1: be pivoting to different different times the year, different days,
• 1:51
  Speaker 1: different dates. I know, it's such an ever changing beast
• 1:54
  Speaker 1: at the moment as a result of COVID.
• 1:57
  Speaker 2: Yeah, look, it's not. Well, clearly you'd like it longer
• 2:00
  Speaker 2: leading for two weeks is okay. We've just had our
• 2:04
  Speaker 2: meeting this morning, just catching up on all the different
• 2:06
  Speaker 2: components that need to come together, and there'll be, no
• 2:09
  Speaker 2: doubt some challenges along the way, but we will pull
• 2:12
  Speaker 2: it off. Last year we did the three games in
• 2:15
  Speaker 2: eight days and the team where was just phenomenal. So
• 2:18
  Speaker 2: it's the same team pretty much, and you know, we'll
• 2:21
  Speaker 2: make sure we put on a really good show for
• 2:23
  Speaker 2: the community and STU.
• 2:26
  Speaker 1: Are the teams still going to be able to do
• 2:28
  Speaker 1: some of that community stuff that they would ordinarily do
• 2:31
  Speaker 1: in the leading to their games, you know, heading out
• 2:33
  Speaker 1: to the schools and that type of thing, or is
• 2:34
  Speaker 1: it going to be a bit more difficult.
• 2:37
  Speaker 2: We're working through at the moment, working through the traveling
• 2:42
  Speaker 2: arrangements and what opportunities that may or may not be,
• 2:44
  Speaker 2: So what's in space. We're hopeful there might be some
• 2:48
  Speaker 2: opportunities to do some more of that. The Gold Coast
• 2:51
  Speaker 2: were terrific even though there's no game or the heap
• 2:54
  Speaker 2: of com in the activity that's still cared back at
• 2:57
  Speaker 2: the end of the morning. So hopefully we can get
• 2:59
  Speaker 2: a bit, get a bit moving you again, get that
• 3:02
  Speaker 2: brand out there in the community.
• 3:04
  Speaker 1: But so at this stage, still a bit of organization
• 3:07
  Speaker 1: to do in terms of when they're going to arrive
• 3:08
  Speaker 1: those players and the support staff and that Yeah.
• 3:12
  Speaker 3: Absolutely, I don't have that family yet, but that'll all
• 3:14
  Speaker 3: emerge in the next few days, and those programs out
• 3:17
  Speaker 3: in the community and the run sheet of the day
• 3:20
  Speaker 3: and all those sorts of things, we'll start to come
• 3:22
  Speaker 3: together and.
• 3:23
  Speaker 2: By the end of the week. Importantly, tickets going so
• 3:26
  Speaker 2: Wednesday through ticket Tech, which is sure it'll be people
• 3:29
  Speaker 2: that can't wait to get the hands on those.
• 3:31
  Speaker 1: Yeah, I was going to say that was going to
• 3:33
  Speaker 1: be my next question, Stu. When can people get their
• 3:35
  Speaker 1: hands on a ticket so Wednesday?
• 3:37
  Speaker 2: Is it yeah, Wednesday lunchtime, Wednesday one o'clock. I think
• 3:40
  Speaker 2: it is yeah on ticket tech dot com dot are
• 3:43
  Speaker 2: you well?
• 3:44
  Speaker 1: Good on you Stu Tootham. Always good to catch up
• 3:46
  Speaker 1: and I'm really pleasing to hear that there is going
• 3:49
  Speaker 1: to be an AFL match played here on the Top
• 3:51
  Speaker 1: End in a couple of weeks time.
• 3:54
  Speaker 2: Thanks Katie, thank you.
• 3:55
  Speaker 1: That is Stu Totham there, the CEO of AFL here
• 3:59
  Speaker 1: in the Northern Territory, and yes, good stuff. We know
• 4:02
  Speaker 1: that footy fans will be very excited that that AFL
• 4:05
  Speaker 1: game is happening in the Top End. The Gold Coast
• 4:08
  Speaker 1: Sun set to take on the Melbourne Demons TiO Stadium
• 4:11
  Speaker 1: on July twenty four, and I know it's always a
• 4:13
  Speaker 1: difficult time of the year. There is so much happening,
• 4:16
  Speaker 1: always so many wonderful events during the dry but hey,
• 4:20
  Speaker 1: who doesn't want to want to spend the night enjoying
• 4:22
  Speaker 1: the footy, So I'm sure it'll be a cracking crowd
• 4:26
  Speaker 1: as always. Those tickets go on sale on Wednesday.