NEAFL ROUND 1
NT Thunder v Brisbane Lions
Saturday, April 6, 2019 at 6.30pm ACST / 7.00pm AEST
TIO Stadium
The Brisbane Lions NEAFL side will be strengthened with plenty of AFL experience as they take on NT Thunder in Darwin for the opening round of the season.
Tom Cutler, Allen Christensen and Lewy Taylor are amongst the more Senior players named in the Lions side, while youngsters Connor McFayden (groin) and James Madden (illness) are set to miss the opening match.
In the past, TIO Stadium hasn’t been a happy hunting ground for the Lions but with a strong NEAFL side listed for Saturday's clash the Lions look be looking to turn the tide.
NEAFL TEAM
| Position | Player | Player | Player |
| HB | #38 Ballenden | #41 Eagles | #42 Hinge |
| HB | #43 Answerth | #35 Lester | #19 Allison |
| C | #3 Christensen | #39 Lyons | #26 Cutler |
| HF | #20 Cox | #47 Fullarton | #34 Wooller |
| F | #56 Stackelberg | #21 Skinner | #13 Berry |
| FOL | #44 A Smith | #8 E Smith | #28 L Taylor |
| INT | #32 Joyce | #51 Coleman | #49 March |
| #50 Currie | |||
| EMER | #1 Keays | #18 Robertson | #54 Hunt |
RECENT ENCOUNTERS
Round 1, 2018: NT Thunder 16.9 (105) d Brisbane 15.14 (104) at TIO Stadium
Round 2, 2017: Brisbane 15.11 (101) d NT Thunder 11.9 (75) at TIO Stadium
Round 13, 2016: NT Thunder 20.15 (135) d Brisbane 7.5 (47) at TIO Stadium
TALKING POINTS
1. The Brisbane Lions are up and about. A few early season wins for the AFL team and a strong pre-season campaign for the NEAFL side has them placed incredibly well heading in to Round 1. The likes of Lewis Taylor, Allen Christensen, Nick Robertson, Tom Cutler, and Ryan Lester all played in the NEAFL practice match against Gold Coast last week, and most of the 19 AFL-listed players against the Suns are likely to feature against NT Thunder.
2. NT Thunder are expected to unveil some of their big names recruits against the Lions, and they’ll need them to fire. Former Fremantle ruckman Jack Hannath, Reserves Magarey medallist Jacob Templeton and NTFL star Clinton Gallio will play important roles for their new club, with their experience, size and strength needed to combat a fit and big-bodied Lions outfit.
3. This match-up feels a lot like the corresponding round of last year when the Lions – at the time defending its 2017 flag – were the hot favourites coming in to the opening round in Darwin. but NT Thunder will remember fondly they caused an upset victory by one point in an epic fashion. Proving that a high number of AFL-listed players doesn’t always guarantee victory, the Lions conceded 105 points in the match, with 90 of those coming from turnovers, as NT Thunder embraced the challenge and came out victorious.
Lions fans can live-stream the Round 1 clash against NT Thunder from 7.00pm Queensland time on Saturday, 6 April. Click here to live-stream the match.
Stay tuned to the Lions NEAFL Twitter account for the latest score updates.
