Tuyu Buffaloes narrowly win grand final against Pumaralli in Tiwi Islands football final

ABC NEWS (Australia)

The annual Tiwi Islands grand final has once again delivered great football, frenzied fans and a display of a rich Tiwi culture. More than a thousand spectators attended the hotly contested match between the Tuyu Buffaloes and Pumaralli Lightning and Thunder.

Transcript

00:00 Tiwi magic on its main stage.

00:09 The annual grand final this year finding a new slot in August in Darwin's dry season

00:15 allowing the trademark free flowing Tiwi football to flourish.

00:19 Yeah it's really popular and huge, it's massively on the island.

00:25 And the AFL's new CEO Andrew Dillon made the trip up north along with other tourists from

00:30 Darwin and beyond.

00:32 It's been really fun, really good fun.

00:34 Once in a lifetime experience, you don't get to do this every day.

00:37 Aussie rules was first introduced to the islands by Catholic missionary brother Jonathan Pye

00:43 but now it's become its own sort of religion.

00:46 To bring everyone together on the Tiwi island for a very special day.

00:51 And while the time of year has changed, the tradition of tourists packing out art centres

00:56 to see iconic Tiwi art remained the same.

01:00 Immaculata Tipalura continuing the carving techniques her father passed down.

01:06 And I watched him doing it when I was growing up and it was interesting so I had to do one

01:12 for myself and then I started being more excited to keep going and do more and more carvings.

01:20 The one Sunday it's open and a lot of things happen for just one day.

01:26 As for the match, it was minor premiers Tuyu Buffaloes against Pumaralli Lightning and

01:33 Thunder.

01:36 Rusted on fans desperate their team would get up.

01:40 The match ebbed and flowed, a third quarter surge from Pumaralli looked to be decisive.

01:48 But the buffs bounced back charging on to win a grand final for the ages 70 points to

01:54 63.

01:55 Pain for Pumaralli, triumph for Tuyu.

01:59 In what was a Tiwi islands grand final of the ages the Tuyu Buffaloes took the lead

02:04 in the final quarter and held on champions for 2023 once more their seventh premiership

02:12 ever.

02:12 [BLANK_AUDIO]

Category

Transcript

Recommended