Back from the brink: Famous footy club win flag after near ruin
Two years ago St Mary’s FC in Darwin – where AFL stars including Michael Long and the Rioli clan cut their teeth – was on the verge of ruin. Now they’re premiers.
St Mary’s 35 point victory over Waratah to claim the 2021/22 premiership earlier this month provided a fairytale end to a difficult couple of years for the club, which had been on the brink of financial collapse.
The proud Darwin club, which has produced a raft of AFL stars and binds its local community, has won 33 senior men’s flags since it began in 1952 so local Tiwi Islanders, who other clubs excluded, could play football.
St Mary’s has since worked hard to break down racial and social barriers, but despite its important role in Darwin and beyond, the Saints have faced several financial battles, most recently during the 2018-19 season.
Club president Adrian Moscheni explains that St Mary’s Football Sporting and Social Club Inc, which runs both the clubhouse and football club, was at risk.
The football team may have continued but without a home or its hall with precious memorabilia.
“We probably had a near death experience to be honest,” Adrian says.
“There’s no doubt we would have been at serious risk of going into liquidation.”
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St Mary’s a magnet for indigenous talent
St Mary’s Football Club has long been a hothouse for producing some of the AFL’s biggest stars.
The likes of AFL and AFLW stars Maurice (senior and junior), Cyril, Willie, and Daniel Rioli, Michael and Ben Long, Ronnie Burns, Peter Burgoyne, Xavier and Raphael Clarke, Austin Wonaeamirri, Warren Campbell and Danielle Ponter have all played for the club.
When former Essendon star Michael Long raised the situation on TV, Chemist Warehouse became a major sponsor of St Mary’s Football Club for two years, with the option of a third.
“The first two years we made the Grand Final, and Chemist Warehouse were happy to continue into the third,” Adrian says.
“Their persistence and perseverance with the club has rewarded us and them with a senior men’s premiership.”
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Club success enjoyed by whole community
St Mary’s, which lives by the mantra “From Little Saints, Big Saints Grow”, has developed a strong bond with Chemist Warehouse managers.
Adrian, who sent them jumpers signed by the premiership team, says the Grand Final celebration was amazing.
“We had hundreds of people back at the club,” he says.
“The place was going off and the smiles on everyone’s face said it all!”
St Mary’s is now travelling well with plenty of young talent coming through the juniors, although Adrian is loath to name future AFL prospects for fear of putting too much pressure on them.
He’d rather focus on the overall good the club can achieve through sport and social activities such as weekly bingo sessions, which attract a cross section of the community.
“You only have to look at our bingo that we have on a Thursday evening and Sunday afternoon,” he says.
“They belong to all walks of life and are represented by many families throughout the Darwin community.”
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Written by Cheryl Critchley.
IMAGE CREDIT: Felicity Elliott, AFLNT
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