SPORT A chip off the old block
TERRITORY football fans still talk about the extraordinary playing career of the multi-talented Daniel Palmer.
A product of Santa Teresa, an indigenous community 80km southeast of Alice Springs, Palmer was another player on the long list of might-have-beens who never played AFL football.
He was pursued by the Sydney Swans in the early 1990s, to the extent that Swans coach Ron Barassi even made the trek to the Red Centre to try and entice Palmer to Sydney.
But the forward-ruckman turned down the offer, preferring to ply his trade with Santa Teresa, Federal, Souths, Waratah and Ltyentye Apurte.
Palmer will always be remembered as a sensational high mark, created by a springheel leap and superb hand and foot skills.
His towering high mark in the goalsquare during the oneoff North v South ATSIC game at TIO Stadium in the mid 1990s was one of the greatest ever taken at the ground.
Basketball was his other great love, a sport ideally suited to his big leap, speed of hand and foot and ability to read the play.
Almost three decades later, his son Ishmael is making his own name as a big marking forward with NTFL club Darwin Buffaloes and Federal.
A regular soldier in the Australian Army’s 5th Battalion based at Robertson Barracks near Darwin, 27-yearold Palmer Jr forms a big part of the Buffalo forward line with his marking and keen goal sense.
Ishmael was too young to witness his dad’s exploits on playing arenas in Alice Springs and Darwin, but he has been told stories of those glory years.
“Dad played a bit of footy with Feds and Souths while running around with his local team, Ltyentye Apurte and up here with Waratah,’’ he said.
“The family live at Kalkaringi near Katherine now, where dad still has a bit to do with the local footy.
“Back in the early ’ 90s he was looked at by Ron Barassi and the Swans, but that’s all I know, he tells me every now and then about the old days.
“He was the only basketballer in his community and everyone would try and get him down to play footy with the skills he had. Dad finally gave in, pulled on a pair of boots and the rest took off from there.’’
Ishmael has followed a similar player pathway to his dad, turning out as a goalkicker with Santa Teresa, Waratah, Ltyentye Apurte, Federal and now the Buffaloes.
Family connections and the Alice Springs link with the Buffaloes through uncle Peter Reid have him in the doubleblue jumper this season.
Ishmael’s three goals in the Buffaloes’ nine-goal win over Waratah on Friday night helped his adopted side into third spot on the Premier League ladder and within sight of the coveted double chance at finals time.
“On our given day with our strongest side we can beat anyone,’’ he said.