Our Salties are doing the Territory proud

HERE are some interesting sporting facts: The Bridge Toyota Darwin Salties are the only Territory club regularly playing games interstate and regularly bringing interstate teams here to compete.

And with the Salties men and women starting their second season in the semiprofessional National Basketball League 1 (NBL1) last night, we are playing at the highest level of competition of any Territory club.

We are very proud of both those facts.

Importantly, our Salties wheelchair team will hit the court later this year in their national competition, desperate to avenge a heartbreaking loss on the buzzer in the 2022 bronze medal game.

The creation of our club last year was one of the most positive things to happen to Darwin in years, with our games delivering a muchneeded hit of excitement, passion and community pride.

Our inaugural NBL1 season saw the men play finals and the women be competitive, plus we set league highs among the 70 Australian clubs for crowds, social media and online viewership.

And with our second season underway, our ambitions are now bolder.

We want the men and women to take it to the next level and play finals and give themselves every chance to win our tough NBL1 ‘North’ division.

The Salties are also determined to show national bosses that Darwin can (and should) have teams in the full-time professional NBL and WNBL competitions in the near future, like the Tasmanian JackJumpers have done in Hobart.

Socially and economically, I think it would be great for the NT.

One of the three reasons our NBL1 club was created was to lay the foundations for NBL and WNBL teams and we are determined to show we can successfully run a semiprofessional franchise.

Significantly, the Salties have quickly grown a large fan base and created a strong sporting brand that players and supporters bought into.

We have also started building a club culture of: Pride, Perseverance and Positivity. For all our success, the thing that most warms Salties’ hearts is seeing hundreds of juniors wearing our gear and dreaming to play for us.

To be honest, I dream of playing for the Salties!

Creating player pathways and inspiring local juniors (and some older ones) is central to our strategic plans and future success.

But there would be no chance of success without the great support we receive from the NT government – including through basketball’s longtime partnership with The Territory – Boundless Possible – and a growing stable of fantastic corporate partners.

That support is crucial to help us become a truly great club and a force for good.

We are especially proud of our partnership with Aboriginal Territorians including through our Andrew Liveris Indigenous Academy, hosting NBL1 Indigenous Round and featuring local Indigenous players and coaches.

Even our ‘Salties’ name was inspired by the main Larrakia totem, the saltwater crocodile.

To finish, I want to thank our awesome fans and acknowledge the hundreds of local basketball people who have worked so hard over the years to get us to this point.

I hope you are proud of your Salties. I also hope to see everyone doing a ‘Salties Snap’ at our Ventia Stadium home games very soon.

Go Salties!

The creation of our club last year was one of the most positive things to happen to Darwin in years