Touch Football Australia (TFA) and Touch Football Northern Territory (TFNT) are aware of an incident that occurred during last weekend’s NT Titles competition.
As with all competitions, all participants at the NT Titles were expected to abide by the event’s Conditions of Entry, which includes information regarding player eligibility and dispensation.
Despite formal advice from TFNT officials ahead of the match, the Men’s Open (MO) grand final resulted in a voluntary forfeit by the Darwin Crocs. This is not an outcome that TFNT or TFA wanted, and we are disappointed for all stakeholders involved.
We are working closely with impacted participants and relevant stakeholders to determine the appropriate course of action as part of the review process. Findings and outcomes will be communicated to our community in due course.
We are committed to a comprehensive event review for the NT Titles, including reviewing eligibility criteria, divisions, and event format. We encourage all members of the NT Touch Football community to participate in this review and provide us with your insights and feedback to ensure we are making the event the best experience it can be. Should you wish to be considered to take part in this review, please use this Expression of Interest (EOI) form so that you can be contacted.
The NT Titles continue to play an important role in participation and pathways for the Territory, and we are committed to improving our major events to foster growth and performance.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Q: What are the eligibility requirements as per the Conditions of Entry?
A: All participants at the NT Titles must be full financial members of TFA or, in the case of international teams, full financial members of their national body by 5:00pm ACST, Friday, 24 April 2026.
All players must have played in a minimum of five (5) games in season 1, 2026, or either season 2025:
- in the one team;
- in the one division;
- in the one competition;
- in the same season; and
- with the Affiliate or team player wishes to play for.
TFNT will note that, in the spirit of participation, the eligibility requirements, specifically the final point, ‘with the Affiliate or team the player wishes to play for’, were either loosely or not applied so as to allow more participants to be involved in the tournament. Almost all teams across all divisions had someone who failed to meet this specific criterion, but were allowed to participate to maintain squad numbers and allow for more participation at the event.
Import Players
A player who does not play in a TFNT Affiliate or managed competition and resides out of state will be deemed an ‘Import Player’, all player pool rules apply. Each team may have no more than two (2) Import Players. As per player pool regulations, an Import Players team preference will be taken into consideration, however, TFNT cannot guarantee that a player will be allocated to the team of their choice. TFNT’s decision on Import Player allocation will be final.
Home-Grown
A player’s home-grown status is achieved once a player represents an affiliate/team at an NT Titles. Once activated, that status becomes the player’s permanent home-grown affiliate and cannot change.
A player is permitted to participate with his/her home-grown affiliate and shall be required to still meet the eligibility requirements noted above, however, they can do so at any affiliate outside of their home-grown affiliate competition.
Where there is a dispute between affiliates/teams over a player’s home-grown status, TFNT will determine the player’s status, whose decision shall be final.
Q: Why did the Player need to apply for dispensation to play?
A: The Player resides interstate and does not meet the eligibility requirements for the event per the Conditions of Entry. Whilst the Player is from the Northern Territory, their home-grown affiliate is Alice Springs Touch Association per the above criteria. Therefore, they would be considered an Import Player, and the team they were requesting to join had already exceeded the Import Player quota (2).
Q: When did TFNT become aware that the Player was ineligible?
A: Team lists were due on Monday, 27 April, as per the Conditions of Entry, at which point the tournament officials can do the final review of player eligibility. However, the Darwin Crocs submitted their team lists for the competition on the morning of Friday, 1 May, the first day of the event. Upon review of the team list, tournament officials informed the Darwin Crocs that two Players in their MO division were ineligible and would require a dispensation request to be submitted for consideration for them to participate.
Q: When was the dispensation applied for?
A: The Darwin Crocs MO team then submitted a dispensation request for two players through the correct channel at approximately 1:30pm, which was reviewed by the dispensation panel that afternoon. Darwin Crocs MO were notified by officials of the outcome of their dispensation requests at approximately 4:20pm. One dispensation was granted to allow the Darwin Crocs team to exceed the Import Player quota by one (1) due to that Player's historical participation in an affiliated Darwin competition. A second dispensation was not granted as it would require the Import quota to be exceeded further (threatening the integrity of the competition), and this Player had no historical registered participation with an affiliated Darwin competition.
Q: Were further dispensation requests applied for/granted?
A: A request to reconsider the dispensation decision was received at approximately 8:50pm on Friday evening. Officials reviewed this request, and it was not granted as the information provided did not have a material bearing on the original decision. This was communicated to Darwin Crocs at approximately 10:40am Saturday morning.
The Darwin Crocs team then contacted tournament officials at approximately midday on Saturday to raise their concerns about their team’s safety and welfare due to player availability challenges, leaving the team with a very limited sub rotation. This information was considered by tournament officials, alongside the construct of the draw requiring 3 games to be played by the Darwin Crocs MO in the earlier and hotter part of the day. Officials ultimately made the decision to prioritise player welfare and safety by granting a conditional dispensation for the Player to play for the MO team on Saturday. It is important to note that this dispensation was conditionally granted with a strict timeframe, expiring at 11:59pm local time on Saturday, which Darwin Crocs were notified of. This strict timeframe was implemented to balance the player welfare with the integrity of the competition and the Conditions of Entry that all other teams abide by.
At approximately 2:20pm on Sunday, 3 May, Darwin Crocs were reminded via email that the conditional dispensation for the Player had expired and that they were not eligible to play in the MO competition. Approximately one (1) hour later, the Darwin Crocs requested a continuation of the dispensation that had expired. Noting that the first MO game was due to commence within ten (10) minutes of receiving this request, it was noted that the dispensation panel would be unlikely to convene for a decision prior to the first MO fixture. The Player did not take part in that game.
The dispensation panel reviewed the request and provided an outcome via email to the Darwin Crocs at approximately 4:45pm. The extension to the dispensation request was not granted as tournament officials were aware that additional players were available for the Darwin Crocs on Sunday, and due to the draw only having two games in MO, both later in the day, the player welfare and safety concerns were no longer a prominent consideration. Therefore, the integrity of the competition and fairness to other teams who have followed the Conditions of Entry were prioritised in the decision-making.
There was no further correspondence prior to the grand final from the Darwin Crocs after receiving this decision.
Q: Was the Player eligible to participate in the grand final?
A: No. The Player was not eligible to participate in any MO games, including the MO grand final on Sunday, 3 May.
Q: Were the Team aware they weren’t allowed to play in the grand final prior to taking the field?
A: Yes. The Player and team were informed by officials at approximately 2:20pm on Sunday afternoon prior to the 3:30pm MO match, that the Player would be ineligible to play on Sunday, 3 May, in line with previous communication that their dispensation had expired.
The Player was also verbally advised at approximately 3:20pm by officials that they were ineligible to play, which they verbally acknowledged.
The Darwin Crocs were then notified via email at approximately 4:45pm that their final dispensation request would not be granted for the Player.
Q: Could the Player have participated in any other way or in any other divisions?
A: Yes. The Player was offered the opportunity to join the player pool and join a team so that they could still participate in the tournament for another team, but they declined this option. The Player was also allowed to, and did play for the Palmerston Magpies in the Senior Mixed division, as there was no breach of the ‘Import Players’ clause for this team. The player pool is available for teams that are critically short of playing numbers and would have been able to select the Player should he have opted to join the player pool. At no point did Darwin Crocs, formally or informally, request players from the player pool.
Q: Did the Player end up playing at the NT Titles at all?
A: Yes. The Player played across the full tournament in the Palmerston Magpies Senior Mixed division.
The Player was registered for this team from the beginning of the event and was eligible to play in this team as an Import Player, due to all other players on the team being eligible, and therefore, the Import quota was not met.
Q: Why was there a forfeit in the Men’s Open grand final?
A: The Player participated in the grand final despite being ineligible and without dispensation approval. Officials were made aware that the Player had taken the field four (4) minutes into the match by the opposition team. Darwin Crocs were requested by officials to remove the Player so that the match could continue. Alternatively, the Player could remain in the game, but ultimately the game would be a forfeit, and the result would not count. Darwin Crocs declined the opportunity to remove the Player or continue the game, knowing it would be a forfeit, instead choosing to walk off the field and not continue the game. This is not an outcome that TFNT or TFA wanted, and we are disappointed in the outcome for everyone involved.
