Marrara Oval

History

Australian rules football

Marrara Oval was officially opened to the public on 30 June 1991 as the new home of the Northern Territory Football League (NTFL), and was conservatively estimated as costing $8 million. The first game played under lights at Marrara was a match between Nightcliff and Southern Districts on 9 December 1994. Transport and Works Minister Daryl Manzie officially handed over the lights to the NTFL that day. Installing the lights cost $1.2 million. The light towers were constructed by Darwin firm Norbuilt.

In February 1992, Marrara Oval hosted its first match sanctioned by the Australian Football League (AFL), a preseason Foster's Cup fixture between and attended by 11,000 people. Further preseason fixtures were hosted at the ground over the next decade, including several Indigenous All-Stars games and a historic match between Essendon Bombers and West Coast Eagles in the AFL 2000 pre-season where Essendon went on to win the Ansett Cup. A 2003 match between the Indigenous All-Stars and Carlton attracted a crowd of 17,500 people, setting a new ground record. The first regular-season AFL match played at Marrara Oval came in round 20 of the 2004 season, when the hosted .

Between 2004 and 2008 a single Western Bulldogs "home" game was played at the ground each season. In 2010, also began to play an annual "home" fixture in Darwin. The Western Bulldogs onsold their 2011 fixture to , but returned for the 2012 and 2013 seasons. Port Adelaide also had a three-year deal with the Northern Territory government and Marrara Oval, in which they would be the "away" team for games at TIO Stadium each year between 2009 and 2012. Since 2014, only one AFL game has been played at Marrara Oval each year. From 2020, will play two home games a year at Marrara Oval, replacing Melbourne.

Marrara Oval has been a secondary home ground of the Adelaide Crows women's team since 2017. In April 2016, the Adelaide Crows launched a successful bid to enter a team in the inaugural AFL Women's season. The bid was constructed in partnership with AFLNT, with the club to share resources and facilities between its Adelaide base and AFLNT's Darwin location. It included a commitment to host some home games in Darwin.

In 2020, Marrara Oval hosted the annual Dreamtime at the 'G match between and as it was not possible for the match to be played at the Melbourne Cricket Ground due to the city of Melbourne, and ultimately the state of Victoria, being locked down during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

AFL records

• Highest team score:
  • 26.8 (164) – vs. , 16 May 2024
• Largest winning margin:
  • 93 points – vs. , 13 June 2009
• Lowest team score:
  • 4.3 (27) - vs. , 21 August 2020
• Most goals kicked:
  • 17 – Brad Johnson ()
• Most goals in a game:
  • 5 on nine occasions
    • Brendan Fevola, vs. , 18 June 2005
    • Brad Johnson, vs. , 16 June 2007
    • Brad Miller, vs. , 22 May 2010
    • Paul Stewart, vs. , 21 July 2012
    • Jack Darling, vs. , 4 July 2015
    • Jack Lukosius, vs. , 27 May 2023
    • Jack Lukosius, vs. , 3 June 2023
    • Bailey Humphrey, vs. , 16 May 2024
    • Jack Lukosius, vs. , 16 May 2024
• Most disposals in a game:
  • 42 – Noah Anderson, vs. , 16 May 2024

Cricket

Marrara Oval has hosted top-level international cricket on several occasions. It is sometimes known as Darwin Cricket Ground during these matches. In July 2003, the ground hosted the first Test of a series between Australia and Bangladesh. A One Day International (ODI) game between the same teams was played the following month. In July 2004, a second Test was played, the first of a series between Australia and Sri Lanka. After that, top-level international cricket did not return to Marrara Oval until mid-2008, when the ground hosted a three-ODI series between Australia and Bangladesh. In 2025, the stadium hosted its first ever T20Is, between Australia and South Africa

International centuries

Two Test, one ODI and one T20I centuries have been scored at the venue.

Tests

ODIs

T20Is

International five-wicket hauls

Four Test five-wicket hauls have been taken at the venue.

Rugby league

In the National Rugby League (NRL), the Sydney Roosters played host against the North Queensland Cowboys in Round 7 of the 2012 NRL season in front of 10,008 fans. This was the first time Darwin hosted a professional Rugby League game since 1995. The second game at Marrara came in Round 17 of the 2013 NRL season when the Penrith Panthers (who had previously played games in Darwin during the 1990s) defeated the Gold Coast Titans 40–18 in front of 8,050 for what was a Titans home game.

In 2014, the Parramatta Eels, a Sydney-based National Rugby League (NRL) club, announced they would be playing four games at Marrara over the following four years. The first game came on 9 August (Round 22) during the 2014 NRL season when the Eels defeated the Canberra Raiders 18–10 in front of 9,527 fans.

In 2017 Marrara Oval hosted a quarter-final of the 2017 Rugby League World Cup between Australia and Samoa, Australia winning 46–0. It drew a crowd of 13,473, which is the highest rugby league crowd the stadium has ever gotten and the fourth highest overall.

On 18 November 2024, it was announced that Parramatta's 12-year long partnership with the Northern Territory Government, which say the club play one home game a year in Darwin, would conclude in the 2025 NRL season, with Parramatta's last game a 12–50 defeat to the Canberra Raiders in round 6 in front of a crowd of 9556.

In May 2025, it was announced that the Dolphins would play one home game a year at the ground for the next 3 years.

Other events

TIO Stadium has hosted AC/DC for their "Ballbreaker" tour in November 1996, when 13,000 fans and 170 tonnes of equipment packed the ground. Sir Elton John performed for the first time in the Northern Territory, at TIO Stadium on 17 May 2008 as part of his Australian Tour.

AFL records

Individual

Last updated: 17 May 2024

Attendance records

Last updated on 17 May 2024

References

References

1. McGowan, Marc. (13 July 2017). "Sell-out likely as big time footy hits Top End". [[Bigpond]].
2. (15 June 2022). "From the SCG to Kardinia Park — do ground sizes contribute to the end result in AFL games?". Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
3. Geracitano, Ted. (29 June 1991). "Marrara magic: public spotlight shines on colosseum". [[News Corp Australia]].
4. Poole, Eric. (8 December 1994). "Media release: Northern Territory Government Sports Minister Eric Poole". Department of Sport and Recreation.
5. Morris, Grey. (15 November 2004). "Park lights up for footy action". [[News Corp Australia]].
6. [https://www.austadiums.com/stadiums/stadiums_crowds.php?id=69 TIO Stadium Crowds], Austadiums. Retrieved 26 November 2016.
7. [http://afltables.com/afl/venues/marrara_oval_gm.html Marrara Oval – All Games], AFL Tables. Retrieved 26 November 2016.
8. (29 April 2016). "Women's bid lodged with AFL". Bigpond.
9. Barrett, Damian. (31 July 2020). "The Dreamtime NOT at the 'G: Sir Doug Nicholls headline act gets new stage". AFL.com.au.
10. "Marrara Oval". AFL Tables.
11. [https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Grounds/2/75.html Marrara Cricket Ground, Darwin], CricketArchive. Retrieved 26 November 2016.
12. "Highest Test Scores - Darwin".
13. "Highest ODI scores - Darwin".
14. "Highest T20I scores - Darwin".
15. "TIO Stadium, Darwin / Records / Test matches / Best bowling figures in an innings".
16. (21 September 2011). "Darwin to host Cowboys and Roosters". [[News Corp Australia]].
17. "TIO Stadium Crowds (Marrara Stadium) {{!}} Austadiums".
18. (18 November 2024). "Parramatta Eels partnership with NT to end in 2025". Parramatta Eels.
19. "Dolphins lock in Darwin for annual NRL clash under new three-year deal".
20. (1 April 2008). "Elton John to rock with the crocs". [[Australian Broadcasting Corporation]].
21. (1 April 2008). "Sir Elton rolls in for crocodile rock". [[News Corp Australia]].
22. [https://afltables.com/afl/venues/marrara_oval.html AFL Tables - Venues - Marrara]