ADELAIDE'S AFLW partner from the north hopes to be in a position to lobby for its own team within five years.
The Northern Territory's role in the Crows winning their inaugural AFL Women's premiership last weekend earned the home of Michael Long, Cyril Rioli and Andrew McLeod new-found respect.
Adelaide Football Club and AFLNT verbally entered a mutually beneficial partnership in December 2015 that eventually enabled them to be one of the competition's eight initial clubs this year.
Their successful joint submission to the AFL was based on a five-year union that may or may not be extended. Five other clubs received provisional AFLW licences.
Nine Territorians were on the Crows' AFLW playing list and five of them played in the 4.11 (35) to 4.5 (29) Grand Final victory over the Brisbane Lions.
They trained at Darwin's $15 million Michael Long Learning and Leadership Centre under senior assistant Andrew Hodges and Colleen Gwynne before joining the rest of the squad for games.
The flag success, on top of other factors, has AFLNT high-performance manager Wally Gallio dreaming big.
"The Crows took a pretty big risk having this relationship with the NT, because they have a strong brand nationally," he said.
"We had to match that and it got to a stage where, because of all this, everybody stood up and said, 'Maybe we do take the NT for granted, talent-wise'.
"We weren't a major player nationally with women's football and it's taken us a while to do that.
"We want to aim, in five years' time, to say to the AFL, 'We're ready for our own licence and we've got the facilities and know-how'."
Total female participation in the Territory climbed 23 per cent last year to 13,295, including 2642 involved with clubs and 2725 in NAB AFL Auskick and other junior programs.
The NT also fielded a standalone side for the first time at the 2016 Youth Girls Under-18 National Championships, after previously joining forces with Tasmania.
And Darwin teenager Danielle Ponter, a close relation of Long's and Rioli's, was among the 33 footballers named in the inaugural NAB AFL Women's National Academy in January.
"Danielle went to the first camp and performed really well," Gallio said.
"All of a sudden, Aasta O'Connor, who plays for the Western Bulldogs and runs the (Academy) program, asks, 'How many more Danielle Ponters have you got?'."
AFL general manager of football operations Simon Lethlean said it was important to provide elite playing opportunities for all footballers, regardless of where they lived in Australia.
"The Crows-NT partnership certainly aligns with that philosophy," he said.
"As the talent pool grows, we will work with the AFL's Women's Advisory Committee, the AFL Commission, and with the clubs to grow the competition, so that it remains sustainable for the long term.
"The AFL remains of the view that the existing club brands are the best way to ensure successful teams within the competition, but the AFL remains open for discussions that challenge that model."
