Last but certainly not least for the final feature on this year’s Member Federation Round of 32 entrants is Football Federation Northern Territory.
There were a host of tense, close fought matches throughout the Preliminary Rounds in both Darwin and Alice Springs to get to the final showdown of who would represent the Northern Territory in this year’s Final Rounds.
In the end, the club progressing to join the ten Hyundai A-League clubs and 21 other Member Federation clubs from around the country is the same one as last year. How will they fare in 2017?
Darwin Rovers FC #DAR
League: Darwin Premier League
Home Venue: Darwin Football Stadium
Twitter: @SRDFC
Facebook: facebook.com/Darwin-Rovers-FC
Head Coach: Jimmy Culligan
How they qualified
Round 4
Darwin Rovers FC 1 (Simon Bell 31’)
Casuarina FC 0
CLICK HERE for the match report
Round 5
Hellenic Athletic 0
Darwin Rovers FC 1 (Carl Marshall 44’)
CLICK HERE for the match report
Round 6
Darwin Rovers FC 3 (Carl Marshall 29’, own goal 61’, Matthew Cawley 71’)
Mindil Aces 2 (Luke Wills 7’, Jacob Meehan Lee 86’)
CLICK HERE for the match report
Round 7
Celtic FC 0
Darwin Rovers FC 2 (Simon Bell 16’, Dean Molloy 18’)
CLICK HERE for the match report
Westfield FFA Cup history
2014 - N/A
2015 - Did not qualify for the Round of 32
2016 - Knocked out in Round of 32 by Brisbane Strikers 6-0 at Darwin Football Stadium, Darwin
Lowdown
For the second successive year, Darwin Rovers FC will represent the Northern Territory in the Westfield FFA Cup Final Rounds.
It is an impressive achievement for a club that was only established in 2014 and comprises of a squad predominantly of tradies.
To mark their first venture into the Round of 32 last year, the team famously turned up to the stadium in a stretch hummer organised by limo driver, DJ and goal scorer Simon Bell.
The club, whose home colours of green and white mirror those of Scottish club Celtic, endured a tough initiation into the world of the Westfield FFA Cup Final Rounds last year as they were on the receiving end of a 6-0 drubbing by PS4 NPL Queensland outfit Brisbane Strikers.
It is no secret that this year is going to be a tough ask again for whoever they draw, but you certainly cannot write the team from the Top End off from causing an upset, particularly if they are again drawn at home and have the warmer climate and the local support on their side.
Darwin Rovers FC currently sit fifth in the seven team Darwin Premier League.
