Darwin's champion wheelchair basketball team 'blindsided' by sudden axing

Australia's top wheelchair basketball team was "devastated" to learn it had been withdrawn from this season's national competition, sparking calls to "urgently" reverse the shock decision.

In a joint statement released on Thursday, Darwin Salties co-captains Tom O'Neill-Thorne and CJ McCarthy-Grogan revealed players only heard about the decision — made overnight on Wednesday — through media the following morning.

They said Basketball NT (BNT) provided players with "no reason" for pulling out of the National Wheelchair Basketball League (NWBL) 2026 season and said there had been "no prior consultation with the team".

O'Neill-Thorne said players had been "totally blindsided" and "devastated by the sudden and unexplained decision" from BNT.

"We're still trying to get some answers on what's happened but we are appealing directly to Basketball NT to reverse the decision."

The Darwin Salties joined the national men's wheelchair basketball competition in 2022, taking home the past three consecutive championships including last year's grand final in Sydney, and players have gone on to represent Australia at the 2023 World Championships and 2024 Paris Paralympics.

"The Salties have helped put the NT on the national and international wheelchair basketball map," McCarthy-Grogan said.

McCarthy-Grogan urged BNT to "provide transparency" around how the decision was made, and said the team "finding out through a media statement is incredibly disappointing".

He worried about the potential flow-on impacts to "disability representation, opportunity and pathways in the Northern Territory".

Speaking with ABC Radio Darwin this week, McCarthy-Grogan said the decision was particularly upsetting in the lead-up to Australia hosting the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

"We'd made so much progress over the years and, in the lead-up to the 2032 Games in Brisbane and Gold Coast, you would expect that they would have been supportive but unfortunately, it's not the case," he said.

In a statement, BNT said it "acknowledges and shares the disappointment felt by the basketball community" in response to the decision.

It said Darwin Basketball Association (DBA) previously held the NWBL licence and operated the Top End wheelchair basketball program, but when DBA "entered administration in December 2025" BNT was asked if "it would assume responsibility for fielding a new Darwin team for the 2026 season".

The BNT board decided it couldn't "take on the financial and operational risks of entering a national league team without committed ongoing funding", which it described as a "prudent but difficult decision".

On Thursday afternoon, WBA executive general manager John Palmer told ABC Radio Darwin the national body had been "confident" Basketball NT could "move forward" until "very recently".

"We've extended our deadline compared to other teams — over six weeks longer than any other team — and unfortunately, NT Basketball couldn't meet those deadlines as of this morning when we were notified, after a board meeting last night, that NT Basketball had decided not to move forward with the licence, so disappointing all around," he said.

"From the financial prudence point of view, I suppose we needed to say; 'Look, there's a line in the sand', we needed an answer and that's where we're at."

In a statement to the ABC on Friday, Mr Palmer said "the Darwin Salties depart the league at the very top of the sport".

"While the Salties will not take the court in 2026, the league remains committed to supporting the growth of para-sport in the region," he said.

He thanked the team for being "a benchmark for excellence", fans of the sport, and the staff and volunteers who worked to keep the league running.

"Their dominance on the court was matched only by the fervour of the Darwin fans who turned the stadium into a fortress," Mr Palmer said.