Sarah’s sights set on PINT premiership

But now Ingram is a star with her unbeaten team, PINT, which sits on top of the NTFL Premier League women’s ladder after 10 rounds of the nine-team competition.

“I feel my confidence is up, I’ve learned how to play now,” she said.

Ingram, who isn’t 22 until February next year, has played in six of those matches and has featured among the best players on the ground on five occasions.

She missed last weekend because of concussion protocols and missed three weeks while she completed her third year university exams, but has been a star in the remaining matches.

Such is the dominance of PINT that on three occasions this year they have kept their opposition scoreless and scored in excess of 100 points themselves.

In another three games they have kept their opposition below 10 points.

Ingram has gradually grown in stature in female football ranks, three years ago playing 16 games and kicking 21 goals with Golden Square.

Last season she played in a losing grand final team with Golden Square after having played nine games with Carlton in the VFL, her second season with the Blues.

She also represented country Victoria in 2019.

Her first season with PINT, in 2019, ended before the team went on to win the grand final.

She had to return to Victoria for her Carlton VFL commitments.

She has returned this year with a couple of her Carlton teammates and started up again working with Edge Health Club and, on a more permanent basis, with a physiotherapist in Darwin as a receptionist.

Ingram said she was hoping that her PINT team could repeat the success of 2019.

“They were strong last year, but I couldn’t play 2021-22. They finished third,” she said.

“They won the premiership in 2019-20, but I had to come back because Carlton wouldn’t let me stay up there.”

She said when she heard a few girls were coming back from the 2019-20 premiership team it sparked her interest.

“I only get a certain amount of games back in Victoria and the club culture here is like a big family. It was an easy choice to come back,” she said.

Ingram said the team was made up mostly of “southerners’’, including some of her Carlton teammates.

“I’ve dragged a couple of the Carlton girls up with me this year, Steph Lawrence — who was our leading goalkicker at Carlton — and one of our former best and fairest winners Akayla Peterson (now playing at Port Melbourne),” she said.

Ingram was not sure if she was on the AFLW radar, but she was aware of AFLW scouts being at NT games and watching the live-streamed matches.

“There is so much good talent up here, the best footballers could easily play VFL,” she said.

Ingram said her first Golden Sqaure coach, former Hawthorn star Rick Ladson had helped with introductions to PINT and Carlton.

Another close connection is Rochester’s Tegan Williams, who played with Ingram at Golden Square and, by all accounts, is AFLW bound herself.

Williams and Ingram were part of the Golden Square team that lost the grand final to Castlemaine.

Ingram is one of six children to Timmering farmers Greg and Helen Ingram, who are busy harvesting while their daughter dominates the fields of Darwin.

“There are six of us, five girls (I am the third oldest) and a boy,” she said.

“My older sister has just started playing football at Coburg Districts, Grace. She works at the Royal Children’s (hospital).

“We all play a bit of sport, Lizzy lives in Melbourne and works at Bendigo Base Hospital. Jack is a physio in Melbourne and the two youngest are at school still, Alex and Monica.”

A chance encounter with another Rochester family, the Rasmussens, led to a reunion of sorts at a PINT game.

“I ran into the Rasmussens (Steve) at the cafe in the morning. I got to catch up with them after the game,” she said.

Nate Rasmussen is playing with Palmerston’s Under-18 team and was in that team’s best players in its round-10 seven-point loss to competition leader St Mary’s.