AFL Northern Territory stripped the 2025 Barkly AFL premiership off a Tennant Creek club on Friday following an investigation into the club fielding an ineligible player.

YDU Demons captured an exciting five-point grand final win two weeks earlier to prevent Elliott Hawks from collecting their third consecutive premiership.

The triumph was to be the YDU's maiden title since joining the competition in 2010.

But Elliott formally lodged a protest on September 19 – the same day of this year's Barkly AFL grand final – to force administrators in Darwin to launch an inquiry.

Elliott coach Wade Nish raised issues prior to the start of the finals series after the Hawks – and other rival clubs – noticed that a Kyle Stuart, who was registered with Pioneers in Alice Springs, was also playing for YDU under the name of Kyle Walker.

He made four appearances in the YDU premiership campaign – amid byes that Pioneers had in the Central Australian Football League season – including playing in the Barkly AFL preliminary final.

Barkly AFL competitions and development manager Wayne Green banned Walker from playing in the grand final the following week and sent a recommendation to AFLNT headquarters.

The territory's governing body for Australian rules football concluded its own investigation into the impact on the Barkly AFL senior men's finals series and released the findings of its report on Friday.

The investigation found that YDU Football Club had "knowingly" played the ineligible player in the preliminary final.

It is understood that Stuart did admit during the investigation that a new profile had been created online under the Walker surname that was accessible online during the 2025 Barkly AFL season.

As a result of the course of action from one of the four clubs from Tennant Creek, the preliminary final has been deemed a forfeiture and the subsequent result of the grand final will not stand.

"This breach was intentional and administrative in nature and represented a failure to follow AFLNT rules and regulations, and the 2025 National Community Football Policy handbook, relating to player registration and finals eligibility," AFLNT said in its findings of the report.

"Consequently, the player was ineligible for the preliminary final, which had directly determined grand final qualification.

"This means the result of the Barkly AFL senior men's grand final is no longer recognised."

AFLNT wrote on the Barkly AFL Facebook page that to "maintain a respectful and safe space", public comments on the post would be turned off.

AFLNT runs four competitions including the Northern Territory Football League around the Darwin region, the Central Australian Football League around Alice Springs, and the Big Rivers Football League around Katherine expressed how hurtful the outcome would be to supporters.

"AFLNT acknowledges the disappointment this decision may cause, but it reinforces that the integrity of competition must always be upheld," the statement said.

AFLNT's report did not point out nor reprimand YDU for playing Walker in his three home and away matches – just for the preliminary final – despite playing under a false name across all of his appearances in the 2025 Barkly AFL season.

"That's what they are saying, but to my knowledge that is still going against the rules over that you must be registered to one club under the one name," Nish said.

Elliott Football Club, whose men's senior side finished top of the ladder prior to the finals, will be only recognised with the 2025 Barkly AFL senior men's minor premiership.

While the Hawks are said to be handed the vacant premiership trophy, the coach said, they will not be officially recognised as the 2025 premiers.

"It's pretty devastating with all the hard work that we went through this year," Nish said.

There is precedent in the competition for no club being recognised as the premiers in the record books.

Ti Ti Roosters were found to have played an ineligible player under someone else's name in the 2008 Barkly AFL grand final against Janapurlalki Eagles.

The club, which is now part of the Central Australian Football League's Indigenous Community competition, were told of the breach a week later and asked to return the premiership trophy.

Nish was scathing at AFLNT administrators at the time and now that the 2025 season will have no premiers' name on the silverware.

"I asked them to cancel the game on the day, postpone it or make them forfeit, and they didn't want to do either of those options," Nish said.

"They just wanted to let the game go and continue an investigation afterwards."

Nish believed Hawks teammates were reticent about how they felt two weeks later amid the wake of the grand final defeat and were also somewhat unperturbed about not being formally labelled the three-peat premiers.

"All the players are disappointed, anyway, that we're not the winners of the grand final and that we should have been on the day," he said.

National Indigenous Times reached out to YDU Demons coach Llewelyn Morrison on Friday for comment.