Darwin is rarely the canary in the mine shaft of national trends.
It tends to be a refuge for those avoiding history rather than making it.
Remember the irrepressible Jim Woodger whose real estate empire sponsored the Raiders until a couple of business decisions crippled his kingdom?
Jim now spruiks the virtues of Timorese beachfront.
But Channel Nine Darwin made a prescient announcement this week which sent ripples of delight to the NRL and shock waves of horror to the AFL.
It will televise Friday night NRL games live at 7pm, pushing back Nine's coverage of the AFL match into the Darwin night.