Connecting through sport - AFL Barwon Indigenous Round

This weekend will see Indigenous Culture celebrated across the region.

By Ben Andonoudis

Indigenous artwork, cultural storytelling and community connection will be front and centre across the region this weekend as AFL Barwon celebrates Indigenous Round.

Initiatives by clubs such as specially designed guernseys, Welcome to Country ceremonies and youth scholarships will all use football as a platform to honour First Nations culture and strengthen connections across our community.

Ocean Grove Football Netball Club will be donning a guernsey designed by seniors footballer and proud Wemba Wamba and Yorta Yorta man, Jye Walker.

The design incorporates symbols connected to the Ocean Grove region and the club’s identity through striking Indigenous artwork.

For Walker, the stylistic choices of the guernsey were clear.

“The intention behind the jumper design was to spark curiosity and encourage people to ask questions about Aboriginal culture within our own region,” Walker said.

The round is also a time to reflect on what local sporting clubs can do to promote inclusivity of our First Nations people.

This theme of encouraging learning and discussion was integral to the design of the guernsey.

“It aims to prompt reflection on how we can become a more inclusive organisation for all young Aboriginal people in the area,” Walker said.

As part of the occasion, Ocean Grove Football Netball Club will be hosting a Welcome to Country Ceremony at 1:40pm prior to the senior men’s football match.

The ceremony will be facilitated by the Wadawurrung Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation.

Ocean Grove is one of several clubs using the occasion as an opportunity to spark discussion around inclusion and cultural recognition.

At North Shore, a long-running partnership  with Northern Bay College is helping empower First Nations students through artwork and the language of storytelling.

As part of the partnership- which has been running since 2021, First Nations students are encouraged to create a design to be incorporated into club game day apparel.

The successful design receives a $1000 art scholarship.

This scholarship was struck in honour of North Shore life member and proud First Nations man, the late Hansen “Rocky” Couzens.

For North Shore Life Member Mick Kramer, the initiative allows students to display their ancestry.

“I think there's an opportunity to showcase their talents, particularly in a First Nations sense,” Kramer said.

“To actually draw on their heritage and put a design together that allows them to showcase their connections to their First Nations community."

Beyond this occasion, Kramer feels that local sporting clubs have an important role to play to ensure that First Nations people continue to be involved and feel welcomed in community sport.

“I just think that people need to embrace the potential to engage with the First Nations communities, whether it's directly in the neighbourhood of their clubs or more broadly in the wider Geelong region,” Kramer said.

Beyond the football itself, this round serves as a reminder of the role local clubs can play in fostering connection, understanding and cultural recognition.

Across the region this weekend, Indigenous Round will not only celebrate Indigenous culture, but will also invite communities to walk together, listen and move forward as one.