AFL Dreamtime Round to reveal footy’s hidden talents

A delegation of 50 Indigenous Australian Rules footy players have descended on Melbourne, preparing to run out at the MCG in the Dreamtime warm-up event.Leading the group, former AFL premiership player Matthew Stokes is developing the men it's hoped will be the Indigenous role models for the next generation.

Former AFL player Matthew Stokes (centre) amongst Indigenous program participants Source: SBS

Participants to the AFL Footy Means Business event hail from regional towns all over Australia, to attend a one-week camp in Melbourne and the opportunity to run out at the MCG in the curtain-raiser for the weekend's Dreamtime round. They've travelled a long way from home, but for many they've never been closer to unlocking their football dreams. For some, it's the beginning of a path they hope will lead to the AFL.This year Derek Eggmolesse-Smith of the Barkindji in Mildura, left behind family to chase his dreams of joining the football elite.

The Deadly Dancers from the Wathaurong Community perform at the start of the Indigenous Round before the Round 10 AFL match at the MCG. Thursday, May 25, 2017. Source: AAP

It's a leap of faith former Geelong star Matthew Stokes knows all about. As a teenager he left behind his large extended family in the Northern Territory, moving to South Australia to try for the AFL draft. He was passed over three times before getting his chance with Geelong - a chance he grabbed with both hands, helping the side to premierships in 2007 and 2011 and notching up 200 games over his career.

Source: AAP

(L-R) AFL Diversity Chief Tanya Hosch, Yorta Yorta Elder Aunty Pam Pedersen Nicholls, and AFL CEO Gillon McLachlan and Indigenous players Krstel Petrevski, Rexi Davidson-Smith, Kirby Bentley, Kobe Brown, and Derek Smith, stand with the match ball, in front of a statue of Sir Douglas Nicholls, at the launch of the AFL Indigenous Round in Melbourne, Monday, May 22, 2017.

 

As Matthew Stokes matured in the game, he says, the importance of being an Indigenous AFL player became clear. It's a realisation he's now put into practice, managing the AFL's Footy Means Business program. Run in collaboration with mining company Rio Tinto, the program gives participants an opportunity to work in the AFL's elite training programs and interact with some of the greats of the game. Matthew Stokes says a major focus of the camp is personal development, and shaping the Indigenous leaders of tomorrow. That message appeals to Mervyn Bennell of Mandurah in Western Australia. The 21 year-old has two brothers playing AFL football, but says he hopes to be more influential from the sidelines.