With four football codes in a country of 23 million people there's only so much talent to go round.
The need to attract more Indigenous players has prompted Australia Rugby Union to develop its second Indigenous Reconciliation Action Plan.
ARU chief executive ARU Bill Pulver said his sport needed to do more to attract Indigenous talent.
"I think we have to make a better effort going forward than we have in the past," he told SBS News.
But the need to harness Indigenous playing talent is only part of the story.
A variety of initiatives are being put in place to encourage youngsters to get involved in the sport, stay in school and stay healthy.
Gary Ella played for the Wallabies and now spends much of his time working with the Lloyd McDermott Development team which works with Indigenous youth.
Tribal Warriors dance duo entertain the audience at the launch of the ARU Reconciliation Action Plan in Sydney. Source: SBS
He told SBS News the ARU was working from a position of respect.
"They're putting programmes together, they're making sure there's opportunities and they're showing Aboriginal people a great deal of respect," Ella said.
Indigenous broadcaster Stan Grant said one or two significant breakthroughs was what the sport needed to increase its appeal.
"When you get to that critical mass, our people Aboriginal people will feel that we have a place in this game as well," he told SBS News.
The ARU is hoping any success for Australia's men's and women's sevens teams at the Rio Olympics will help the sport gain more traction among Indigenous youth.
Rising Queensland star Moses Sorovi has already played for Australia at U-20s level, and he sees rugby as a way of getting life experiences he's struggled to get with other codes.
"I like to travel, to go to new places and I just want to be like Gary Ella," he said.
The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Reconciliation Action Plan will run for the next three years.
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