The Governor-General Sir Peter Cosgrove is eager to bring indigenous football stars to northern Australia to inspire local Aboriginal boys.
He believes it's up to communities to ask for help to improve the future job prospects of young men in regional and remote areas.
Sir Peter recently became patron of the Clontarf Foundation, a group which uses football and other sports to boost participation and learning outcomes at more than 50 academies in Western Australia, Victoria, NSW and the Northern Territory.
No one pretends it's easy to set teenage Aboriginal boys on a path to meaningful employment.
But Sir Peter, who has been Australia's representative of the Queen for almost three months, has put indigenous issues high on his agenda.
He wants to "shine a light" on improving education and providing role models through Clontarf.
"I've just been blown away," Sir Peter told reporters after an Australian rules football training session at Kununurra high school in the Kimberley region of Western Australia on Tuesday.
"Youngsters love interaction with sport. It's one of the motivating principles of their lives to be able to emulate their sporting heroes and dream."
He said Clontarf encouraged young people to do this in a school environment.
While he's busy heavily promoting the foundation which focuses on 10- to 17-year-old boys, he says it would make no sense to impose an extra program on schools which did not ask for it.
"It's best for people to want to have it," he said.
The former commander of the Australian Defence Force completed a five-day tour of the Northern Territory and north Western Australia on Tuesday.
After football training he and his wife Lady (Lynne) Cosgrove tucked into a cooked breakfast and chatted with students.
Sir Peter is believed to be looking at bringing an AFL star such as Sydney champion Adam Goodes to Kununurra and potentially other Clontarf academies over the next few years.
However, he was coy about how much progress he had made recruiting AFL stars.
"It's an aspiration," he said.
"I might think that's a good idea but I've got a way to go."
Kununurra local and former Hawthorn player Carl Peterson participated in the Clontarf program, and is now one of the young male role models for the town which has a 50 per cent indigenous population.
The Clontarf program was developed in WA and has been in place in Kununurra for the past eight years with 100 boys involved.
Students are encouraged to play football for an hour twice a week before school, followed by a hearty breakfast.
Advocates say the desire to play football with friends has lowered truancy rates and helped students to focus on school work.
Director of the east Kimberley Clontarf academy Andrew McDonagh said both teachers and parents had reported improvements in attendance rates and more teenagers had finished year 12.
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