Aspley and Redland will usher in a new era of their NEAFL rivalry when they battle for the inaugural Quandamooka-Turrbal Indigenous Round Trophy on Saturday afternoon.
The two sole Brisbane-based clubs in the competition will also wear special Indigenous guernsey’s – for the first time in club history – during their Round 7 clash at Tidbold Park.
The occasion is aimed at generating support for the upcoming AFL Sir Doug Nicholls Indigenous Round in a fortnight’s time.
The initiative was pioneered by Hornets star Eddie Sansbury, together with Redland defender Peter Yagmoor, who are both employees of the AFL Queensland Diversity department.
Sansbury, 32, said he hopes the round will continue to grow in significance in the coming years.
“I looked at the calendar and I thought the game was a good chance to pump up Indigenous Round, but also to lead by example to encourage other clubs to get involved,” he said.
“Last year we had umpires wearing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander socks, and goal umpires waving Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags, which we will have at our NEAFL game aswell.
“We did a little bit at community level last year and wanted to extend that to NEAFL level.
“It goes back to the football clubs for making it happen, and to AFLQ Brisbane South Regional Manager Darren Resuggan – they’ve been great in pushing this forward.”
The NEAFL clash at 1:30pm is the showpiece match on a big community event at Tidbold Park, with two other matches to follow on the day.
An Auskick clinic will run before the NEAFL game and Deadly Choices will also have stalls at the ground to spread healthy lifestyle messages.
Resuggan said the aim is to bring people together to celebrate the Indigenous community not just on Saturday, but over the coming weeks.
“It’s more of a community event that just a football game,” he said.
“We’ve engaged the local schools to do an art competition where we will put the artwork up around the buildings and the ground so the kids can come and see their art displayed.
“We are also encouraging some of the locals to come out when the welcome to country is performed to stand side-by-side with the players.
“We are looking forward to honouring and celebrating our local Indigenous cultures in a meaningful way.”
The Bombers design was created by Shara Delaney from the Quandamooka people and represents the Redland community.
The bottom part of the guernsey reflects the community and its connections to the land, sea and sand. In the ‘sky’ are 30 stars, which represents the 30 players in the Bombers squad.
The upper part of the design represents reconciliation and people from different backgrounds coming together.
Aspley’s guernsey was designed by Robin “Goma” Conlan of the Turrbal people from Brisbane. It represents “standing as one” in battle, victory or loss, and in celebration.
Sansbury, a former North Melbourne forward who played in the 2015 AFL Indigenous All Stars clash, said he cannot wait to hit the field on Saturday wearing the design.
“I haven’t been able to run out too many times in an Indigenous Round guernsey, which will make it more special,” he said.
“It will be a proud moment.”
Former AFL players and Indigenous greats Nicky Winmar and Gilbert McAdam will present the guernsey’s to the clubs prior to the match, which will be streamed live on NEAFL TV.
MATCH DETAILS – Saturday, May 14, 2016
NEAFL Round 7, Redland v Aspley at Tidbold Park, 1:30pm
11.00am Junior Games Finish
11.50am – 12 noon Jumpers presented in rooms by Gilbert McAdam (Redland) and Nicky Winmar (Aspley)
1.24pm Teams line up for Welcome to Country from Auntie Joan Hendrix
1.27pm Coin Toss – Gilbert McAdam to toss coin with umpires & captains
1.30pm Redland v Aspley NEAFL match commences
4.10pm Game concludes. Quandamooka-Turrbal Indigenous Round Trophy presented to winning team
4.30pm QAFA game commences
