Celebrating Indigenous cultureFriday, May 27, 2016 - 8:45 AM

Aboriginal football players and Indigenous culture will be celebrated and recognised at the West Coast Eagles v Gold Coast Suns clash at Domain Stadium this weekend as part of the AFL Sir Doug Nicholls Indigenous Round.

Named in honour of elite VFL footballer and Indigenous leader Sir Doug Nicholls, the round will feature a number of events to showcase local Indigenous football talent.

Curtain-raiser

Prior to the West Coast Eagles’ home game an Exhibition Match between two Aboriginal Women’s team will take place on the hallowed turf of Domain Stadium, in a WA first.

The clash will act as the final selection match for the bi-annual Yorga Kiidjal Kadadjiny (Women’s Two-Way Learning) game, which is set to take place on Saturday July 9 as part of the NAIDOC Round celebrations.

Four umpires from the Diversity Umpiring Academy have been selected to officiate the Women’s Two-Way Learning match, along with Aboriginal field umpire Basil Thomas.

The East Kimberley and Central District country product grew a liking to umpiring at the tender age of 12 after he came to realise playing football wasn’t really his thing.

Since making the transition Thomas has progressed through the Diversity Umpiring program and was selected to officiate the AFL National Diversity Championships in Queensland last month.

“It was an amazing opportunity where I learnt how to use the three-umpire system that is performed at the elite AFL level,” Thomas said.

“The experience really cemented why I love umpiring,” Thomas said. 

“The control you have in a game and the relationships you build with other umpires and the players along the way.”

Guard of Honour

The winning WA Kickstart team from this year’s AFL National Diversity Championships will get the opportunity to perform a guard of honour alongside former Aboriginal football players as the West Coast Eagles team run out onto the ground before the opening siren.

Little League

At the half-time break Aboriginal Youth Girls teams from Kalgoorlie and Katanning who were unable to play in this year’s Kirby Bentley Indigenous Cup will line-up against one another in the Little League clash.

Auskickers

Auskickers will get the chance to play a grid game alongside the Little League. The group consists of predominately Aboriginal participants, with six of the kids coming through from the West Australian Football Commission’s Nightfields Program.

The year-old Nightfields Program uses football as a vehicle to reconnect with disengaged and at-risk youth in local communities by providing a free-of-charge structured match event at a number of metro and regional locations every fortnight.

It is a jam-packed day of footy and Community Engagement Manager Paul Mugambwa said the aim of the round is to recognise and promote cultural diversity and understanding.

“It’s about connecting WA football fans to Indigenous culture and providing Indigenous players the opportunity to put their football talent on show,” Mugambwa said.