The AFL’s best Indigenous players will take the field together for the first time in 10 years with the Indigenous All-Stars set to face Fremantle in an exhibition game on February 15 next year.
The exciting pre-season match will be held at Optus Stadium in Perth.
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The Indigenous All-Stars had regularly featured during AFL pre-seasons in the past, with games being held every second year until the most recent match against West Coast at Perth’s Leederville Oval in 2015 when 400-gamer Shaun Burgoyne led the Indigenous All-Stars.
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Matches had frequently been played in Darwin but its return is likely to focus on West Australian favourites being pitted against one another in front of their home fans.
“The Toyota AFL Indigenous All Stars match will showcase some of the best Indigenous talent in our game and inspire the next wave of players,” AFL executive general manager of football Laura Kane said.
“It is important to us to continue to provide opportunities at a pathway level and shine a light on what can be achieved with the end goal being growing the number of Indigenous players on AFL lists in the future.
“I would like to thank Simon Garlick, the executive and football department at the Fremantle Football Club for their support and initiative they have shown in working with us on pulling this game together which will also serve as a wonderful opportunity to celebrate their club’s own great history with Indigenous players.”
Fremantle’s prized recruit Shai Bolton, their captain Alex Pearce and veteran Michael Walters are likely selections for the Indigenous All-Stars to take on their own Dockers teammates.
Each club will have two pre-season matches next year and if a player is selected in the exhibition game, they will miss one of their club’s pre-season contests.
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The AFL has relaunched the initiative off the back of concerns regarding a recent decline in the numbers of Indigenous players at the game’s top level.
The Dockers were thrilled to be given the opportunity to take part in the event.
“To run onto the field in this game is an incredible honour for the Fremantle Football Club,” Dockers CEO Simon Garlick said.
“Fremantle has such a proud history when it comes to Indigenous players representing our Club, not to mention the connections we have with communities all around WA and throughout Australia.
“We embrace the strong culture with Indigenous people that has helped make us the club we are today, highlighted by more than two and a half thousand AFL games from 36 Indigenous players.”
Four years ago, there were 89 Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander players on AFL club lists, but this year that number had dropped to 72 as five clubs dominated Indigenous representation as Port Adelaide (seven players), St Kilda, Richmond, West Coast and Gold Coast (six players) all boasted plenty of Indigenous talent on their lists.
POSSIBLE INDIGENOUS ALL-STARS LINEUP vs. FREMANTLE
FB: J.Impey (Hawthorn), S.May (Melbourne), L.Humphries (Geelong)
HB: D.Rioli (Gold Coast), L.Jones (Western Bulldogs), N.Wanganeen-Milera (St Kilda)
C: K.Amon (Hawthorn), T.Kelly (West Coast), Br.Hill (St Kilda)
HF: K.Pickett (Melbourne), L.Ryan (West Coast), I.Rankine (Adelaide)
FF: T.Stengle (Geelong), J.Ugle-Hagan (Western Bulldogs), C.Cameron (Brisbane)
R: J.Finlayson (Port Adelaide, S.Bolton (Fremantle), J.Horne-Francis (Port Adelaide)
I/C: J.Simpkin (North Melbourne), A.Pearce (Fremantle), Bo.Hill (Collingwood), W.Rioli (Port Adelaide), C.Ah Chee (Brisbane)
EMG: Zac Williams (Carlton), Jase Burgoyne (Port Adelaide), Toby Beford (GWS), Michael Walters (Fremantle)
FREO: A.Pearce, M.Walters, S.Bolton
INJ: S.Powell-Pepper (Port Adelaide), K.Coleman (Brisbane)
The AFL is eager to push opportunities for Indigenous players as a result of the concerning drop-off, and Fremantle have been chosen as the Indigenous All-Stars’ opponent because of their rich history of promoting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander players.
The Dockers famously has eight Indigenous players represent the club during the 2017 Sir Doug Nicholls Indigenous Round, and it is hoped that Optus Stadium will be packed out like it was in 2021 when the Dreamtime match between Richmond and Essendon was watched by 55,656 people at the ground.