Strikers unveil leadership-themed Indigenous dress

THE Bendigo Strikers are proud to launch their 2026 First Nations dress, designed by proud Palawa man Justin Lindner.

The uniform was worn for the first time on Wednesday at the State Netball Centre during First Nations Round, when the Strikers’ Championship and 23-and-under teams clashed with Gippsland Stars.

This week’s round of matches coincided with the start of National Reconciliation Week, held annually from May 27 to June 3.

The Strikers will wear the dress again in rounds 15 and 17 when they host City West Falcons on 28 June and Casey Demons on 12 July at Mercy Junortoun Sports Precinct.

Raised in Doreen on Wurundjeri country, Lindner has lived the last 18 years in Bendigo on Dja Dja Wurrung land, where he is employed by La Trobe University as its Indigenous student advisor.

Incorporating the club’s traditional Catalina blue, rich electric blue and sunglow colours, as well as white, the dress features an original artwork centred on the theme of leadership, acknowledging the journey to becoming an elite athlete.

In the background are the seeds planted where all great journeys begin.

The six meeting places represent the work, commitment and care involved in building and nurturing the journey of an elite athlete into a team.

The meeting place and the team are represented as Country, for we are Country and Country is us.

The blue and white lines honour the waterways of the lands on which the Strikers train, play and work, while the yellow represents the veins of gold that run through Country.

The white songlines, marked with stars, serve as a reminder that as elite athletes, they are also leaders.

As leaders, they carry a responsibility to model the values, strength and integrity we hope to see in the next generations.

Following an approach from the club to design its Indigenous dress, Lindner – who primarily works in acrylic on canvas – was immediately struck and inspired by the club’s colours.

“The Strikers colours are all about Country and that was really nice for me to see, as people don’t necessarily identify colours with parts of the country they reside in,” he said.

“They’ve really lent into that, with the blues for the rivers and the gold for the crops and the goldfields.

“To me, the Strikers have really thought about what Country meant to them, and representing the area they play and train in.

“It’s something I found really special.”

While he admits the transition from painting to producing a digital dress design posed plenty of initial challenges, Lindner is proud of the finished product.

“I struggled because I had never ever done artwork to go on a uniform and I couldn’t quite get it out of my head, how I was going to position it,” he said.

“It was a steep learning curve, but I really love the artwork.

“I wanted to put something in there about sports stars inspiring the next generations; that’s the most beautiful thing I find in sport and in education. It changes lives.

“And it can take people from nothing really – and if they are good at their craft – create an opportunity for then to open doors.

“I’m also taken by the dedication sports players have to put into their craft, and the training and the hours.

“If they are passionate about it, that is something beautiful that drives them.

“It’s important that sports stars recognise that young players look up them and see themselves in them and are inspired by them.

“As an elite sportspeople or people in the public eye, they have to lead by example. I was keen to work that into the story with the dress.

“It was a real honour to be asked to do the dress.

“Mel (Strikers president Melinda Keighran) sent me a short video of one of the girls wearing the dress for the first time. It looked great and I am really proud of it.”

The Indigenous dress was unveiled at a Strikers training session on Sunday 24 May, with the artist sharing the story behind its creation with club players and officials.

Championship captain Elle Nexhip said it was important for the VNL and its clubs to actively acknowledge Indigenous culture during First Nations Round and that the Strikers would proudly wear their new dresses in several games in the second half of the season.

“It’s absolutely beautiful. Justin has done an amazing job capturing our team values and finding a link back to Country, which means so much to our Indigenous culture,” she said.

“It’s super important for us as a club and a league to acknowledge all the past, emerging and present Indigenous cultures.

“It was a real pleasure to try one on and we can’t wait to wear them with pride.

“There is a bit in there about finding inspiration as elite athletes and being an inspiration to future athletes, so hopefully that sparks a bit of fire in our bellies going forward.

“We are grateful to the league for putting on First Nations Round and we will wear our new dress with pride.”