Club to launch First Nations first

ONE of the region’s football netball clubs is set to close out this year’s National Reconciliation Week with the launch of a new Indigenous-themed jumper.

The Inverleigh Football and Netball Club will debut the design tomorrow during their first Indigenous round at Morton Park against the Belmont Lions which will follow the AFL’s Sir Doug Nicholls NAIDOC round.

Hawks’ president David Haste said the jumpers reinforce the group’s ethos of inclusion.

“For us, the message is there’s a space for everyone in our club, young or old or whatever your background is,” he said.

“It fits in well with our code of ethics of inclusion and acceptance. This is our first step in doing this regularly and our push for acceptance in this field.

“Next year we’ll be looking at doing this with the netballers too because we didn’t quite get that side of it in time for this round.”

The jumpers will be worn by the club’s 23 senior players for the one-off event.

Emblazoned with the club’s brown and gold colours, the design symbolises the ngeeyangarra, or hawk, travelling over the junction between the Leigh and Barwon rivers.

The design was created by Gunditjmara Keerray Woorroong artist Tarryn Love with her brother Jarrod, who is the Hawks’ vice-captain.

Mr Haste said the Love siblings have long held a connection the club.

“The kids grew up in Teesdale and played junior football and netball with us,” he said. “They’ve been with the club for probably 15 years.

“They were both very keen to tie this in with the Sir Doug Nicholls NAIDOC round because the messaging’s all there.

“Having the hawk on the jumper and the river junction, which is exactly where Inverleigh’s placed, is fairly symbolic not just for the club but hopefully it’s something the whole community can come behind.”