All-Stars to make Top End city home for community camp
THE AFL wants the Indigenous All-Stars' February 7 match in Darwin next year to mark the end of a week-long celebration of its relationship with Indigenous Australia.
Darwin and satellite city Palmerston will host the current group of Indigenous AFL footballers on their annual community camp for a week, culminating in the match against the Adelaide Crows on Saturday night (Feb 7) at Marrara Oval.
Almost 14,000 fans flocked to the last All-Stars match in 2007 when the composite AFL Indigenous team played, and lost, to Essendon.
AFL Indigenous program manager, Jason Mifsud, a former country Victorian football champion, said Adelaide were more than willing to play the All-Stars.
In fact, he said the AFL had no problems in finding clubs to play the All-Stars on a biannual basis.
"More and more clubs certainly have an eagerness to play and there's strong interest in the event," Mifsud said today.
"Particularly given the amount of Indigenous players AFL clubs have now, there's more of a heightened awareness for it. It comes down to clubs who have an interest and a willingness to participate and it also provides exposure for different clubs in different parts of Australia.
"The Adelaide Crows have a tremendous supporter base in Darwin. They have six Indigenous boys, and they have quite significant representation at AFL level so they're an outstanding fit.
"They're all for the All-Stars concept and we are equally prepared."
While there were several rumblings of discontent from some at the 2007 match being played on a Friday night, which limited preparations and climate conditioning, Mifsud said those things could not always be avoided due to a growing schedule of AFL pre-season matches overseas.
Fortuitously for the players, next year's match falls on a Saturday night.
"That's where the schedule allowed us in," Mifsud said, "so we're combining the All-Stars game with the players' community camp, which will be a week-long celebration of the AFL's relationship with Indigenous Australia.
Mifsud said the All-Stars' coach will be appointed from an 'exceptional field' of applicants sometime next week, including medical and other off-field staff.
"We'll have the best available people for the job because there's always risks for (AFL) clubs' players," he said.
"They're valuable commodities so we are very up front and very professional in our approach."
Busy at the coal-face for the next generation
IF YOU think the post season is 'quiet time' for those working at the coal-face, think again. And then ask Jason Mifsud.
It is this time of the year that is the AFL's Indigenous program manager's busiest.
"It is our most hectic time of the year, from a program development point of view," Mifsud said.
"We're visiting communities in the NT, the Kimberley, South Australia ... so it's all quite frantic because what we're doing is a lot of work in planning for next year.
"We have a strong Kickstart program in (Queensland's) Cape York and there's been some discussion to continue our programs across Queensland.
"That will give us an opportunity to provide for young and emerging talent so in two, three or, say, five years' time they may emerge through the new Gold Coast team."
DARREN MONCRIEFF
AboriginalFootball@westnet.com.au
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Last Modified on 12/11/2008 21:25