DARREN MONCRIEFF
Friday, July 29, 2011
A NEW generation of Aboriginal young men can add 'Australian Representative' to their football CVs and the latest addition to that group will come from the Pilbara region in WA's north west.
The young footballers, primarily from the region's Martu people, will make up a large percentage of the Pilbara Colts (under-21) side which will play a fully-fledged match against a touring open age South African side in Karratha on Saturday.
The Colts' Indigenous players come from Tom Price, Port Hedland, Wickham, Roebourne and Karratha.
The game will be one of many in Karratha, the region's major centre, this weekend, before and after the Swan Districts and East Fremantle league teams play their round 19 WAFL premiership match on Saturday.
The Swans have invested heavily in WA's north west with their Indigenous program yielding much fruit. The club holds footy carnivals for communities in the western desert region of the Pilbara.
Recently, Swans officials have spent time in South Africa and it's from visits there that this game has become possible.
The South Africans are on their way to Sydney and Melbourne for the AFL's 2011 International Cup, which is a amateur-based competition for countries outside Australia.
The game adds yet another layer to the football landscape, and a unique opportunity for Aboriginal young people to experience what their forebears could not: true international football.
And it will be an unknown quantity for the young team. Indeed, what will the South Africans bring to the field? The Colts' coach, Richard Coates, has asked himself the same question.
"I think we won't know until the end of the first quarter," said Coates, who is Swan Districts' Pilbara pathways manager and talent ID development officer.
"We were looking at our team board today and I said to the boys, 'Don't be surprised that you'll be moved around in different positions'.
"It's going to be a big occasion and we've got some good players.
"For most of the players, it's part of another pathway in football and it's also an opportunity for us and league coaches from Perth to see more talented players in the region."
The Flying Boomerangs, a national under-16 Indigenous team, played two games of football against a South African team at Darwin's Marrara Oval and at Jabiru in the Northern Territory in 2007.
The Darwin match was the curtain-raiser to the AFL Indigenous All-Stars versus Adelaide game.
The game in Karratha is believed to be the first for a regional team to play South Africa.
In addition to the Colts (11:30am) and WAFL (2:15pm) games on Saturday, there will two local development teams playing against each other at 9am and a North Pilbara Football League versus Perth Hills (5.30pm) representative match.
On Sunday, a women's game and a veterans game will be played.
All teams will wear Indigenous-themed jumpers like the one pictured above.
Football in South Africa has grown at a rapid rate, especially among the original inhabitants of the country.
All games will be played at Kevin Richards Memorial Oval and the league match will be broadcast on 91.3 Sport FM.
AboriginalFootball@westnet.com.au
Last Modified on 29/07/2011 12:56