'FAR North Queensland not the same as WA, NT'
REGIONAL, rather than ideological, differences will be the main stumbling block for a Clontarf football academy successfully operating in Far North Queensland.
That's the view of Rick Hanlon, the head of the AFL's Indigenous-specific national Kickstart program in the region and AFL Queensland development manager, a position he's held for the past 11 years.
The Clontarf Academy, which began life in Perth in 2000, was last week granted $10 million in funds over a four-year period from the Federal government and plan to expand its operations outside Western Austrralia and the Northern Territory, where it has 23 academies.
The organisation's development manager Andrea Goddard told AboriginalFootball on Thursday that an academy opening up in Queensland, which would be that State's first, was a possibility.
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd last week said the $10 million investment 'will enable Clontarf to expand its services in Western Australia, the Northern Territory and other interested States'.
"Typically, these (new academies) would be located where a higher percentage of Indigenous students are, so Queensland certainly looks a possibility," Goddard said last week.
But Hanlon is sceptical about the plan.
Basically, the Clontarf and Kickstart programs share the same objective: to keep Indigenous youth in school with football the binding ingredient.
Where the two differ in this instance is that Clontarf flourishes in traditional football heartland areas while the Kickstart program Hanlon presides over battles for hearts and minds in a State where football lags behind rugby league in most areas, notably participation.
The main hurdle then is that Australian football is not the first code of choice in Far North Queensland; that a critical mass of football-loving youth just does not exist there.
Hanlon likened the Clontarf proposal to a rival code setting up in football's spiritual domain.
"It would be like setting up an Indigenous rugby league academy in Melbourne," he said.
"(Our Kickstart program) encourages kids from a rugby league environment into our game. As far as I know Clontarf don't develop the game as such, whereas we're encouraging new customers to football. When Gerard (Neesham, academy founder) was over here I don't think he understood that.
"Now, I'm not taking anything away from Gerard -- I'm quite protective of the academy and I won't hear a bad word said about Clontarf and what they're doing -- but what we're doing here is holistic in our approach."
Jason Mifsud, CEO of the AFL Foundation, said for a Clontarf academy to work in Queensland they would basically have to switch codes.
"Their core objectives are to retain Indigenous males in the education system in WA and the NT where AFL football is the sport of choice," he said.
"The challenge of using Australian football in Queensland will be more difficult unless they change their approach to encompass rugby (league) as well. I guess that's the immediate challenge."
Kickstart begins with Auskick and FNQ's program invites schools to take up the modified game and later modern versions of the game for the older boys and girls.
"We identify schools that will engage with us," Hanlon said.
"We have had boys go to school and play footy at Scotch College in Melbourne and at Brisbane's St Peters Lutheran College and that would be maintained as well.
"At the end of it all, it's about jobs and developing kids who are capable and interested in getting jobs and holding down those jobs well after school."
Which, to be fair, is not that much different to Clontarf.
However, plans for a football academy in Cairns is still on the agenda.
"We're working with (Cairns Regional) Council for a parcel of land that we want to develop into our own AFL Cape York Academy which would have a hostel for about 50 students," Hanlon said.
Hanlon said talks on that front with Federal Minister for Indigenous Affairs Jenny Macklin six months ago were promising.
DARREN MONCRIEFF
AboriginalFootball@westnet.com.au
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Last Modified on 16/12/2008 13:20