Multicultural boys too strong for First Nations team

A sea of new faces joined seasoned players at the 2024 Multicultural and First Nations and Multicultural Youth Boys Leadership Program.

AFL NSW/ACT runs this program for talented boys aged 14-16 years to accelerate their football skills and strengthen their leadership capabilities. Players leave the three-day program with tools to apply on and off the field to make them better people, players and leaders.

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Highlights

AFL NSW/ACT began combining the Indigenous and Multicultural Leadership Programs in 2022 which has given participants the chance to extend their connections through footy right across the state and territory and helped them expand their cultural understanding of their teammates and their opponents.

One of the cultural highlights across the three-day program was session run by Yangkay, an Aboriginal music and art educator, where the athletes learnt the importance or storytelling through sound and imagery. The cultural sessions had a strong theme of acceptance and encouraged all athletes to be proud of their heritage, while celebrating the diverse backgrounds of all participants.

There were athlete education sessions on all aspects of footy from skills to tactics, as well as seminars on the importance of road safety (thanks to Transport for NSW), goal setting by KSquared, and resilience (Movember Ahead of the Game).

Perhaps the most exciting moment for the participants was the involvement of GIANTS superstars, Toby Bedford (AFL NSW/ACT Indigenous Ambassador), and 2023 All Australian captain, Toby Greene. The players reinforced Transport for NSW messaging and engaged in a Q&A with players, before heading out and engaging in the teams’ on-field training sessions.

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The match

The Youth Leadership Program is about building great people in our footy communities and beyond, but there is also a strong talent focus. Players qualified for the program having been identified by the GIANTS Academy and Sydney Swans Academy.

On Saturday evening, First Nations team and the multicultural side went head to head at Blacktown International Sports Park.

In spite of the cold conditions, the match was exceptional standard, with players from both sides eager to show their best. The Indigenous team was coached by Josh Horvath, with Reece Gledhill taking the reins for the Multicultural team.

The multicultural side was too strong all evening, running out 77-point winners in a spirited contest. The multicultural team burst out of the blocks in the first quarter, with the First Nations boys providing a contest in the second and third quarters. The multicultural team provide too fit and strong in the final quarter and cruised to a big win.

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Multicultural 13.11.89 def Indigenous 1.6.12

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Best

Multicultural team star, Oliver Sheridan (Northern Districts Juniors) was judged best on ground.

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CHECK OUT ALL THE TEAMS AND A DEEPER OVERVIEW OF THE PROGRAM HERE

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Support from Transport for NSW

Transport for NSW has been an invaluable supporter of AFL NSW/ACT’s First Nations Youth Leadership Program since 2014 and has imparted wisdom onto many of our young leaders about the importance of road safety and developing leadership in their community by reinforcing road safety messages to help our state move towards zero road trauma by 2050.

Thank you to Transport for NSW for its ongoing support of our young and talented leaders.

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