SHANE O'Sullivan still shakes his head.
The then-Brisbane Bears general manager of football was hosting a teenage recruit, Tiwi Islander Adam Kerinaiua, when he woke in the middle of the night to a commotion.
Kerinaiua had no memory of it the following morning, but they figured out together he was sleep-talking in his native tongue.
What stuck with O'Sullivan, now Carlton's football administration manager, was Kerinaiua's offer to sleep outside, so keen was the 18-year-old not to make a nuisance of himself.
Kerinaiua – described as the Cyril Rioli of his time – lasted just one season and three games at the Bears before returning to the Northern Territory and becoming one of its best footballers.
The father-of-five was selected last year as one of the AFLNT's top 100 players in its exhaustive Team of the Century process.
Kerinaiua, 43, regrets quitting the AFL and briefly spiralling into a life of drinking and smoking, but said racial taunts from opponents, plus the pull of home, grew too much.
"It was a good learning experience for myself and my wife (Carol) about what these young fellas had to go through," O'Sullivan told AFL.com.au.
"I think we were so bloody naive and it's just come so far now, which is fantastic. What some of these guys must have gone through is just bloody deplorable, really."
Kerinaiua, who previously played only in the Tiwi Islands competition, was one of the stars of the NT under-17 team that stunned Victoria Country in the 1991 Teal Cup in Darwin.
He laced up for the Bears' reserves barely a week after those championships – under Rodney Eade – and joined the Robert Walls-coached AFL side the next year as an NT zone selection.
Hawthorn and Essendon had also shown interest in Kerinaiua, but Brisbane had first dibs.
Darryl White and Nathan Buckley became Bears under the same rules, while Greater Western Sydney similarly secured the draft rights to NT footballers Curtly Hampton, Jed Anderson, Jake Neade and Shaun Edwards many years later.
White, a triple premiership player, lived with Kerinaiua in one of two neighbouring houses next to the club's Carrara base.
Matthew AhMat, the NT's best player and an All Australian at that Teal Cup edition, was another who went to Brisbane and later Sydney, but failed to make an impact.
Among their Bears teammates were Michael Voss, Marcus Ashcroft, Roger Merrett, Laurence Schache – the late father of Bulldog Josh – and Matt Rendell.
Rendell infamously lost his job as Adelaide's national recruiting manager for comments made in confidence that insinuated he would not draft an Aboriginal player unless they had one white parent.
Kerinaiua said racism was a problem in the AFL in the early 90s, evidenced by high-profile incidents featuring indigenous champions Michael Long and Nicky Winmar.
"I was really angry about it. I didn't expect that and was really shocked about it. I didn't tell anyone other than my wife," Kerinaiua told AFL.com.au.
"That's the way it was, and back in those days we accepted it. Michael Long asked me one day if I wanted to say something about racism, but I just didn't want to speak about it.
"That's the reason I didn't go back and play more footy. I look back and regret it, but I'm just glad I played AFL football. They are memories that will live on for the rest of my life."
Kerinaiua's NT Teal Cup coach, Peter Atkinson, fondly recalls his former charge's rare talent and remains disappointed he wasn't a long-term act on the AFL stage.
There was the way Kerinaiua kept his feet when others went to ground, his evasiveness, the ball skills and speed that stood out "even by Tiwi standards", and his mental toughness.
"That might sound contradictory, because he left to go home, but I'm not sure many southern people understand those family pressures," Atkinson said.
"Back in those days there was no lead-in preparation and clubs didn't have welfare officers to look after them.
"It was really unique, but that was why the Bears took so many (NT footballers). They hoped they would get a couple of gold nuggets."
O'Sullivan is convinced Kerinaiua was good enough to become a 150-plus-game AFL player if he stuck around and gained physical strength.
He is adamant AFL clubs should take a punt on indigenous players – and that the risk is worth taking, particularly with the likes of Shaun Burgoyne and Eddie Betts serving as mentors.
Adam Sambono and Francis Kinthari, who both hail from remote NT communities, are among the draft candidates this year.
As for Kerinaiua, he wants to see more Aboriginal players make a name for themselves in the AFL.
"I know these days it's still pretty hard for indigenous players to go straight from the Territory to play AFL football," Kerinaiua said.
"It's not easy to leave your own state, but if you believe and want to achieve something in life, you can go for it."
