NARRM defender Paxy Paxman is looking forward to continuing to celebrate Indigenous culture as this year's AFLW Indigenous Round approaches.

Paxman said increasing connection was an important part of the round.

"To (be able to) connect Indigenous cultural history to non-Indigenous players and community, we're super excited," she said at this year's AFLW Indigenous Round launch on Monday.

"This is a very significant round and we're all proud and honoured to don these jumpers, often designed by Indigenous communities or individuals.

"It's always a learning process and something that we enjoy being a part of. There's always growing, always learning to be done and this round allows us to do that. It allows us to learn and share stories and connect."

The Dees' guernsey, designed by Mali Isabel, speaks to her family's special connection to the club and tells the story of her younger brother who received a heart transplant in 2020.

The AFLW Dreamtime Game is bound for Darwin this year and Essendon co-captain Steph Cain cannot wait to be part of it once more.

"It'll be great to get up to Darwin, we have such a strong connection to the Tiwi so to be able to get up there and get in community, I've had the opportunity to go out to Darwin a couple of times, we know how much the community loves their footy," Cain said.

"To bring AFLW footy to the Top End where female footy has continued to grow is really exciting."

The Bombers take Richmond, which is looking to stay in touch with the top four.

"We're competitive, we want to win games of football and we'll be doing everything we can this week to make sure we're back," midfielder Maddie Shevlin said.

The Tigers will wear the same guernsey as the one worn by the men's side earlier this year, designed by Maurice Rioli jnr and his mother.

The design speaks of the deep connection between the Rioli family and the Richmond Football Club.

"It's really exciting. To be wearing the same jumper that our men's program has this year, it's exciting to be playing in Darwin, the home of Indigenous football," Shevlin said.

Day-to-day life this week will look a little bit different for clubs, as they undertake engagement sessions.

"We're doing an engagement session on Wednesday, and we've got some elders coming into the club to talk to us about the significance of the round, it'll be really great to get their perspective," Cain said.

"We've got Russellina coming in as well to talk about the jumper and that Tiwi connection. I think in all, footy clubs do a great job of really highlighting the significance of this round and really getting people more connected to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures is what this round is about."

Essendon's guernsey, designed by Tiwi artist Russellina Puruntatameri, pays homage to the rich traditions of the Tiwi people.

Cain said it was always special to head to footy-mad Darwin and said there's plenty of talent in the region.  

"You look at the crowd when they come to see us play and the pure excitement and joy for them to come and see the football is really exciting," Cain said.

"There's so much talent there it's just at a point of trying to engage it and do the right things up in those regions to get those players playing the game, whether that's bringing them down to the states that are footy playing areas or trying to do more up in the Top End to give football the opportunity it deserves."

Hawthorn midfielder Mattea Breed, a proud Tiwi woman, said it was a special round.

"Being able to celebrate my culture and other cultures and having it put on a stage like this is really special," she said.

Six AFLW clubs have adopted Indigenous names for the next fortnight.

The Dees have taken on the name Narrm for the next fortnight, which is the traditional name of the city and its surrounds in the Woi Wurrung language.

The Dockers will be known as Walyalup, which is the Noongar name for the Fremantle region. Their logo was designed by former player Roger Hayden. 

The Power will be known as Yartapuulti, which is the traditional Aboriginal name for Port Adelaide.

The Saints will be called Euro-Yroke, which is the Boon Wurrung translation of St Kilda.

The Crows have taken on the name Kuwarna which is the Kaurna translation for 'Crows'.

Finally, the Eagles will go by Waalitj Marawar' which means 'Eagles of the West' in the Noongar language.

Indigenous Round kicks off when the red-hot Hawks host the Dees at Cazalys Stadium in Cairns on Thursday night.