THE AFL is hopeful of continuing the AFLW Dreamtime game in Darwin, ahead of its first edition on Saturday night.
Richmond's and Essendon's men's sides have played a Dreamtime match – the showpiece of Indigenous Round – for 20 years, with COVID pushing the 2020 match to Darwin.
"We're a national game. The women's competition is growing and going from strength to strength, so to see it be part of a regular fixture in the Northern Territory can only be a good thing," AFL executive general manager inclusion and social policy Tanya Hosch said.
"There's so much conversation right around the nation about the talent of Indigenous women and girls in footy. There's a lot of almost royal heritage when it comes to footy up here, and not to romanticise that, but to really acknowledge when people are given the opportunity to reach their potential, they will.
"If games like this, particularly held in Indigenous Round, really do speak to Indigenous women and girls then we'll be thrilled, and that's really part of the agenda."
Hosch said the Dreamtime match also afforded Essendon and Richmond a learning experience as to the challenges posed by the traditional football environment.
"The talent is there, it's about creating those pathways and opportunities and also making sure our sector and our sporting code is equipped to appropriately support talent that are coming from a very different context, both culturally and also in terms of people's lifestyles and what they're used to," Hosch said.
"Melbourne is pretty cold a lot of the time, and you wouldn't say that about the Tiwi, or Darwin for that matter. There's a lot of work to do to ensure creating those pathways and opportunities do so in a way that enables people to be their best selves, on their own terms, within an elite structure.
"I think it's taken quite a bit of time to get that right in the men's competition, and we still have things to land in relation to that.
"But opportunities like this – for teams to come up and play here and see what it is like, the challenges of playing in this kind of weather – is only one part of creating better insight for AFL clubs and the AFL to appreciate that for women coming from this part of the country, there's things we need to prepare for to help them be everything they can be in the game."
Indigenous Round honouree Mary Dunn has been recognised for the tireless work she has contributed to football – particularly for women and girls in the Tiwi Islands.
The Anjilunga Lorulla woman said her six daughters helped drive her passion for the game.
"So I know how hard it is. Plus extended families, we've got a lot of females. Because they love football as well, and how hard it is to come in from the Tiwi Islands, to come into play in the comp in Darwin, and how expensive it is," Dunn said.
"It was better if we made our own team, the Tiwi Bombers, in the women's premier league. We did have under-15s and under-18s, but there was nothing above that, so they would have to go to a different club to chase that passion.
"There's so many people I'd like to thank, who had the belief that we could get this team up and running and still going.
"I've got five of the coaches here with me, who are going to help me tomorrow do the performance out there. But they are mums and grandmothers, and for them to go out there and be a part of that – taking that coaching role and saying, 'you know what, this is how I feel'. And now there's a pathway there (for players), that they can go through, and hopefully they can join one of these two teams."
