The AFLW has proudly launched its 2024 Indigenous Round, which will be held across Week nine and Week 10 of the 2024 NAB AFLW Premiership Season.
The significant contribution of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women and girls to Australian football and the broader community will be celebrated throughout AFLW Indigenous Round over the next two weeks.
‘Spirit Strong, Game On’ is the theme for the dedicated round, which recognises the resilience and strength of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. The theme honours Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples' traditions, cultures and enduring spirit, as well as their ongoing impact and legacy in Australian Rules Football and society.
Six AFLW Clubs will swap their name for traditional in-language names – for the first time in the AFLW the Adelaide Crows will become ‘Kuwarna’ (pronounced goo-wun-na), St Kilda will be known as Euro-Yroke (pronounced yoo-roe yoo-roe-ck), and the West Coast Eagles will be known as Waalitj Marawar (pronounced wah-litch mara-wah), joining Fremantle Walyalup (pronounced wul-yul-up), Port Adelaide as Yartapuulti (pronounced Yarta–pole-tee), and Melbourne known as Narrm (pronounced na-arm).
As part of the dedicated round the AFLW will acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the land each match is played on, with ground signage at all matches to feature the name of the Traditional Owners and a representation of the Aboriginal women’s art symbol on the field. The AFLW Indigenous Round Sherrin is designed by proud Kaurna, Ngarrindjeri and Nurrunga woman, Gabriel Stengle.
In addition, all 18 AFLW Clubs will wear specially designed Indigenous Round guernseys, while umpires at all matches across Weeks nine and 10 will wear uniforms designed by Noongar Wandandi Boodja man and current umpire, Joshua James.
AFL Executive General Manager Inclusion and Social Policy Tanya Hosch said the AFLW was looking forward to celebrating Indigenous Round and the theme ‘Spirit Strong, Game On’ across the two weeks.
"The AFLW Indigenous Round has become one of the great fixtures of the NAB AFLW Season, as we celebrate the contributions of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women and girls to Australian football and the broader community across the two weeks," Ms Hosch said.
"The Spirit Strong, Game On theme reflects the incredible resilience that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have always shown in this country. The theme resonates with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander players and their families as a reflection of their culture, determination, talent and strength.
“It is also an important opportunity to elevate the voices of Indigenous women in our code, to celebrate their expression of culture and what football means to them and their communities."
AFLW General Manager Emma Moore said she was pleased to see the footy community come together to celebrate the AFLW Indigenous Round, highlighted by the inaugural Dreamtime in Darwin match.
"We are proud to have the AFLW community unite for the fifth AFLW Indigenous Round, and as part of the celebrations we are excited to bring the marquee Dreamtime match between Richmond and Essendon to Darwin for the first time," Moore said.
"It’' a chance for the League and broader community to reflect and celebrate the contributions, resilience and enduring spirit of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and players on and off the field."
Held across Week nine and 10 of the 2024 NAB AFLW Season, Indigenous Round will celebrate 'Spirit Strong, Game On' with matches from Thursday, 24 October to Sunday, 3 November. The annual Dreamtime match will take place on Saturday, 26 October in Darwin for the first time, as Richmond and Essendon go head-to-head.
Tickets are on sale now for only $15 with kids under 18 free at aflwtickets.afl.
Sherrin design
The match ball for the 2024 Indigenous Round has been designed by Gabriel Stengle – a proud Kaurna, Ngarrindjeri and Nurrunga woman. As part of the design, the word Sherrin will be replaced with the phrase 'Tidna Parntu' meaning ‘'ootball' in Kaurna language.
The waterholes are connected through journey lines to represent the journey of the AFLW community. The Kangaroo tracks represent the AFLW’s vision of always moving forward and never backwards.
The base emulates the Coolamon, a tool predominately used by women for gathering food, berries and to hold their babies. The Coolamon was carved from trees and decorated with burn marks or natural points. These can be found throughout Australia connecting us through culture and as women.
Club guernseys
Once again, all 18 AFLW clubs will wear their own specifically designed Indigenous guernseys across Indigenous Round.
Each club has worked closely with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists to design guernseys that tell stories of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ culture, history, traditions, and resilience.
Umpire uniform design
All AFLW Umpires will wear uniforms celebrating Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures that have been designed by Noongar Wandandi Boodja man and AFL umpire, Joshua James.
The artwork on the uniform is called ‘Moorditj Koondarm’ which means “Strong Dreams” in Noongar language. It also includes the dreamtime story of James and the ambitions of Aboriginal people.
"The story behind the artwork is to showcase how strong, resilient and self-determined Aboriginal people are and the unity of people coming together from all around Australia regardless of peoples’ skin colour, culture, sexual orientation or beliefs," Mr. James said.
NAB Auskick
Auskickers participating in the half-time matches across Indigenous Round will wear special t-shirts with Indigenous artwork created by young brothers Hamish and Kobe Collins.
Proud Arrernte Anmatyerr boys from the Northern Territory, Hamish (17yo) and Kobe (14yo) grew up in a small, remote community called Yuelamu in Alice Springs and love creating art to tell stories and connect with their culture.
The artwork, titled ‘Reconciliation’, represents young people of all communities uniting and having equality through sport – a reflection of their own personal experience.
Club name changes
A third of all AFLW clubs will change their names to translations in Traditional Owner’s language across Indigenous Round.\
For the first time the Adelaide Crows will be known as Kuwarna (pronounced goo-wun-na), St Kilda will be known as Euro-Yroke (pronounced yoo-roe yoo-roe-ck), and the West Coast Eagles will be known as Waalitj Marawar (pronounced wah-litch mara-wah). For the second consecutive year, Fremantle will be known as Walyalup (pronounced wul-yul-up) and Port Adelaide will be Yartapuulti (pronounced Yarta–pole-tee). For the fourth straight season, Melbourne will be known as Narrm (pronounced na-arm).
Kuwarna is the Kaurna translation for the word ‘crows’ and Euro-Yroke is the Boon Wurrung translation for ‘St Kilda’. Waalitj Marawar means ‘Eagle of the West’ in the local Noongar language.
Narrm derives from the Woi Wurrung language meaning Melbourne, Walyalup is the Noongar name for the Fremantle region, and Yartapuulti comes from the Kaurna language meaning the land surrounding the Port River.
Pronunciations of the clubs' names can be accessed here.
The Sacred Tree of Our Songlines - Forest Gallery, Melbourne Museum
A new art installation recently added to the Forest Gallery at Melbourne Museum.
The Sacred Tree of our Songlines was created by Gunnai and Waradjurie man and established artist Robert Michael Young. It provides a space for reflection and is part of the Forest Gallery's newly opened experience Biik Milboo Dhumba | Country Is Always Talking.
Through Robert’s sculpture and the voices of people from the Eastern Kulin Nations, this experience allows visitors to gain a deeper understanding of the meaning of Country and its connection to language and culture.
At the heart of Melbourne Museum is the Forest Gallery, where you can experience aspects of the local mountain landscape, stopping at nine points along the way to learn more about Indigenous flora and fauna. As you wander among the trees of the Forest Gallery, Biik Milboo Dhumba | Country Is Always Talking invites you to consider what it means to listen to Country.
