ALMOST 10 years ago to the day, Shaun Burgoyne was awarded the Polly Farmer Medal for his best-on-ground performance in the last Indigenous All Stars outing.

Standing on the deck of Leederville Oval in Perth, having just captained the All Stars in an exhibition match against West Coast, Burgoyne was presented with a makeshift medal that was taken from him soon after.

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A decade later, the Port Adelaide and Hawthorn champion was called on stage at Hackett Hall at the Perth Cultural Centre to be finally awarded with his Polly Farmer Medal from that game, in front of the 2025 Indigenous All Stars squad and some Indigenous greats of the game, including Michael O'Loughlin, Cyril Rioli and Michael Long.

Before the newest squad members were presented with their guernseys, there was an opportunity to look back at those who had represented the All Stars with such distinction, and honour their contribution.

"I got a whisper that they were going to present me with a medal, obviously when I won it 10 years ago, they didn't have a medal to present," Burgoyne, a Kokatha and Awarai man, told AFL.com.au.

"They went inside and grabbed a fake medal, got a photo with it and then gave it back."

It was the fourth, and last, Indigenous All Stars game that Burgoyne would play in – the equal most of any other player, alongside Aaron Davey and Nathan Lovett-Murray – before the matches disappeared from the calendar.

Now with the important showcase game back on the fixture, Burgoyne will experience it through a different lens. As part of the voting panel for this year's Polly Farmer Medal, he knows just how special this award is.

Describing it as "unbelievable", it sits right up alongside his four premierships (one at Port Adelaide, three at Hawthorn), his Indigenous games record of 407 matches, and an All-Australian guernsey.

Burgoyne consistently set high standards on the field throughout his 20-year playing career, and now continues to showcase pathways for Indigenous players once they retire from the game. He will commentate the All Stars match, alongside fellow Indigenous champion Eddie Betts, who is making his way into broadcasting after retiring at the end of 2021.

One of those players Burgoyne will be calling on Saturday is his nephew, Port Adelaide winger Jase, who carries on the family legacy with his selection in the 2025 match.

"I think the new generation of players like Jase do a great job of showcasing where you can get to on the field, and when Indigenous players transfer to life after footy and into different parts of the game; coaches, nutritionists, gym, admin, production, presenting, commentating, then we're spread throughout the industry," Shaun Burgoyne said.

"We want our children coming through having a lot that they can see to be, not only when they're playing but aspirations after footy."

That breadth of opportunity is already apparent to Jase and the next generation of Indigenous stars, who will take to the field on Saturday under the guidance of an all-Indigenous coaching panel headed by North Melbourne assistant coach Xavier Clarke.

"I don't know if I want to be a coach but for the boys that want to be a coach it's pretty good to see the Indigenous panel that we have now," Jase said.

"They're great coaches and I'm sure they're going to do great things in their career."

And does Jase have the potential to keep the Polly Farmer Medal within the family?

"Yes, he could," Shaun Burgoyne said.

"He had a really good finals series, he's found his spot (at Port Adelaide) and his groove in the game and, most importantly, he's got his confidence, so he can do whatever he wants in the game."

For his part, Jase isn't quite as confident about matching his uncle's All Stars achievement but after a breakout season with Port Adelaide that reaped 23 of his 36 career games, the 21-year-old isn't ruling anything out.

"It'd be a pretty big ask but if I won it, it'd be pretty special. Obviously 10 years ago (Shaun) won it so if I won the [medal] it'd be good but it's a big ask so let's see what happens," he said.