THEY finish each other's sentences, rib each other with the ease of siblings, and love nothing more than having a laugh together.

When Western Bulldogs Jarrod Harbrow, Brennan Stack and Josh Hill collectively went searching for Malcolm Lynch, who went missing minutes before this interview, that close camaraderie was on display at its very finest.

Phones were produced and Lynch was called, Harbrow and Stack took off in different directions, and Hill put out a vocal call for his absent teammate. Eventually, a sheepish Lynch emerged from the locker room and was greeted by some jovial teasing by his three friends.

As the quartet gathered in the Elite Learning Centre's weights room at Whitten Oval, it became apparent the club's small group of Aboriginal players were more than enthusiastic to talk about what the league's upcoming Indigenous Round meant to them.

The oldest of the bunch, 20-year-old Lynch, spoke passionately about how the themed round will deliver a message to Aboriginals living about how important indigenous players have become to the livelihood of the game.

"Generally speaking, the whole round recognises that indigenous players play a pivotal role in today's game," the Tiwi Islander said.

"Looking at the history of AFL and VFL football, there were only a few players playing like Nicky Winmar and Michael Long that made big steps.

"Today, we've got 70-something indigenous players in the competition, so it's really a weekend for other indigenous people who don't usually get a chance to see games to realise the overall contribution that we as players can give back to the community."

Hill, 19, found it hard to describe just how important it was for Australia's Aboriginal population to be given the opportunity to see its culture celebrated by the sport this weekend.

"It is a big thing for all indigenous players, just getting together and playing not only for their team but their state as well, and their tribe and families," he said.

"It's a big thing for the Aboriginal players, and especially for the young kids who grow up watching their Aboriginal heroes play on each other."

For Stack, 19, the weekend is about representation and giving his Perth family members an idea of how much he's achieved by making his way to an AFL club's list.

"It's always good to play for your culture, and represent your tribe back home where you friends and family are watching," he said.

"It's always good for them to watch you and support you with what you do."

And for Harbrow, 19, it's more about reaching out to potential young indigenous players by proving that anything is possible.

"There's so many Aboriginal communities out there that don't have the privilege to go and watch AFL games at the highest level," he said.

"They don't have the support or the transport to travel interstate to watch big games like these. What this round does is it recognises those kids too.

"The numbers of Aboriginal kids playing has risen dramatically over the years. That's only going to get bigger as the years go on, so it's just about recognising all those kids in the remote communities that can't be a part of what the normal city kids get to each week.

"It's a real big deal to them as well, and as AFL players, we're representing them as well.

"Football gets kids active, playing sport. You hear so much about the drugs and alcohol in the communities, but now the indigenous kids are getting recognised for how great they play and how good their talent is.

"That's a major thing – recognising how good players at that level can be, and not just for the off-field issues, which is the wrong choice kids can make."

Lynch added football is "part of the culture" on the Tiwi Islands, while Stack spoke of how his friendship with fellow Western Australian and Collingwood forward Leon Davis extended beyond club rivalry.

But ultimately, Harbrow said the round would emphasise the brotherhood and sense of companionship between indigenous players across the league.

"We get along well, because we understand that we went through the same stuff back in our local communities, back in juniors," he said.

"We understand each other a lot better and that's why we do get along so well."