Richmond youngsters Jamie O’Reilly, Nick Westhoff and Ben Griffiths took time out of their pre-season training to visit Alice Springs recently, continuing Richmond’s involvement in the region.

It was the first time in Central Australia for the group, which visited a number of primary and secondary schools in the Alice Springs area, teaching children about the importance of teamwork, health and respect.

The players took some time out this week to give richmondfc.com.au an insight into their role in the Northern Territory.

To view the photo gallery of the trip and past trips, and to find out more about Richmond’s involvement in the Northern Territory, CLICK HERE.





richmondfc.com.au: What were your expectations of the trip?
Jamie O’Reilly: I wanted to get an insight into the harsh realities of the communities that many indigenous people living in Alice Springs and surrounding areas have to try and prosper in, on a daily basis.
Ben Griffiths: I was open-minded about the trip. It was my first time to Alice Springs.
Nick Westhoff: It was also my first time to Central Australia, so I didn’t really know what to expect.

RFC: What sort of messages did you try to communicate to the school kids?
JO: The main messages I tried to send were just having respect for other kids and teachers and the importance of education to give you a head start in life.
BG: The messages we were really focusing on were respect, teamwork, belief and trying their best, so that they get the best out of themselves.
NW: We travelled around visiting various schools and football development squads stressing the importance of the four areas. We related it to their sport and schooling.

RFC: Do you think it helps kids in the Northern Territory to hear these messages from AFL footballers?
NW: The kids have this passion and love for football. They love the game and really listen to the messages us players have to say, as they look up to the AFL Players.
JO: It’s something the children could relate to and it was evident they were interested in what we had to say, given we played football. They enjoyed being spoken to by people outside of their normal daily routine.
BG: Footy for the kids is a massive influence and it means a lot to them having players actually coming up to help send and reinforce these messages because they really listen.

RFC: What did you get out of the trip personally? What did you learn?
BG: I got a strong insight to the way of life and the different culture. It made me realize how much influence Football has and just how much they love it.
JO: there are massive hurdles facing children in many of these communities, from harsh living condition to dysfunctional social living conditions. The trip helped to educate me on problems that exist and also what I could be doing in order to help with the problem.
NW: We saw the highs and lows of Alice Springs. The main things I learnt was the strength and impact Aussie Rules Football has on the kids, and the programs that schools have in place to get the kids to attend school.

RFC: You visited Hermannsburg, an indigenous community 125kms from Alice Springs. What were your impressions of Northern Territory outback communities?
JO: It was a very pure form of existence in the sense that people didn’t seem concerned with things that people living a more metropolitan lifestyle would be concerned with. People weren’t at all materialistic. You could also see that the children were happy and just loved everything about football.
NW: When the kids knew we had arrived they came from all directions running through the rain with huge smiles on their faces. They were a very affectionate and enjoyable group of kids to work with.
BG: Hermannsburg was a great experience although the town is only small the kids were full of beans and wanted to know everything about football. It’s something I won’t forget in a while.

RFC: You also visited School of the Air, an educational centre for about 120 children living on properties or settlements, covering over 1 million square kilometres of Central Australia. Were you impressed by what is available to kids in such isolated areas?
BG: What the School of the Air does is fantastic and the opportunity they give to the children in providing them with a good chance to learn.
NW: It was an amazing experience. The overall concept of the school just shows how much effort is put into educating the kids in rural areas.
JO: It was a real lesson in how vast the outback of Australia is, considering the school educated 140 kids in a 1.2 million sq/km area. The technology was also great in providing a total learning experience for the children.

RFC: Can an experience like this improve you as a footballer?
JO: I don’t think this experience is going to make my kicking any better but I do believe that it’ll make me a better person and therefore a more valuable asset to the Richmond Football Club.
BG: I think learning about a different way of life and seeing how much footy is loved only makes me want it even more. It makes me realise how lucky I am to have this opportunity at Richmond.

RFC: What was the highlight of the trip?
NW: Definitely when we first arrived at Hermannsburg School. We watched the kids run around in an absolute downpour of rain, playing footy. I hadn’t seen anything like it.
JO: There were plenty of highlights - visiting all the primary schools, the School of the Air and Alice Springs community camps. But my overall abiding memory will be those kids playing in the rain. It proved how powerful a tool football can be in getting children in these communities to school and giving them an education.
BG: The trip to Hermannsburg was an amazing thing to be part of. Watching the kids run around in the rain made you realise how much they love their footy.