River Murray Football League, Robbie Young celebrate Indigenous Round
A former St Kilda and North Adelaide star says there was a reason the River Murray Football League’s Indigenous Round topped the rest. See the gallery.
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One of the state’s Indigenous amateur league stars has heralded the River Murray Football League’s Indigenous Round as South Australia’s best.
Former St Kilda and North Adelaide star and Tailem Bend gun Robbie Young said it was amazing to be involved with such a celebration of Indigenous players at an amateur level.
“It was awesome to be a part of and our players were lucky and privileged to be involved with the round,” he said.
“It’s amazing to see this at the amateur level.
“It’s such an important round for us Indigenous boys and gives us an opportunity to showcase our talent and just use the week to focus around our people.
“It gives us the chance to teach our fellow teammates and support staff about our culture and what it’s like to be an Aboriginal person.”
Young said the league’s commitment to ensuring the round was not tokenistic and involved Indigenous people and their stories in getting it up and running, which was integral to its success.
He counted his highlight of the round as the involvement of elders, uncles and family members, something he said was “really special”.
The round saw several clubs senior sides don Indigenous themed guernseys, but Young said a future in which all reserves sides, juniors and connected netball clubs wore the uniforms was an important step forward.
“If you’re an Indigenous player (not playing in the senior side) and wearing a normal guernsey you can feel left out,” he said.
“As important it is for the A grade players, it’s equally important for the B grade. There’s a few Indigenous players running around in those sides and it makes them feel included and special.
“It’s great to start it at the top but now we can work our way down and you never know where it goes – it could end up with the netball teams and juniors being involved as well.”
Young said the impact of involving whole clubs and leagues in Indigenous rounds could be felt for generations to come.
He said the round gave juniors a chance to recognise their Indigenous identity and confidence to “pass their knowledge on about where they come from and what it feels like to be an Aboriginal person”.
TAILEM BEND 12.6 (78) d
MENINGIE 6.14 (50)
Robbie Young starred in his side’s away win over Meningie during Indigenous Round, dominating in the middle and up front.
Young won the ball in countless contests throughout the day and created for his teammates as the Eagles set the tone.
Meningie showed some resilience in the third term to get within three kicks but the visitors were too strong and ran away with the win early in the final term.
Lachlan Thomas, who took home the best on ground Hartman Wilson Medal, was also impressive for Tailem Bend, while Nick Westhoff led all goalkickers with three majors.
The Eagles remain level with top sides Jervois and Imperial on points with 16.
IMPERIAL FC 20.15 (135) d
MYPOLONGA 2.6 (18)
A huge 117-point win over Mypolonga at home kept Imperial in touch with Jervois at the top of the ladder.
The Tigers were held to just three points in the first quarter as Imps piled on 8.4, dominating the centre clearances and capitalising up front.
The visitors managed a goal in the second term but were then held scoreless until the fourth quarter, with the hosts keeping the foot down and applying intense pressure at the contest.
Luke Harrowfield was best on ground for his work on the ball while also kicking three goals.
Forwards Jaiden Mole and Sam De Michele put on a clinic up front, booting six majors apiece.
JERVOIS 22.9 (141) d
MANNUM 4.3 (27)
A 13 to two goal second half sealed a 114-point win for top side Jervois over fifth placed Mannum.
The hosts struggled to start proceedings, with the visitors kicking the first goal of the game and winning more of the contested ball.
The Bluds would soon turn fortunes around however, winning the clearance battle and locking the ball in their forward half to hit the scoreboard and prevent Mannum from building any meaningful attack.
This kept the heat on Mannum’s defence, which gradually crumbled under consistent Jervois pressure.
Josh Scott, who won the Jimmy Rankine Memorial Trophy, produced a dominant performance in the forwardline, taking multiple strong contested marks and booting nine goals in the win.
Owen Love was also a standout, kicking six goals to almost match his teammate’s performance.
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