Getting used to the colder weather was not the only adjustment that Ben Long had to make when he moved from Darwin to Melbourne for school as 15-year-old.

“The Melbourne lifestyle is all go-go and it’s a really busy place,” the now Gold Coast Suns forward said.

“Growing up in Darwin I’d do a lot of hunting and fishing with the family and obviously you don’t get to do that down in Melbourne.

“Early days there was a bit of homesickness, missing family. But I was able to make friends pretty quickly at the boarding house and I was lucky I had a few cousins down there that actually lived in Melbourne so occasionally on a few weekends I’d go hang out with them.”

One of his cousins — Anthony Long — had taken the same route a few years earlier, leaving Darwin for a scholarship at Melbourne Grammar School to pursue his football dreams.

Anthony went on be drafted by Essendon in 2009 and Ben had similar aspirations.

“A few of the Darwin boys had been through that school and I think it was my cousin Anthony and uncle Mick (Michael Long) who got to the word out, because they were looking for Indigenous students to come down,” Ben said.

“I think my name just popped up.”

Through a scholarship he received from the Australian Indigenous Education Foundation, Ben completed his final three years of schooling at Melbourne Grammar.

He was surprisingly overlooked in his draft year of 2015, but was selected by St Kilda as a 19-year-old in the 2016 national draft after winning a VFL premiership with Footscray.

“It was a massive part of getting to where I am today, moving away from my family and friends and getting an opportunity to go down to boarding school,” Long said.

“It was an awesome time there and I’m forever grateful.”

MORE OPPORTUNITIES OPENING

The path that Long took to the AFL is one that has become increasingly common as more young Indigenous players move from remote areas to take up boarding school scholarships in Victoria.

Long’s Gold Coast Suns teammate Daniel Rioli moved from the Tiwi Islands to finish his final four years of school at St Patrick’s College in Ballarat, while four-time Hawthorn premiership player Cyril Rioli moved from Darwin as a teenager to take up a scholarship at Scotch College in Melbourne.

Richmond forward Maurice Rioli Jnr and Western Bulldogs forward Jamarra Ugle-Hagan also boarded at Scotch College before being drafted to the AFL.

The prestigious school could have another young Indigenous boarder headed to the AFL this November, too, in Tom Phillips.

Originally from Perth, Phillips played junior football for the Jandakot Jets but only started taking the sport seriously in high school.

While involved in East Fremantle’s futures program in 2023, Phillips attended a Holistic Athlete Development seminar — a pathway designed to help young footballers get drafted — where he impressed founder Brad Jenkinson.

Before he knew it, he was offered the chance to join the program and board at Scotch College.

“There’s been so many learnings on and off the field. Victoria is the home of football. There’s lots of great players around,” Phillips said of the life-changing decision.

Phillips can’t fault the support he’s been given as an aspiring Indigenous AFL footballer at the school.
“At Scotch there is a lot of support for the Indigenous students and players,” he said.

“Dr Rob Smith, who is the head of Indigenous program, has been a massive part of that.

“We Indigenous players get to share culture through the design of an Indigenous guernsey and performing a war-cry with the team on reconciliation round. It was a very proud moment for culture.”

THE ‘FIFO’ FOOTBALLER

Phillips might have moved to Melbourne for boarding school, but he hasn’t forgotten his West Australian roots.

In fact, he still played all four games for Western Australia during the side’s recent under-18 national championships campaign.

Such is Phillips’ commitment to living out his AFL dream, the 18-year-old flew back and forth across the country to pull on the black and gold and remain in the sights of talent scouts — including returning to Perth for a trail game earlier this year.

“Balancing my education with the flights and missing a day of school can be a bit tough,” he said.

WA Football funded Phillips’ Fly-In Fly-Out (FIFO) lifestyle and he showed some good signs during the tournament with his outside run and carry.

“Last year, there was an Indigenous and multicultural day held at the footy commission,” Phillips said.

“It was during the school holidays so I was back in WA at the time.

“I saw Adam Jones, the WA talent manager, so I went up and introduced myself and said ‘G’day I’m Tom. I’m living over in Victoria but how do I keep my foot in the door in WA.’

“He gave me his email and told me to get in touch when I was next back in Perth and they’d try to get me down for training. I did just that and trained with the WA program over the holidays so it went from there.”

Phillips is a member of Fremantle’s Next Generation Academy due to his Indigenous heritage, giving the Dockers getting first dibs on him at this year’s AFL draft.

“When I fly into WA, I’m able to head into the club and do a bit of recovery to prepare for game day,” he said.

“Last year, they even flew over to watch a game of mine and met all my coaches. They’ve been a really good support.”

REVERSING THE DECLINE

The number of Indigenous players in the AFL has been on a steady decline.

After reaching a peak of 86 Indigenous players in 2020, there are just 62 on AFL lists in 2025.

But there is hope that those numbers can climb again, with Phillips believing the current talent pathways are well equipped to support Indigenous players.

“I think a lot of the onus is on the player or individual to really grasp at the opportunity they have in a program while they’re in it and to really use every resource they can to get the best out of themselves,” he said.

“There is always more that can be done to help boost Indigenous players in the AFL, but in saying that the steps that have been taken in last 20 years to help improve have gone a really long way.

“For example, the Flying Boomerangs program or Next Generation Academy’s, which I’ve been lucky enough to be a part of, give glimpses into where the nurturing of Indigenous talent really shines and adds a flare to football that everyone loves.

“I think Indigenous players are some of the most talented footballers ever … the likes of Cyril Rioli and Eddie Betts are the pinnacle of AFL. I’d really love to see more and more kids come through the system with the same support, love and drive as them.”

Long believes reversing the decline also lies with the current cohort of Indigenous AFL players to continue to set the example and inspire others in their communities.

“I think it’s important for us boys that are still in the game to keep putting ourselves out there as role models and really inspiring the next generation of boys and girls who want to play footy one day to keep them involved,” he said.

But Long added that opportunities to head to boarding school and get in front of AFL recruiters were another very important part of the puzzle.

“It’s about the opportunity and hopefully … more opportunities like that can come up for Indigenous kids and hopefully they take those opportunities,” Long said.

“I’m all for it and hopefully one day if I have kids and the opportunity comes up, I’d be all for it as well.

“If any young Indigenous kid gets an opportunity to go away and experience what I’ve experienced, I’d 100 per cent recommend it.”