Tyabb donates its old footy jumpers to Wadeye in the NT

There’s 3900km between Tyabb and Wudapuli in the NT but they have a connection — all because of a set of old footy jumpers.

The Wudapuli-Nama Yabbies in their old Tyabb jumpers.

There was a touch of the Mornington Peninsula about Wadeye Football League grand final day.

The jumpers worn by Wudapuli-Nama had come a long way, all the way from Tyabb in the MPNFL.

And they looked fabulous as the small town five hours south west of Darwin came to life with footy fever.

In 2018, Tyabb updated its jumpers and wondered what to do with its old ones.

That’s when an idea popped into Yabbies volunteer Kerry Johnson’s mind.

She knew former Tyabb player Josh Connell was working for the AFL in Wadeye as a remote development manager in charge of the local footy league.

So, Johnson phoned Connell offering the jumpers and soon they were on their way.

The old Tyabb footy jumper.

“I was really thankful when Kerry phoned to offer the jumpers,” Connell, who is back living in Melbourne, said this week.

“There’s no funding up there. You’ve got to wrangle to get sponsors from Darwin or get the local store or transport company to sponsor the jumpers so the boys have a jumper to play in.”

Wudapuli-Nama also adopted the Yabbies nickname, and that’s when their winning run began.

They swept into the grand final, and led by six goals at halftime, before falling short.

“They liked the jumpers because they kind of looked like Brisbane colours,” Connell said.

“Up there they wear their footy jumpers with pride...they’re walking around with that Tyabb jumper.’'

Josh Connell playing for Tyabb.

Connell spent three football seasons in Wadeye, and loved it.

“Best thing I’ve ever done. Amazing,” he said.

“I went there, I took a punt, when I just finished uni.

“I took a job with the AFL and said, ‘oh I wonder how this will go’.

“It was one of those things if you hate it, well, just go back home, nothing lost.

“I didn’t know how I was going to go in the middle of nowhere but, yeah, the next thing I knew three years flew by. It was the best decision I ever made.

“It changed me forever. I never thought I’d be there for that long. I loved it.”

Connell’s main role was running the football league.

“We started with six teams and by the end of it we had 10,” he said.

“It just keeps all the men out of trouble, out of jail and from fighting each other.

“The community is a much better place when it’s being run.”

As for football talent, Wadeye has lots.

“I’ve seen some freakish stuff,” Connell said.