Wadeye footy talent Matthias ‘Gummy’ Maloney kicking goals in Adelaide

A Wadeye teen is kicking goals down south after being scouted playing footy in a community game - highlighting the power of sport to restore unity after tough times.

Wadeye teen Matthias Maloney, AKA Gummy, has hopes of becoming a professional AFL player after being scouted at a local footy competition to train in Adelaide. Picture: Pema Tamang Pakhrin

A Wadeye teen is kicking goals down south after being scouted playing footy in a community game.

Matthias ‘Gummy’ Maloney only started playing AFL three years ago, but the 18-year-old’s raw talent caught the eye of Territory footy legend Anthony ‘Tippa’ McDonald-Tipungwuti earlier this year.

Gummy has since done three stints in Adelaide, training with the Jervois Football Club in the River Murray Football League, with plans to play in the NTFL this summer before returning south next season.

He said it was a challenge keeping up with the demanding team schedule and coping with the weather: “It’s cold!”

Gummy hopes to one day play for Port Power, an apt team to match his totem - lightning.

Former Essendon player Shane Radbone is one of Gummy’s coaches, and said he was an “immense talent” who needed “about 7kg more muscle on each arm”.

“The challenge of making it out of Wadeye to the AFL is big, but it’s (one of) the largest communities in the NT and hasn’t produced one AFL footballer - so it’s only a matter of time.”

Jake Clark, chief executive officer of Kardu Diminin Corporation, said bringing footy back to Wadeye had been the most significant positive thing to happen in the community this year. Picture: Pema Tamang Pakhrin

Jake Clark, chief executive of Kardu Diminin Corporation, is the man largely to thank for bringing footy back to Wadeye after its NTFL team was scrapped in 2019.

Mr Clark said “a pretty rough year” of rioting and unrest in the community in 2022 left him searching for ways to foster inter-clan cooperation and “get everyone back on song”.

Growing from a one-day football competition and music concert in 2022, Wadeye this year hosted regular footy clinics with big names including Tippa (Essendon), Jayden Fox (Carlton), Ash Johnson (Collingwood) and Jy Farrar (Gold Coast Suns).

“It’s good for (the Wadeye kids) to connect with these (professional) guys, hear their story, hear their journey, because some of them came from very humble beginnings, playing community games just like we’re doing here,” Mr Clark said.

“There’s a space for us to connect with these boys, get them up in Adelaide or into the NTFL, and start giving them a chance to shine, get them away from the other things, get them into sport or culture.”

The Wadeye season culminated with a nail-biting final on Friday, coming down to a single goal between the Dockers and the Suns.

The Suns’ (Gummy’s team) final kick at goal - taken just after the siren blew - flew wide and the Dockers brought it home.

Mr Clark said regular footy in the community had made “the most significant” positive change in Wadeye this year.

“Wadeye is no oil painting. You’ve got 22 different clans living in a small area, and when everyone’s huddled into one place things do implode,” he said.

“We’ve seen a lot less of that because we created these outlets of sport and culture, and that shows the real Wadeye, the true side. It’s a beautiful community, beautiful people, and they do beautiful things.

“The biggest difference I’ve seen is people are happy, they’re engaged.

“In the footy games boys from different families mix in, they let them join the team, the kids are up in the forward line, they set them up goals - it’s community cohesion, and that’s the real Wadeye.”