Melbourne is a world away from Liam Jurrah’s home of Yuendumu

For Liam Jurrah, moving to Melbourne to start his AFL journey was like living in a different world. The former Demon opens up on his past struggles as he puts his life back together.

When Liam Jurrah’s name is brought up, people tend to think of one of two things.

Firstly, the scintillating high-flyer who wowed AFL fans kicking 81 goals in just 36 games for Melbourne in 2009-12.

Alternatively, he becomes the former Demon who faced court multiple times on aggravated assault charges stemming from conflict in his home community of Yuendumu, 300km northwest of Alice Springs.

There has been a lot written about Jurrah, both positive and negative.

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His name was thrust back into our lives last month when he played in an exhibition curtain-raiser before the Melbourne-West Coast game in Alice Springs.

But to understand fully where Jurrah is now, we need to go back to how and when his AFL journey started.

“I remember getting drafted. I was in Alice and I didn’t really know about it, to be honest,” Jurrah, 30, said this week.

“After I got a call from my family and friends saying I got drafted, I was in shock, I couldn’t believe it.”

But as the excitement began to build, the reality of leaving home began to settle in.

It wasn’t like moving from Brisbane or Perth to Melbourne. It was more like moving to a different world.

Liam Jurrah traininig with Central Australia Redtails last month. Picture: Matt Henderson

Suddenly, Jurrah was surrounded by people who spoke a different language in an alien environment where most buildings stood more than a storey high.

In fact, there are almost as many players on AFL lists as there are residents of ­Yuendumu.

“Being at the training ground, getting up every day, I wasn’t looking forward to it,’’ Jurrah said.

“It was a lot different than going to training in Central Australia.

“It was pretty tough having no one around me. It was me, my partner and no one else.

“Even not having someone to talk to in language, that was really hard. Having to get on the phone just to speak with someone in language was a bit difficult for me.

“Having brother boys like Aaron Davey, Matthew ­Whelan, Neville Jetta, Austin Wonaeamirri, Jamie Bennell, that helped, but being away is hard.”

The idea of being in a different world is best told through a story from Jurrah’s uncle and mentor, Darren Talbot.

“There was a team meeting the club had when Dean Bailey was coach, maybe the second year Liam was there. Liam rocked up a little late. He was getting used to the professional life,” Talbot said.

Jurrah (centre) with ex-Melbourne teammates Neville Jetta and Aaron Davey.

“He didn’t know there was a meeting on, and this happened maybe two or three times.

“The next session, he rocks in late the same again. Liam thought he was on time and Dean Bailey told him, ‘There’s a letter in your pigeonhole saying you have to be here half an hour early. I put it in there’.

“Liam responded, ‘What’s a pigeonhole?’ and they walked out and it was absolutely full with all of these letters.

“There are no pigeonholes in Yuendumu. It’s a different world.”

Trying to live in both worlds played a part in Jurrah’s bad choices, according to Talbot.

They led to Jurrah being charged for aggravated assault in 2013 and 2014, effectively ending his AFL career.

He was jailed in 2015 for four months, pleading guilty to punching his former wife and assaulting his former partner.

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Talbot, who works with ­at-risk children in Central Australia, said unrest that took place in Yuendumu took a toll on Jurrah that the average ­person couldn’t understand.

“Trying to re-engage in football, because he had some injuries, and then trying to understand what was going on back at home, that’s where it got messy for him,” he said.

“Liam was the Liam he is here (Central Australia), but he was trying to adapt to being the Liam in Melbourne.

Liam Jurrah at Alice Springs Court House in 2012.

“He understood and felt ­obligated on going back to Melbourne to continue his journey as a football player, but also felt culturally obligated to fulfil his duties of being a Warlpiri person to be there for his family.

“Liam had so many issues to deal with and has the memories of broken relationships ­between families from a close relationship people had with a young Warlpiri man who passed away in 2009.

“After years of being looked upon as a person who couldn’t help his community, that hurt Liam in a way you or I will never understand, which I see as the driving force behind Liam making wrong decisions in his life.

“Liam will always live by the Ngurra-Kurlu governance, not the perception of Liam Jurrah the footy star.

“They are two very different worlds, the meanings of such will never be understood until we accept that both systems need to be integrated.

“Education is the key to understanding life experiences and behaviours of a traditional community man.”

Jurrah has worked hard to get his life back on a better path and make amends for his wrongdoings.

“That’s what I’ve been trying to do for two years straight now, getting back on that good path. I don’t want to fail again,” he said.

Liam Jurrah celebrates a goal at the MCG.

As part of that, Jurrah has a job with the Regional Council at Yuendumu and is coach of the community’s under-18 football team.

He hopes through coaching, he can help kids succeed in making it to the top level and sustaining a career.

“That’s one thing I want, to be that guy people look up to. To help those guys that are in the position I was in,” he said.

“Some of those guys keep asking me how to make it to the top league and it’s all about adapting to city life. What I went through, I can use to help people now.”

When his AFL career is brought up, Jurrah says he has regrets about how it ended. But he also said he ­finally understands there are more important things in life than football.

“Being close to my family and my nanna is the main thing now,” he said.

“Family is really important. I have my nanna who is really sick at the moment in the hospital and I’m really close to her.

“I’ve got three boys and one girl and they are the main thing in my life.”

Originally published as Melbourne is a world away from Liam Jurrah’s home of Yuendumu