THE first ever Central Murray Football Netball League (CMFNL) indigenous round will be held this weekend with Nyah Nyah West United (NNWU) to wear a specially designed jumper to commemorate the occasion.
With a host of players from around the country with indigenous backgrounds playing at the Demons in 2016, assistant coach Joel Campbell pitched the idea of an indigenous round to the club who threw their full support behind the concept.
The CMFNL approved round 8 as the first ever indigenous round.
Speaking to The Guardian, Campbell said he was ecstatic to bring the concept to life on a CMFNL level.
“I have played in three or four teams in the last 10 years and this is a club who have finally agreed with me to (put on the round) and I am looking forward to it … I have a lot of brothers and cousins playing so it should be good,” he said.
“It was mentioned to the club and they said yes, there is a club feeling behind the jersey and the event.
“You see the AFL did theirs [at the weekend] and so many got behind it, now Central Murray are doing it for the first time and we want to build on it from here.”
Campbell said he and Darryl White designed the jumper for the round with their club in mind.
The Murray River is represented in a blue strip on the bottom with a red boomerang at the top to represent the NT players in the side.
When approached by the players, NNWU president Gary Lowe said it was immediately given the green light.
“We have been an indigenous club for years and years, it is great they are down here playing and now the round is part of the CMFNL,” he said.
For more on this story, pick up a copy of Wednesday’s paper (June 1, 2016).
