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A STUDY GUIDE by katy marriner
http://www.metromagazine.com.au
http://www.theeducationshop.com.au ‘We were invited to become the About In A League winning streak comes to an end and Of Their Own they struggle to maintain their place in eighth team in the Northern the top four teams. Territory Football League. Today n A League Of Their Own follows Australia’s first all-black football The tropical rains begin and the dirt we are living a dream that was I team through their first season in roads that connect the communities first dreamt by our grandfathers. the big league in 2007 and 2008. After turn to mud. Getting the team together more than thirty years of running their to train is more difficult than ever. The That dream was to have a Tiwi side own competition in a remote island players and their mentors look to the community off the coast of Darwin, past and the strength of their tribal play in the Darwin competition, the Tiwi Bombers set out to prove that ancestors for inspiration. The captains the Tiwi Bombers.’ their fast intuitive style of football can and coaches remind the younger play- beat the long established teams of ers that they have inherited this op- – Thomas Simon the Northern Territory Football League portunity from the decades of struggle (NTFL). by their fathers and grandfathers.
From the outset there is opposition The Tiwi Bombers make a last ditch This study guide to accompany In from the other clubs as their top Tiwi effort to make it into the finals series. A League Of Their Own has been players are signed to the Tiwi Bomb- After losing their first finals game, written for middle and senior ers. It looks like a Tiwi dream team it comes down to one game. The secondary students. It provides will come together to annihilate the pressure is unbearable. The weather information and suggestions for established clubs. After a long win- couldn’t be worse. Training is almost learning activities in English, Health, Health and Human Development, ning streak through the first half of the impossible. The highly emotional Humanities, Media, Physical season the Tiwi Bombers appear to climax to this journey is unavoidable.
Education, VET Sport and Recreation be unbeatable. But there are unseen The cost of their inexperience and lack SCREEN EDUCATION and curriculum projects exploring dangers lurking behind their apparent of discipline is crushing for the players contemporary Indigenous Australia. success. The young players’ com- and the club but the message for the In A League Of Their Own is a mitment to steer clear of drugs and Tiwi Islands community is to get back three-part documentary series. alcohol is severely tested. Riding high up and fight another day. Each episode runs for approximately on success they lose their resolve and twenty-six minutes. attendance at training drops. Their 2 Episode Guide
Episode One The Tiwi Brand
The Tiwi Islands, a group of three tiny Aboriginal communities spread across two islands off the coast of Darwin, are a prolific producer of top grade footballers. When the community is given the opportunity to field a side Episode Two Episode Three they decide it is time to break with Top of the Ladder The Finals tradition and create their own Tiwi The Tiwi Bombers are riding high Island dream team. A crisis looms large when the Tiwi after a run of wins that has put Bombers’ previous invincibility eludes them at the top of the ladder. Their Their admission to the competition is them. Too much drinking and not turn- reputation for fast, intuitive football not without controversy as many of ing up for training has seen them slide has seen them take on the best that the established Darwin clubs are bris- from the unbeatable team to a ragged the Darwin competition has to offer tling at having some of their top play- mob struggling to hold onto their spot and to walk away with easy victories. ers poached to play for the Tiwi side. in the finals. Club officials are deeply An unexpected side effect of their There is also dissent amongst the Tiwi worried about the team’s prospects as long winning streak becomes evident ranks from stalwarts loyal to the St they enter the finals. as discipline lapses. There is poor Marys team, which was established attendance at training and a number just after World War Two specifically to When the Tiwi Bombers make it to the of players, including the leadership cater for Tiwi players. second round of the finals their coach- group, break their commitment to ing staff, their supporters and their manage their alcohol use and abstain Drugs and alcohol are considered as families are all on the edge of their from drugs. the major threat to the team’s history- seats wondering if they can pull off the making objective. The pre-season pep Geography is another obstacle. The dream of making it to the Grand Final talks include an all day workshop on squad is made up of players from in their first year of competition. It’s a drug and alcohol management and at three different communities separated hair-raising ride and at the end of the the end of the day the players pledge by hundreds of kilometres of dirt roads day the players are the only ones who themselves to abstinence from drugs that in the wet season turn to mud can determine their fate. and strict limits on their drinking. and become impassable. Although the club is backed by some serious spon- On the Thursday night after training sorship, most of it goes on airfares some of the players can’t resist the getting the players to Darwin every rare opportunity for a night on the weekend to play. They have also hired town. They hit the nightclub strip in in two ‘talls’ from Queensland (tall Darwin and turn up for training next players to compete in the ruck for the day trying hard to hide their hango- high balls). These players are based in vers. It happens again on the Friday Darwin and fly out to the Tiwi Islands night, the night before their sudden once a week to train with the squad. death semi-final. With the two co- captains Edward Darcy and Thomas
As we approach mid-season the press Simon carrying injuries and the squad SCREEN EDUCATION and the crowds are becoming highly in disarray things don’t look good for critical of the Tiwi Bombers and the the Tiwi dream team. players and club officials react to the lack of support. The Tiwi Bombers are • Detailed episode synopses can be losing their grip and it starts to show found at
Steven McGregor’s previous credits as a director include My Brother Vinnie (2006), 5 Seasons (2004), Cold Turkey Islander footballers. The way they I was approached to direct the series (2002), De-evolution (2001), The played, was how football should be I jumped at it. It was an opportunity to Watchers (2000) and Willigens Fitzroy played. celebrate the passion that the Tiwi Is- (2000). landers have for the game and attempt My mother and six of her thirteen to illustrate where this passion comes Director’s Statement brothers and sisters grew up on from. I could use a lot of big words the Tiwi Islands, at Garden Point on to try to explain how the Tiwi people Growing up as a kid in Darwin I always Melville Island. She was taken there to feel about football but I won’t, they are went to the Umpires Carnival which be raised by the Catholic Church. My mad for the game. heralded the start of the AFL football mother says she has some of her best season in Darwin. The attraction? and worst memories from growing The perfect vehicle for this explora- To watch the Tiwi Island footballers. up on the mission but the ones she tion was the admittance of a Tiwi side Every year they sent a team to Darwin cherishes most are the friendships she in the Darwin competition, the Tiwi to compete and people would flock made with the other children. Friend- Bombers. In season 2007–2008 they to their games. Their pace, their flair ships that endure to this day, as my made their debut. High expectations and the screamers (high marks) they mother says, ‘We were the only family were held for them, they might win took held us in awe. During the half we had.’ the premiership in their first season. A time breaks, me and my cousins would feat that has never been achieved in go onto the oval for a kick and throw The Tiwi Islands and football have Darwin let alone around Australia. screamers trying to emulate the Tiwi been a part of me all my life and when A Hollywood ending, could they do it? For me this created drama, we had a stake. In the minds of the players this is their pre-determined destiny, this is their birthright, come to the mainland and flog all the ‘pretty boy Darwin sides’. This dramatic element estab- lished the style the series would take. I approached it in a dramatic form, the three-act structure. The first episode would be the set up, the second the emotional journey and the third the resolution.
In terms of point of view, I wanted it to
come from the players in the side and SCREEN EDUCATION we needed characters who were able to be articulate but also hold currency within the framework of the team and the Tiwi Islands. Our main storyteller is the captain Thomas Simon who is supported by his co-captain Edward 4 on their homelands capturing them The Tiwi Islands are now an Aboriginal at work and play, work being on the Reserve, and all businesses on the football field. After a shaky start the island are Tiwi owned, The Tiwi Is- Tiwi Bombers became the team to lands Local Government oversees the beat, but then things started to slide management of the four communities and they got a bit cocky and then the on the Tiwi Islands. Four Community critics kicked in having their ten cents Management Boards, representing worth. Which I suppose is understand- Nguiu, Pirlangimpi, Milikapiti and Wur- able as not everyone was happy with ankuwu, advise the Tiwi Islands Local the inclusion of the Tiwi Bombers. The Government about the running of their perception that the Bombers received communities. Darcy. These two men have grown up thousands of dollars and enviable Nguiu with each other, as Thomas says, ‘He draft concessions was hotly debated used to come around my house and amongst officials from other Darwin Nguiu with a population of approxi- steal my toys’. Theirs is a bond that is clubs. So the season had everything. mately 1450 people is located on the evident on the screen. There are other Did they win the grand final? You’ll south east corner of Bathurst Island. support characters who underpin the have to watch the series. story and deal with issues that impact Pilangimpi on the team structure but Thomas and • Source:
I didn’t want this series to be another story about ‘poor drunken Aboriginals’. We have enough of those. While not shying away from substance abuse issues and youth suicide I wanted to make a story which will inspire people, inspire kids. Not one which tells them how fucked their life is. I want kids to watch this and say, ‘That’s deadly, I want to go and throw some scream- SCREEN EDUCATION ers’. There is room for stories where we can celebrate and be entertained; this is one of those stories.
We followed the team through the season and spent time with them 5 Team Players Edward Darcy – Co-Captain Thomas Simon – Co-Captain Edward Darcy was born and raised Thomas Simon was born on the Tiwi at Milikapiti on Melville Island. He Islands and grew up at Milikapiti on followed his best mate Thomas Si- Melville Island. He has always been a mon into the Palmerston juniors and keen footballer and was recruited into played alongside Simon in the Terri- the Palmerston under-14 team at the tory Thunder representative side for age of twelve. Simon played for Palm- several years in the late 1990s. After erston Magpies during his school days finishing school, Darcy won a Football and represented the Northern Territory Scholarship with Essendon Football several years running in the Territory Club and spent a year in Melbourne Thunder under-18 side. After finishing before playing for Werribee in the VFL. school he spent two years playing in After being sidelined with an injury he a regional competition in western Vic- returned to the Tiwi Islands and ended toria before returning to Milikapiti for up playing for Palmerston until the Tiwi the birth of his first son in 2001. After a Bombers club was formed in 2006. year away from football, Simon spent At the start of the 2007/2008 season two seasons back with the Palmerston Darcy was voted Co-Captain of the Magpies before being recruited by Tiwi Bombers. He lives at Milikapiti coaching staff of the Territory Thunder Darwin’s Wanderers Club. He joined with his wife. Their first child was born under-18s representative side for sev- the Tiwi Bombers in 2006 for their trial during the Tiwi Bombers’ first full sea- eral years, a role in which he continues season and was voted Co-Captain of son in the Darwin competition. Darcy today. He was closely involved in the the Tiwi Bombers by his team mates has completed an apprenticeship with establishment of the Tiwi Bombers at the start of the 2007/2008 season. Great Southern Plantations who run Football Club and became the inau- Simon recently moved to nearby a large-scale forestry operation on gural General Manager once the club Goulbourn Island after quitting his job Melville Island. was established. In mid-2008 Toy was as an Aboriginal Community Police appointed Coach of the Tiwi Bombers. Brenton Toy – General Manager Officer. He lives there with his wife and Greg Orsto – Coach three children and travels to Bathurst Brenton Toy was born and bred in Island once a week for training. Darwin and was introduced to football Gawin Tipiloura – Assistant Coach at a young age by his parents who Maurice Rioli – Mentor and coached juniors for North Darwin, later Assistant Coach to become the Palmerston Magpies. Young. Toy played for St Marys juniors Maurice Rioli won consecutive grand
throughout his school years and went final Simpson Medals with South Fre- SCREEN EDUCATION on to play for St Marys first grade mantle in 1980 and 1981. His Victorian where he was considered a solid Football League (VFL) career with performer. After retiring as a player Richmond saw him play a total of 118 he remained involved in the club and games and kick eighty goals between coached junior sides for a number of 1982 and 1987. His performance in years. Toy has been a member of the a losing Richmond grand final side 6 against Carlton earned him the 1982 Norm Smith Medal. Twice voted Rich- mond’s fairest and best player, he ran second in the 1983 Brownlow to Ross Glendinning. Rioli played interstate football for both Western Australia and the Northern Territory, and achieved the comparatively rare distinction of gaining All Australian selection with both teams.
Using In A League Of Their Own in the classroom
Teachers may select from the following information and activities to support students’ viewing and close analysis of In A League Of Their Own.
Before viewing In A League Of Their Own
• Football. Love it or loathe it? Where do you stand? Why?
• Why play football?
• ‘Football, sport, brings people together.’
– Maurice Rioli
• Do you agree?
• What does it mean to be in a league of one’s own? Write your own story of being in a league of one’s own.
After viewing In A League Of Their Own • Did you enjoy the series?
• What is the significance of the title of the series?
• What are the central concerns of In A League Of Their Own?
• Create an A3 collage of words and images that offers a response to an idea explored in In A League Of Their Own. Use these responses to
compose a class mural that reveals SCREEN EDUCATION the concerns of the documentary.
• What tagline would you use to promote In A League Of Their Own? 7 Close Analysis ‘Life on the Tiwi Islands isn’t perfect, Episode by Episode we have our problems. Alcohol and drugs has had a devastating effect on • Write a synopsis of each episode our community.’ of In A League Of Their Own for a television guide. – Thomas Simon
• Allow students to work as individu- The Tiwi Islands in recent times was Essendon Football Club aims to als or in small groups to create an known for having the nation’s highest strengthen communities through sport analysis of each episode. suicide rate. and its affiliation with the Tiwi Bomb- ers is an example of a partnership that Thomas Simon speaks of the high rate aims to do exactly that. Essendon • Compile a list of key quotations from of suicide on the Tiwi Islands. Thomas Football Club is proud to have the Tiwi In A League Of Their Own. Make has clearly experienced the pain of Bombers as an affiliate club. sure that the list is revealing of the losing peers to suicide. Conscious of series’ situations, participants and the pressures of a modern society and • Two things matter on the Tiwi Islands: concerns. how these pressures affect people ill football and art. The annual Tiwi Art prepared to cope, Thomas is grateful Footy Sale celebrates both. The sale • The Tiwi Islands that he has not fallen victim. is organised by the Tiwi Art Network, an alliance of the three art centres on • In A League Of Their Own takes the As a Tiwi Bomber, Thomas accepts the islands; Jilamara Arts and Craft, viewer to the Tiwi Islands. Find this that he and his fellow players have Tiwi Design and Munupi Arts and location on a map of Australia. Use a part to play in tackling the islands’ Crafts. Art is an important aspect of print and electronic texts to find out social problems but he believes that Tiwi Island life. Visit the website of more about the location. the elders of the Tiwi Islands have the the Tiwi art network to view the art knowledge and wisdom to make a centres’ online galleries at
EPISODE Highs Lows
Episode 1
Episode 2 SCREEN EDUCATION
Episode 3
8 Season 2007/2008 Round 1: 13 October 2007 Tiwi Bombers v St Marys Round 11: 22 December 2007 Tiwi Bombers v Nightcliff Round 15: 26 January 2008 Tiwi Bombers v St Marys Round 16: 2 February 2008 Tiwi Bombers v Palmerston Round 17: 9 February 2008 Tiwi Bombers v Palmerston Round 17: 9 February 2008 Tiwi Bombers v Southern Districts Qualifying Final: 23 February 2008 Tiwi Bombers v St Mary’s 1st Semi-final: 1 March 2008 Tiwi Bombers v Waratah
More than a game national/a-team-in-big-league- • What’s in it for the players? As a kickstarts-hope-on-troubled-tiwi- class, identify and discuss how the Football is serious business in the islands/2006/10/12/1160246262878. players benefit from being on the Tiwi Islands. The Tiwi Island Football html>. team. League (TIFL) fields eight teams each season. • More than just a footy match, the Tiwi • What does In A League Of Their Island Football League’s grand final Own tell us about the value of team The Tiwi Islands is said to have the day is a massive gathering of Tiwi sport? highest participation rate of any Islanders and mainland Australians. It community in Australia in Australian is the biggest day on the Tiwi Islands • What moments prove Thomas Simon Rules Football. At present about 500 calendar. and Edward Darcy’s dedication to the Tiwi Islanders play in regular football team? Do you think their efforts are competitions arranged for boys and • What do the images reveal about instrumental in keeping the team on girls and for men and women on both the community and their devotion to track? Melville and Bathurst Islands. football? The coaches • ‘For Tiwi Island people football is a • Read ‘Life Cycle’ by the Australian ‘They have got to be accountable.’ religion.’ poet Bruce Dawe. Dawe’s poem de- scribes how Australian Rules Football – Maurice Rioli – Thomas Simon influences the existence of ordinary Australians. Do you think Dawe’s • What is the role of a coach? Create a • Compile a list of moments and state- view of football and its fans is valid? list of the characteristics and skills of ments that prove this claim to be Is footy like a religion to you? Write a respected coach? true? a short piece of prose or poetry that reveals your view of whether Austral- • What demands and difficulties do • What does football offer the people of ian Rules Football is worth following. Greg Orsto, Gawin Tipiloura and the Tiwi Islands? Maurice Rioli face as coaches of the • Work with others to organise and Tiwi Bombers? What do you learn • Newspaper articles from the time lead a forum about the importance of about their commitment to the team?
when the Tiwi Bombers joined football at a local level. SCREEN EDUCATION the NTFL offer an insight into • Watch the coaches’ addresses. Im- the importance of football for The players agine you are the coach of a sporting the Tiwi island community. Read ‘We wear this guernsey with pride.’ team. Write the pre-match address ‘A team in big league kickstarts you would give, drawing on content hope on troubled Tiwi Islands’ at – Thomas Simon and language that is meant to moti- Team 2: Your task is to argue that footballers are good role models. Each team takes it in turns to present their views to the class in the manner of a debate. You should draw on In A League Of Their Own, other texts and real world examples to prove your claims. Tradition ‘You’ve got a reputation to live up to, names before you who have played well.’ Questions to consider: • ‘You can see the skill level of the – Maurice Rioli Tiwi Bombers is better than any • Why do the Tiwi Bombers want to other team in the competition.’ win? ‘To play St Marys in our first game was hard. With our shared history it was – Commentator • Are the Tiwi Bombers tough enough just like playing family.’ to win? What style of football do the Tiwi – Thomas Simon bombers play? Watch the match play • How do the Tiwi Bombers celebrate and training sessions, consider the victory? Brother John Pye is credited with in- views of the coaches and listen to the troducing the Tiwi Islanders to football views of the commentators to help • How do the Tiwi Bombers face in the 1940s. The St Marys football shape your response. defeat? club was established in 1951. The club was established to give Tiwi men • How good are the Tiwi Bombers? Role Models working in Darwin an avenue to play Create a sports report that evaluates ‘We’re footballers, but we’re Tiwi is- football. It was regarded as a given – if the strengths and weaknesses of the landers first, we’re role models for the you were from the Tiwi Islands you team. next generation.’ played for St Marys. It is a history that the Tiwi Bombers are proud of. • Based on the games shown and – Thomas Simon the views expressed by the team, ‘They should have stayed with their coaches, club officials and commen- • Do you think the Tiwi Bombers are own club, really, because St Mary’s tators, write a review of the Bombers’ role models for others? was formed for the Tiwi people.’ season. • Kick to kick: – Jack Long • Winners are grinners • Divide the class into two teams. Have the Tiwi Bombers betrayed St • ‘We’ve worked too hard to get here Marys as Jack Long suggests? and we are not going to throw it away.’ – Thomas Simon • Up for discussion: SCREEN EDUCATION Using the panel format of most televi- sion shows about football, create a discussion of victory and defeat. 10 The dream team ‘Just imagine if we were in the NTFL, that’s the stuff we would say to each other when we were kids and now we’re here.’ ‘We knew that no one else could make our dream a reality. It was up to us. History was ours for the taking.’ – Thomas Simon Over the last ten years, Tiwi Island- ers have broken with tradition and started to play with other Darwin clubs by choice or because they were recruited. In 2006, the time arrived for a Tiwi side to stand on its The challenges ‘… we come from clans and we own two feet and field a team in the come from tribes and stuff and we’ve Darwin competition. ‘At the moment we’re probably the got responsibilities over here as well only club that has to spend one hun- … we’ve got huge responsibilities, • Use the following statements to dis- dred and twenty thousand dollars a you know, to represent our families cuss why the Tiwi Islanders wanted year on airfares … it’s not as if we’ve well. Whether it’s through our culture a team of their own. gone out to sponsors and taken or through football.’ money off other clubs … the money ‘It’s been a long time coming. that the Bombers have brought in … – Thomas Simon For the Tiwi Bombers to become is new money.’ a reality in our generation is just ‘… we’ve got to be tougher …’ awesome.’ – Brenton Toy – Maurice Rioli ‘We are living the dream of our ‘Darwin sides train as a team two grandfathers and wear this to three times a week. We train as • Use these claims to initiate a discus- jumper with pride.’ a full squad once a week, at Nguiu sion of the challenges that face the on Bathurst Island. We’d like to club and the players. ‘We’ve all grown up together and get together more but it’s basically to be part of this team means liv- impossible.’ The opposition ing our dream, a dream we share ‘You could really call them the mod- with our community.’ – Thomas Simon ern day franchise …’ – Thomas Simon ‘Our blokes come from three com- – Adrian Moscheni munities spread over two island • Brenton Toy claims that the Tiwi covering 8,000 square kilometre. It’s Some claim that the Tiwi Islands Bombers bring ‘something unique’ not ideal but it’s our reality. For me have had an easy ride into the com- to the NTFL. Do you agree? and the other players from Melville petition. Island it’s a two hour round trip by car and boat.’ • The Tiwi Bombers have their critics. How do they regard the Tiwi Bomb- – Thomas Simon ers? Are their criticisms valid? Con- sider the opinions of the following ‘Then we’ve got Darwin based play- people in shaping your response: ers flying over every few weeks to SCREEN EDUCATION train with us. On game day it’s the • Mark Motlap – Nightcliff coach same story. Traveling here, flying to Darwin, play and then fly back.’ • Jack Long – former St Marys player – Thomas Simon • Adrian Moscheni – St Marys president 11 Off field • Vic Ludwig – former St Marys presi- Do you think the Tiwi Bombers are dent ‘I suppose it’s a big responsibility, it’s ambitious? off field as well, you know, getting • How do the players react to the criti- the boys ready during the week you Just before Christmas the team’s cism? know, and getting them to training and fortunes falter. The Tiwi Bombers basically getting them to look after realise that they can’t coast through • The Tiwi Bombers compete against themselves.’ the season. Darwin, Nightcliff, Palmerston, South- ern Districts, St Marys, Wanderers – Edward Darcy • What goes wrong for the Tiwi Bomb- and Waratah in the NTFL. ers? ‘Alcohol is a problem.’ Work with others to find out more • ‘Our whole season came down to about one of the clubs. Use Power- – Brenton Toy this one game. We win we have Point to present an overview of the another chance, we lose it’s all over.’ club that your group has selected. ‘It’s up to us to learn from our mis- Begin your research by visiting: http:// takes, both on and off the field as ‘Looking back on the season it was www.fullpointsfooty.net/afl_northern_ well.’ a long one. We had expectations of territory.htm winning the flag in our first season – Thomas Simon but we didn’t, better sides beat us Hall of fame on the day, and to be honest we • The Tiwi Bombers devise their own weren’t committed enough, simple The Tiwi Islands have produced Aus- code of conduct. Do you think it is as that.’ tralian Football League (AFL) players a wise idea to institute a set of rules including Maurice Rioli, Dean Rioli, to regulate player behaviour off the – Thomas Simon Michael Long, Edmund Johnson and field? Do the players take the code David Kantilla. seriously? Do you think the pressure to win a grand final weighs too heavily on the Austin Wonaeamirri created his own • What temptations come with suc- Tiwi Bombers season? Do the Tiwi piece of football history when he cess? Bombers buckle under pressure? became the first Tiwi Bomber to be Were their expectations too high or drafted to an AFL club. Originally from Go hard or go home did the football community’s high the community of Milakapiti on Melville ‘It’s do or die.’ expectations compromise the team’s Island, about 100km north of Darwin, success? Wonaeamirri has joined the Melbourne – Edward Darcy Demons. Production Values SCREEN EDUCATION ‘We want the grand final. It has never • Find out more about the Tiwi Island- been achieved by a team in its first • As a class, discuss the demands of ers who have played in the AFL. season.’ making a documentary series like In Compile a set of football cards that A League Of Their Own. provide a profile of each man’s sport- – Thomas Simon ing achievements. • What questions would you like to ask 12 qualities of a review. Write a review of In A League Of Their Own that would appear in a television guide. • Draw on the format of a football record to compile a detailed docu- ment about the Tiwi Bombers. • Write a team song for the Tiwi Bombers. In doing so, consider the purpose of a team song. What music or tune would you set your lyrics to? • Write a feature article about a team in your area’s local football league. Before you begin writing, decide on the publication that will feature your Steven McGregor, the director of In A • As a class, view a sequence from an article. When you have made your League Of Their Own? episode of In A League Of Their Own. decision, think about your likely audi- ence and the format of your article. • View the opening sequence of each Describe the setting and action of Use vocabulary and adopt a tone episode. What does the opening se- this sequence. that best suits the publication that quence of each episode tell us about you have chosen. Locate appropriate In A League Of Their Own? How are What is the tone of this sequence? images to include in your article. Ask you positioned as a viewer? How is it created? your teacher to act as your editor and don’t forget to devise an attention • What is the role of the narrator in In a What is the effect of certain shots demanding headline. League of Their Own? Why do you in this sequence? think the filmmaker chose Thomas • Spend time talking to people who Simon to narrate the story of the What does sound contribute to this have played, coached and supported Tiwi Bombers? Was it a successful sequence? football at a local level. Film the decision? interviews and edit the interviews to How does this sequence contribute create a short documentary. • Why do you think the filmmaker to our knowledge and understand- included the locker room scenes? ing of the individuals involved in • Premiere the class documentary at a this sequence? school assembly. • Why do you think the camera draws our attention to the ceremony poles? What important ideas are highlight- • Do you think that there should be an ed in this sequence? AFL team based in the Northern Terri- • Why do you think the filmmaker tory? Debate this subject in class. shows some of the players getting • The closing sequence of Episode back to basics by trading football for 3 shows the Tiwi Bombers on 11 • ‘Game day is always hard, the fishing? October 2008, embarking on their nerves kick in, you try to keep your- second season in the NTFL. Is this an self busy, listen to music, chill out • What part does music play in In A effective way to resolve the story told with the lads, anything to take your League of Their Own? Do you find In A League of Their Own? mind off the game, but it’s always the filmmaker’s choices effective? there simmering just below the • Watch the trailer for In A League of surface …’ • Listen to the lyrics of Brothablack’s Their Own at song? trailer promote the series? Have you ever experienced the anxiety SCREEN EDUCATION that Thomas acknowledges is part and • Why do you think the filmmaker Extended Responses parcel of game day? Create a piece makes reference to past and current • ‘Football is part of the lifeblood of of writing that describes the occasion policies and practices of white Aus- the Tiwi Islands.’ Discuss. and how you felt. tralia in regard to Australia’s indig- enous population? • Spend some time researching the 13 DVD Extras The In A League Of Their Own DVD provides Educational Resources to extend students’ knowledge and understanding of how to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Online http://www.inaleagueoftheirown.com.au The In A League Of Their Own website provides information about the series, as well as access to information about nutrition, exercise and lifestyle issues, a Heroes Gallery and music video clips. • Spend a lesson exploring the In A League Of Their Own website. Discuss what you discover with a partner. References • In A League Of Their Own press release, 2009. • In A League Of Their Own post-production scripts, 2009. • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Tiwi_Bombers • http://www.fullpointsfooty.net /afl_northern_territory.htm • http://www.inaleagueoftheirown.com.au • http://www.smh.com.au/news/ national/a-team-in-big-league- kickstarts-hope-on-troubled-tiwi- islands/2006/10/12/1160246262878. html • http://www.tiwiart.com SCREEN EDUCATION 14 This study guide was produced by ATOM. (©ATOM) [email protected] For more information on Screen Education magazine, or to download other free study guides, visit visit 15