TAC CUP ROUND 4 COUNTRY ROUND MAY 25, 2013 $3.00 SSandringhamandringham DDragonsragons 112.16.882.16.88 d OOakleighakleigh CChargershargers 55.7.37.7.37 AFL VICTORIA CORPORATE PARTNERS NAMING RIGHTS PREMIER PARTNERS OFFICIAL PARTNERS APPROVED LICENSEES EDITORIAL Indigenous round IT’S been 20 years since Nicky Winmar stood defi antly at Victoria Park, raised his St Kilda jumper and proudly pointed to his identity. Much has happened since that poignant moment in In addition, earlier this year, AFL Australian football history, which still serves as a lasting Victoria announced the symbol of resilience, determination and pride for many development and implementation Indigenous people, but also for all Australians. of the Laguntas Indigenous Tigers As we refl ect on the trail blazers like Winmar and legends program. like Graham ‘Polly’ Farmer, Syd Jackson, Barry Cable, Gavin Supported by the AFL, the Korin Gomandji Institute (KGI) Wanganeen, Maurice Rioli and Michael Long, we can only and AFL SportsReady, the aim of the program is to further marvel at the numerous Indigenous players that have develop the pathway to the AFL competition for Indigenous excited and entertained football fans as well as helped players in Victoria. In the future, it is planned that the grow our great game. program will provide training and education to support the The AFL’s Indigenous Round, highlighted by the Dreamtime off fi eld development of up to 50 Aboriginal & Torres Strait at the G match on Saturday night, allows everyone to Islanders annually. celebrate and share aspects of the Indigenous heritage, This year the Laguntas Indigenous Tigers team play three history and culture. games that will be incorporated into AFL Victoria’s talent Certainly, Indigenous Round provides a fabulous pathway program match schedule including playing against opportunity to recognise, honor and salute the some TAC Cup sides. achievements and ever-increasing contribution Indigenous In this edition of the Football Record Oakleigh Chargers’ players have made. Jay Kennedy-Harris, the fi rst Indigenous player to captain a TAC Cup team side, speaks about how benefi cial the At the AFL level this season there are more than 80 KickStart program has been to his career. Indigenous players or, more signifi cantly, 10 percent of club lists. Kennedy-Harris this weekend will represent Vic Metro against Queensland in the opening match of the NAB AFL This involvement at the game’s elite level is underpinned by U18 Championships. the many programs and competitions throughout Victoria and Australia. At Victoria Park on Saturday, the U15 Kickstart team will play the U16 Ahmed Saad Squad as a curtain raiser to the Earlier this year in Townsville a combined Victorian/ Collingwood/Essendon Peter Jackson VFL game. Tasmanian U15 team made the national AFL KickStart Championship Grand Final where they were gallant in Ultimately, AFL Victoria hope that our Indigenous programs defeat against Western Australia. will result in a better defi ned more inclusive pathway so more Indigenous people can be involved at all levels of the It was an extension of the newly created High Performance game, including the TAC Cup and Peter Jackson VFL Camp that provided 50 participants with fi tness, skill competitions. testing and an introduction to the four pillars of Kickstart which include resilience, communication, identity and Grant Williams culture and decision making. AFL Victoria General Manager Editor: Anthony Stanguts anthony.stanguts@afl vic.com.au Contributors: Adrian Dunn, Dave O’Neill, Gabe Sorrentino, Design & Print: Cyan Press Photos: AFL Photo’s (unless otherwise credited) Visy Park, Gate 3, Royal Parade, Carlton Nth, VIC 3054 Advertising: Ryan Webb (03) 8341 6062 GPO Box 4337, Melbourne, VIC 3001 AFL Victoria General Manager: Grant Williams Phone: (03) 8341 6000 | Fax: (03) 9380 1076 www.afl vic.com.au State League & Talent Manager: John Hook High Performance Managers: Anton Grbac, Leon Harris Cover photos: (left to right) Clay McCartney, Jungala Ellis, Talent Operations Coordinator: Sophie Timms Michael Tilmouth-Turner, Kain Proctor, Nathan Drummond Talent Operations Offi cer: Lauren Bunting www.taccup.com.au 1 MEDIA COVERAGE TAC CUP MEDIA COVERAGE Keep up to date with all the action from the TAC Cup via the following media coverage: TAC Cup Radio Tune in from 11:15am for the TAC Cup Radio match of the week. Join Phil Crooks, Rick Morris and Gabe Sorrentino as they bring you a weekly TAC Cup match throughout the season. Saturday May 25 – Bendigo Pioneers vs Geelong Falcons 11:15am Listen live on the Red Time Sport iPhone App or www.taccup.com.au Next game: Calder Cannons vs Dandenong Stingrays TAC Cup Future Stars TAC Cup Future Stars is back on Channel 9 for season 2013. Join Craig Hutchinson, Kevin Sheehan, Terry Wallace and Drew Petrie as they keep you up to date with results and information from AFL Victoria’s TAC Cup competition. Tune in this Sunday May 26, at 1pm on Channel 9. TAC Cup Online Keep up to date with the TAC Cup via the following methods: Website: www.taccup.com.au @TACCup #taccup www.facebook.com/taccupfooty 2 www.afl vic.com.au JAY KENNEDY-HARRIS Victorian selection for Kennedy-Harris AS he refl ected on last year’s exhilarating TAC Cup Grand “I have a lot of recognition and respect for the KickStart Final, Jay Kennedy-Harris noted “some special things can program and what it’s done for myself and the other boys happen in footy”. coming up through the TAC Cup system.” Kennedy-Harris, a fi rst year science student at Melbourne The Kickstart program is for Indigenous players at University, is the co-captain of Oakleigh Chargers - the fi rst the Under 15 level, which introduces them to an elite Indigenous player to captain a TAC Cup club. football environment and includes playing for the Flying As well as his leadership role with Chargers, Kennedy- Boomerangs, an all Indigenous team. Harris is also in the Vic Metro squad, which this weekend Kennedy-Harris said it had helped him with his leadership will open its NAB AFL Under 18 Championship campaign skills. in Brisbane. “We talk a lot about our culture and what it means to be He admits he’s looking forward particularly to this an Indigenous person to each other,” he said. weekend for many reasons, quite apart from the honor of representing Victoria on the national stage. “I think it accelerated a lot of us in terms of our character and our footballing ability and I think it is starting to show “To have the acknowledgement of the Indigenous with growing number of players starting to represent TAC contribution to the AFL recognized is pretty special,” Cup teams. Kennedy-Harris said. “I’ve been given a lot of opportunities, some of them I may “I feel a little special being not have deserved, so I feel pretty fortunate,” he said. “If you really want to reach somewhere you just work as able to play for Victoria hard as you can until you achieve it and then you set a new goal. in this round. Football is “You keep climbing until you can’t climb any further. It is pretty big in the Indigenous the best way to look at things, not just football.” community and it’s been a big part of my life. “To be where I am now, I’m pretty proud of myself. Each step is a little closer to a childhood dream of playing AFL. “Like a lot of Indigenous boys it is a pretty proud thing.” While he said he hasn’t had what he would call a role model, Kennedy-Harris said he’s taken great solace from some of his Indigenous peers like Jarman Impey and Clay McCartney, who also play in the TAC Cup. He said the camaraderie of those and others helped him progress through the KickStart program. “It’s kept me going, kept me stepping it up,” Kennedy- Harris said. “I remember when Jarman and Clayton were part of the AIS (AFL Academy) squad and how proud I was that they had been able to do that. “For us there hasn’t been too many Indigenous players to look up to in Victoria. To start setting a new trend is pretty special. It’s like we’re starting a bit of a movement for the Indigenous talent in Victoria. www.taccup.com.au 3 $75 CASH BACK Buy a selected, specially marked Bailey Fibreglass Ladder between 11th February 2013 and 30th June 2013 and receive $75 cash back*. Complete and return the official claim form, along with your original tax receipt, by the closing date to receive your cash. *Refer to the official claim form for details or go to www.baileyladders.com.au/cashbackpromotion. Offer ends midnight 30th June 2013. All Cashback claims to be received by the 31st July 2013 to be valid. baileyladders.com.au 4 www.afl vic.com.au DARCY LANG Lang earns Big V DEALING with disappointment is a life companion, football “Once the selection came up, I really wanted to make the included. team,” he said. Geelong Falcon’s Darcy Lang had his heart set on “But, I didn’t play as well as I would have liked in either of representing Vic Country in the NAB AFL Under 16 the trial games. I was hoping I’d done enough throughout Championships two years ago. the season to put my name up there. Lang moved through all the various stages and player cuts, “I’ve been trying to keep the form up week to week.” but he fell one short. Like all players, several areas of the game were identifi ed “I was an emergency for the (Vic Country) Under 16s,” Lang to Lang as aspects of the game he needed to address.