This weekend will be our annual NRL Indigenous Round, so please, get out there and support it.
It's a great way for people, especially those who don't know what the Indigenous Round is all about, to go out and get to a game.
Take your kids, take your family, take your loved ones and go and be a part of it.
Because a lot of people in modern day Australia haven't got the access to be a part of these wonderful communities and see how Aboriginal people have been living for the last 40,000 or 50,000 years.
We've got a great history, a great culture.
We've got a great history, a great culture.
When you're living in big cities, people haven't got access to even go and be a part of Aboriginal communities.
And so the game's gonna bring it to you. You get to see the dances and you've got artwork and some of the Indigenous superstars themselves. It's massive.
Through the game of rugby league and the Indigenous Round, at the end of the day it's all about educating people. Educating people about the issues, the concerns and the fight that we as Aboriginal people, not only have in sport, but also in education and life in general. It's really important that people are well aware of all of the issues that we have in our communities, for Aboriginal kids and other people, and that we try and Close The Gap.
We've got a big battle but it's important that we make it a lot easier for the next generation; these young boys and girls coming through and give them a longer and a happier life.
Through rugby league we get to showcase that, and seek all of the education and help, and people get to watch great games of footy every round 10 of every year.
All these clubs are taking it on board and they've all got an Indigenous jersey now.
Mitchell Pearce in the Newcastle Knights Indigenous Round jersey, designed by Owen Craigie and others. (NRL Images) Source: NRL
It just highlights how the game and the payers are committed to Closing The Gap and involved in Indigenous communities.
Showcasing all the hard work that your community's doing and supporting what they're doing is another thing to celebrate because years ago, when I used to play, and all the other boys that I know that where in my era, we would have died for something like this.
Now that these boys are lucky to have a whole round dedicated to it. That's something special.
It makes me feel proud. It's a great honour and privilege.
It makes me feel proud. It's a great honour and privilege.
I'm involved in the Knights jumper this week. Me, Ashley Gordon, Connor Watson and Timana Tahu, we've designed this jumper this year and we feel honoured.
It's special that they asked us to do it because they're just highlighting the fact that our journey and our life, and the Newcastle Knights were a part of it, we can showcase that through our totems and our artwork and the jumpers.
And the boys are going to represent that and play in it. It's special the way that the clubs incorporate current and ex-players and artists to showcase all things Aboriginal and Indigenous.
The story of the jumper is it's got all of our totems on it. So I've got the sand goanna and the kangaroo and Ash Gordon's got the echidna and the turtle and Timana Tahu's got the dingo and the wedge-tailed eagle and Connor Watson has the sand goanna.
The jumper's also got a gold river through it, which means that we've all been touched through the journey, we've all been a part of the success, winning premierships and creating history within the club.
Elise Randell is the local artist painted it and players this week, it's a great honour and a privilege to be a part of that.
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