The AFL will divert around $300,000 from Indigenous guernsey sales towards initiatives designed to address culturally unsafe environments and racism, as the league grapples with a growing trend of First Nations players leaving the game.
The number of Indigenous players in the league has dropped every year since its peak of 87 in 2020, to now where it sits at 62. Under its five-year strategy drafted last year, the AFL has targeted an increase to 89 by 2030.
AFL chief executive Andrew Dillon said First Nations teenagers are getting drafted at a higher rate than their overall share of the league, but more work needs to be done to ensure players can fulfil their potential.
“What we did see last year was nine Indigenous players drafted in the men’s competition, which was a bigger proportion of the 80-or-so players drafted – percentage-wise, that was a really high percentage,” he said.
“But what happened was, at the same time, we had 11 Indigenous players delisted, so that’s why the number went down.”
The typical career for an Indigenous player is approximately one year shorter than that of a non-Indigenous player. The trend is evident even in the careers of high-profile, proven performers such as Willie Rioli, who retired last year at age 30.
Dillon said there are no “cookie-cutter” solutions, and the league has introduced a subcommittee to look at ways of growing Indigenous numbers. There is also a working group considering dedicated First Nations list spots.
“I think the players are there. Would we like even more? Absolutely, and that’s why we’re doing that work,” he said. “So it’s not only just about identifying, it’s then when the players are on the list, how can we make sure that an Indigenous player stays on the list as long as any other player does.”
The AFL expects the newly-launched First Nations impact fund will receive around $300,000 this season.
Clubs are able to access the funding by pitching initiatives to support the league’s First Nations strategy, which include creating culturally safe environments and calling out and addressing racism.
St Kilda’s Bradley Hill said he didn’t know exactly what the cause for the drop-off was, but he believed there is still more to be done to help young Indigenous players realise opportunities.
“Growing up as an Aboriginal young kid I know how hard it can be as a teenager, whether it’s getting to training, getting people committed to their teams,” said the Noongar man and three-time premiership player.
“I know sometimes it is difficult for us to get there, whether it’s money, travel, there could be a lot of things that we could do to make it easier for the younger boys coming through.”
Hill said there was a “positive outcome” to last month’s incident when Hill and others at the Saints took exception to a comment by coach Ross Lyon described as “casual racism”, but he did not want to elaborate further.
“It’s already been out there in the newspapers and stuff, I probably don’t need to touch on that again,” he said. “I think you guys all know exactly what went on.”
