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Aboriginal & TSI Decline in Indigenous AFL players. Should the AFL do more to address it?

Should the AFL do more to incentivise the recruitment of Indigenous players?

  • Yes

    Votes: 17 32.7%
  • No

    Votes: 35 67.3%

  • Total voters
    52

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GC2015

Norm Smith Medallist
May 27, 2013
8,684
10,970
AFL Club
Gold Coast
The declining trend continues. We're down to just 65 Indigenous AFL players in 2025 after having 71 in 2024 and 87 back in 2021. Dreamtime at the G is this weekend and it's looking like Essendon won't field a single Indigenous player, despite historically being a league leader in this area.

Is it time for the AFL to step in and incentivise the recruitment of Indigenous players? Essendon pushed an idea a few years ago that would mandate every club be forced to recruit at least one Indigenous player to their AFL list every year on a 12-month contract and there would be an extra spot on each club's rookie list for this recently drafted Indigenous player. You'd think a policy like that would help if the AFL wants to increase the number of Indigenous players in the AFL.

What do you think? Does something need to be done or is the league fine the way it is?

CLUBNO. OF INDIGENOUS PLAYERS
Gold Coast Suns7 - Jy Farrar, Joel Jeffrey, Lloyd Johnston, Sean Lemmens, Ben Long, Daniel Rioli, Malcolm Rosas Jr
Port Adelaide7 - Jase Burgoyne, Tom Cochrane, Jeremy Finlayson, Jason Horne-Francis, Lachlan Jones, Sam Powell-Pepper, Willie Rioli
St Kilda Saints6 - Lance Collard, Liam Henry, Bradley Hill, Isaac Keeler, Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera, Marcus Windhager
West Coast Eagles6 - Tyler Brockman, Malakai Champion, Tyler Dewar, Tim Kelly, Coen Livingstone, Liam Ryan
Fremantle Dockers5 - Shai Bolton, Isaiah Dudley, Quinton Narkle, Alex Pearce, Michael Walters
Geelong Cats4 - Mitchell Edwards, Lawson Humphries, Jack Martin, Tyson Stengle
Hawthorn Hawks4 - Karl Amon, Cody Anderson, Matt Hill, Jarman Impey
Melbourne Demons4 - Steven May, Shane McAdam, Ricky Mentha Jr, Kysaiah Pickett
Western Bulldogs4 - Arthur Jones, Liam Jones, Ryley Sanders, Jamarra Ugle-Hagan
Brisbane Lions3 - Callum Ah Chee, Charlie Cameron, Keidean Coleman
Adelaide Crows2 - Wayne Milera, Izak Rankine
Carlton2 - Jesse Motlop, Zac Williams
Collingwood2 - Bobby Hill, Ash Johnson
Essendon2 - Alwyn Davey Jr, Jade Gresham
GWS Giants2 - Toby Bedford, Harry Rowston
North Melbourne2 - Robert Hansen Jr, Jy Simpkin
Richmond Tigers2 - Rhyan Mansell, Maurice Rioli Jr
Sydney Swans1 - Joel Hamling
TOTAL65
 
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Have they not done more lately already?

Giving all clubs access to their NGA kids(which includes a large amount of indigenous kids) will bring more money into the programs, which will give far more opportunity for the indigenous kids.

The other thing they could do it add a 1-2 more CatB rookie spots
 
If its a financial and opportunity issue holding indigenous kids back. For sure they need to do more

People under estimate the drive/work ethic/dedication i takes to be elite at any sport. No amount of money or gifted opportunity is going to make a kid go all the way
 

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Port Adelaide6 - Jase Burgoyne, Jeremy Finlayson , Jason Horne-Francis, Lachlan Jones, Sam Powell-Pepper , Willie Rioli
Port has 7 with Tom Cochrane.

Freo also has Isaiah Dudley.

Essendon2 - Alwyn Davey Jr, Jade Gresham
Richmond Tigers2 - Rhyan Mansell, Maurice Rioli Jr

And this is "Dreamtime" at the G? AFL definitely needs to rethink it blockbusters.
 
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Port has 7 with Tom Cochrane.

Freo also has Isaiah Dudley.
Ah yes. Cochrane's Indigenous roots were recently confirmed and Dudley was an SSP pick. So 65 total Indigenous players in the AFL at the moment with Gold Coast and Port Adelaide leading the way with 7 each on their lists. OP updated.
Essendon2 - Alwyn Davey Jr, Jade Gresham
Richmond Tigers2 - Rhyan Mansell, Maurice Rioli Jr

And this is "Dreamtime" at the G? AFL definitely needs to rethink it blockbusters.
A bit concerning, huh? Hard to sell a "Dreamtime" match when there's hardly any Indigenous players taking part in the game. I did find it odd when Zach Merrett went to the middle of the ground on his own for the cultural gift exchange with the Bulldogs players. Seemed out of place, but maybe that'll change this week if Gresham gets up for the game.
 
Is this players who are indigenous or players who identify as indigenous?

Could it be that with increasing inter-mingling of cultures, that some players of highly mixed background just don't identify as indigenous anymore, or don't make a particularly big deal about it?
 
Is this players who are indigenous or players who identify as indigenous?

Could it be that with increasing inter-mingling of cultures, that some players of highly mixed background just don't identify as indigenous anymore, or don't make a particularly big deal about it?
Well that would mean the trend amongst AFL players is in the opposite direction to the general Australian society, so seems unlikely.
 
On the OP figures, doesn't this mean that about 8% of all AFL listed players are indigenous, compared to 3% of the population. It hardly seems a crisis.

Increasing salaries, evolution of the game to tilt the balance towards athletes over footballers, nore junior hothousing and likely other influences have changed the profile of footy teams.

It's a shame. My introduction to the game was the sheer exhilaration of watching Benny Vigona and a procession of Riolis at South Fremantle. Now I get to watch blokes that can hardly kick like Jetemy Sharp get games because they can run a long distance and guard space. At least we have Bolton.

But it isn't a crisis. Numerically, far from it.
 
It's crazy to think that one of the Dreamtime teams won't even be represented this year.

In 31 years, Fremantle have taken the field without an Indigenous player only 3 times. We don't have a lot to hang our hat on as a club, but I'm very proud of this.

The AFL, clubs and AFLPA need to be doing everything they can to get participation numbers up. I don't know what the answer is, but hopefully we see the trend reverse soon.
 
Matt Rendell pointed towards issues surrounding this and foretold that this would be a likely outcome.
He was attacked by all the mouth breathers and the Virtue Signaling AFL took action against him.

It's a terrible thing that there has been a decline in their numbers, not just from the point of view of them missing out on playing, but us as supporters are missing out on sitting back and watching their genetic skills at the highest levels.

What are the issues?
Clubs are risk adverse. As Rendell said, unfortunately a number of indigenous kids have troubled lives off field and have issues adapting to the requirements at AFL level.
We have seen a number of highly talented kids blow their chances with off field issues. I'm not going to name them but we are all aware.
If there is any hint that there could be such issues and clubs will avoid them., just as they would avoid any kid who they think might effect their playing culture or their brand.
Second is engagement. For whatever reason, there has been a decline in young indigenous kids attaching themselves to the game in the wider community. To be fair, it's an issue with all sports and all races. There more things to keep kids entertained like gaming etc, than ever before.

So what to do?
The AFL should have additional rookie spots for indigenous kids. Let the clubs take a chance on them, but in doing so doesn't take away a list spot that they think may be wasted by taking on that same indigenous kids.
Allow each club to have 4 additional rookie spots, name it whatever you want, and any indigenous kid not taken in the draft can be added to that list. It has to be from the same state that the kid comes from, as removing them from their family wouldn't be the best thing for their stability.

Each club already has an NGA which includes indigenous boys, so maybe allowing access to them outside the draft could help, although as we know, the first time it's a success and one boy makes it, the AFL will can it as other clubs will complain about it diluting the draft pool.

Sure, the Vic clubs will whine that SA and WA have more indigenous kids to pick from per capita, but meh, couldn't care.
 

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This is why WA must be looked at closely, i think the AFL have dropped the ball out West and they need to do something about it pronto! The AFL should be bombarding Schools, clubs and go full steam ahead with marketing incentives to entice young aboriginal kids to play the game and look at it as a possible lucrative future. The talent is there, it just needs a better nurturing program. They might think they're doing that now, but the figures show otherwise. Look at young Lawson Humphries who hails from the Pilbara, i'm sure there are plenty more like him in the WA North West, get up there and do more throughout WA and the NT!
 
I don’t want to be “that person” however if we look at it purely from a Numerical point, without applying a social lens, I don’t necessarily see any issue.

Approx 800 players in the AFL, meaning approx 8% of players are currently indigenous with 65. This is a reasonable increase from the representation from the whole Australian population which is around 4%. This may well be under reported, however it’s likely not that under reported that it would be on par at 8%.

I don’t see why the expectation on the AFL would be to have greater representation which is above the representation within the wider Australian population. It would be expected from a pool of 800 players which is a reasonable sample that it would be on par with the Australian population.

Which it is and is actually double of that. Now if the numbers dropped to 2% then yeah it becomes something to potentially address. However at 8%, I think the AFL is doing a good job and has developed multiple pathways to support indigenous growth in the game.
 
I don’t want to be “that person” however if we look at it purely from a Numerical point, without applying a social lens, I don’t necessarily see any issue.

Approx 800 players in the AFL, meaning approx 8% of players are currently indigenous with 65. This is a reasonable increase from the representation from the whole Australian population which is around 4%. This may well be under reported, however it’s likely not that under reported that it would be on par at 8%.

I don’t see why the expectation on the AFL would be to have greater representation which is above the representation within the wider Australian population. It would be expected from a pool of 800 players which is a reasonable sample that it would be on par with the Australian population.

Which it is and is actually double of that. Now if the numbers dropped to 2% then yeah it becomes something to potentially address. However at 8%, I think the AFL is doing a good job and has developed multiple pathways to support indigenous growth in the game.
Yeah unless there's an obvious and worrying reason for the decline I don't think it's something that needs to be addressed right now.
 
There are players from backgrounds that 20 years ago weren't in the AFL or even playing Australian Rules for the most part. It isn't just white kids and indigenous kids playing footy anymore. At some point the % representation of both would have to go down if you are drawing kids from African, Asian and Middle Eastern backgrounds into the game.
 
Perhaps we should make more of an effort to educate ourselves on things that, whilst not overtly racist, first nations people find culturally insensitive?
Fair. I do wonder if the recent Cyril Rioli saga has turned many Indigenous people away from the game or even just killed their dream of wanting to play in the AFL one day. If you were an Indigenous footballer who saw what allegedly happened to Cyril, would you second guess your desire to play in the league? I probably would and that's just what we know of publicly. There may be more incidents that are known within Indigenous circles that haven't made it to the public sphere.

How much of this is linked with the current thread about Western Australia having a problem producing AFL footballers?
It's well known that WA has the largest Indigenous population of all traditional footy states, so it would be fair to assume that the current state of WA footy in terms of producing AFL players probably has a big impact on the amount of Indigenous kids that end up making it to the big time.

Interestingly, over 50% of the Indigenous population live in QLD or NSW (approx 480k of 800k nationally) whereas WA has an Indigenous population of approximately 100k. So perhaps trying to increase Indigenous football participation in the areas that have 5x the population base of WA would be a good idea also?

I know we have the academy programs in the northern states, but would it be a good idea to establish separate Indigenous development programs in the northern states as well? Selling footy to Indigenous kids in North QLD is complicated and rugby league has a strong grip in those communities. However, you only have to look at some of the footballers from that area like Charlie Cameron, Jarrod Harbrow and Che Cockatoo-Collins to see that there's potential.

I certainly think there's merit in establishing well funded Indigenous development programs in Cairns + Darwin if the AFL wants to increase the total number of Indigenous AFL footballers in the league.

On the OP figures, doesn't this mean that about 8% of all AFL listed players are indigenous, compared to 3% of the population. It hardly seems a crisis.
I don’t want to be “that person” however if we look at it purely from a Numerical point, without applying a social lens, I don’t necessarily see any issue.
I think it's the downward trend that's concerning people, not so much the number in comparison to national figures. Indigenous footballers have undoubtedly contributed greatly to Australian rules football for many decades and usually play the game with a flare that's unique and exciting. They're often encouraged to play that way from a young age and they take a lot of pride in the fact that they can do things on the footy field that a lot of non-Indigenous people can't. I remember seeing an interview with Gavin Wanganeen and he echoed exactly that when talking about the way he played the game and what footy meant to Indigenous people.

Surely we don't want to lose/decrease one of the most exciting elements of the game? I personally want the league to be as exciting as it possibly can be and if we're potentially losing the next Buddy Franklin or Eddie Betts due to the AFL not giving Indigenous kids around the country a realistic opportunity to make it, then I think we're failing as a sport. We want the AFL to be an ultra exciting product because that's going to allow us to continue the growth nationally and it really helps in terms of selling the game to the uninitiated in the northern markets where there's the most potential for growth.

Tasmania will be entering the league soon and a 20th franchise likely won't be far behind. This should mean an extra 5-10 Indigenous players find their way onto AFL lists in the near future. That will help, but I think more can/should be done.
 

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I don’t want to be “that person” however if we look at it purely from a Numerical point, without applying a social lens, I don’t necessarily see any issue.

Approx 800 players in the AFL, meaning approx 8% of players are currently indigenous with 65. This is a reasonable increase from the representation from the whole Australian population which is around 4%. This may well be under reported, however it’s likely not that under reported that it would be on par at 8%.

I don’t see why the expectation on the AFL would be to have greater representation which is above the representation within the wider Australian population. It would be expected from a pool of 800 players which is a reasonable sample that it would be on par with the Australian population.

Which it is and is actually double of that. Now if the numbers dropped to 2% then yeah it becomes something to potentially address. However at 8%, I think the AFL is doing a good job and has developed multiple pathways to support indigenous growth in the game.
I get the fact that as a percentage they are more than represented, plus, I would add that alot live in remote communities where there isn't a local football club to join, however I think there is more than an opportunity to increase the numbers playing.

We know that alot of indigenous players have sublime skills, and so the more we can get into the system and developed the better it is for the amount of talent for clubs to pick from.

As a group, I think we would get greater rewards by focusing on indigenous communities rather than migrant families, most of whom have loyalties to other sports like soccer, while indigenous people have a love of AFL.

The more talent we can extract for the clubs to draft, the better it is for everyone.
I want to see more Rankines, more Riolis, more Wanganeens, more Mileras.

The AFL needs to give the clubs the list spots, and the incentives in being able to have access to them, and the clubs will do the work.
 
I get the fact that as a percentage they are more than represented, plus, I would add that alot live in remote communities where there isn't a local football club to join, however I think there is more than an opportunity to increase the numbers playing.
If there isn't a local football club to join then that is likely because there isn't enough numbers to have a team. Living in a remote area is a massive road block for anyone, regardless of race. Other than informal games, which I am sure are being played consistently, I don't know what kind of competitions can be had when you consider the size of the country and the hours of travel between towns and communities.
There needs to be pathways for these kids to represent the state and junior development squads which can without a doubt be improved. Extra spots on an AFL list though? That is a tough sell when so many kids don't get an opportunity to make it because of list sizes, skill, fitness, size etc of whatever metric is used to decide they are not quite good enough to make it onto an AFL list.
I don't know how you overcome location without moving away before your draft year ala Anthony McDonald-Tippenwuti and plenty of others.
As a group, I think we would get greater rewards by focusing on indigenous communities rather than migrant families, most of whom have loyalties to other sports like soccer, while indigenous people have a love of AFL.
Why? There are more migrant families in Australia every year, the population of those somewhere probably around 10x that of aboriginal players. It is a far larger talent pool if you can get the kids playing.
We know that alot of indigenous players have sublime skills, and so the more we can get into the system and developed the better it is for the amount of talent for clubs to pick from.
That is the exact same argument as focusing on migrant families but again, with a bigger talent pool.

Clubs will find loopholes in anything you give them. There are players currently in the AFL who are finding they are indigenous later in life. I am not questioning their aboriginality but those players did not have the same barriers as the players that grew up in an indigenous community. I think if you based it on being from remote places, and not race, it would be more successful.
I want to see more Rankines, more Riolis, more Wanganeens, more Mileras.
But those kids with those last names already have a privilege's because of their last name that the average kid you are campaigning for does not. They come from families already in the system and would likely take away the spots you are saying should go to disadvantaged kids. If they are talented they will be highlighted because of their last name.

I personally don't like any kind of policy or practice that focuses on racial background. There are kids of all races all around the world who are from a marginalized community but because of their parents and families that grow up more privileged and with a better chance at life than most kids. Yes, they may still face barriers because people can be racist but those barriers aren't the same or as frequent as someone that had a really horrible upbringing regardless of race.

Growing up I played footy with a lot of aboriginal kids. There were some from families that were heavily invested in their footballing future, they always had a ride to and from training, always had a lift to the games, always had parental presence at their games. Conversely, I also played with kids from multiple races (including aboriginal) that had none of that. They had to find their own way to training and games, often with a lift from another parent that lived near by or by riding their bike etc. sometimes had to find their own way to pay fees etc. How do you balance that out for fairness?
 
The NT has 2 funded indigenous pathways to the AFL, Michael Long Learning and Leadership Centre and Cazalys NT Talent Academy. The pathways to identify and assist are in place, but numerous times I have seen extremely talented young indigenous players refuse to go down south to play (outside of rep games), instead choosing local NTFL, which is hard to get drafted on alone.
 
The NT has 2 funded indigenous pathways to the AFL, Michael Long Learning and Leadership Centre and Cazalys NT Talent Academy. The pathways to identify and assist are in place, but numerous times I have seen extremely talented young indigenous players refuse to go down south to play (outside of rep games), instead choosing local NTFL, which is hard to get drafted on alone.
Out of curiosity, do you think these "extremely talented young indigenous players" from the NT would make it in the big league if a Darwin-based AFL team existed? If there truly are multiple players that are "extremely talented" that could make it in the AFL and are choosing running around in the NTFL instead, then that's a problem in terms of making the AFL as exciting as it possibly can be. I'd hate to think there's potentially five or more Cyril Riolis running around in the NTFL that could be entertaining the masses in the AFL, but refuse to do so because they don't want to relocate away from the NT.
 
The numbers stack up in terms of representation but looking at some of the 'why' issues:

As the game gets more & more professional, drafting a kid from the country and bringing him 100s or 1000s of kms away from his family, friends and comfort zone is a huge risk.

List management teams would have to ask themselves: Is this kids THAT much more talented than the next option coming from the TAC Cup or Colts programs?

Then there's the NGA pathways.

While these have been great at opening up access in nontraditional areas it also means that resources and list spots are reallocated accordingly. The squeeze will get even tighter as more kids from African & Afghan backgrounds take up the game.

As we see more kids coming through the academies we will see less opportunities for kids from semi professional or even regional programs.

There's also been a growing emphasis on the private school system, at least in Victoria.

It's becoming almost like College programs in the US where the best kids from around the state are pushing to get into these schools and work with ex-AFL players.

Getting drafted while playing for Tyntynder or Tooradin is going to be far harder than if you get into Xavs or Caulfield Grammar regardless of talent.

So how do you fix it?

You could mandate that each club has to have a certain number of indigenous players on the list. Treat it like the Cat B rookie spots and clubs can sign players up after the draft.

Maybe you tie some sort of indigenous support program into the schools via the clubs?

If the AFL arranged a certain number of scholarships at the top schools around the country, with the idea being it would get these kids in front of recruiting teams?

The issue then is talent identification for these kids, and making sure there is proper support in place for their education as well as football.

There's certainly options but ultimately it's a question of how much the AFL, and the clubs, owe in terms of "Equality of Outcome" vs "Equality of Opportunities" and what that looks like from a financial perspective.

I've been big on St Kilda trying to differentiate ourselves by become THE club for indigenous support in Victoria.

Set up scouting, coaching at junior levels, family support, pathways into professional/elite programs etc

Even if the players don't necessarily make it to the Saints list, building that foundation and having the reputation as the #1 club for indigenous players would be an incredible thing.
 

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Aboriginal & TSI Decline in Indigenous AFL players. Should the AFL do more to address it?


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