AS a lifelong Aussie rules lover Matt Arkell does not sugar-coat the lack of presence AFL as a sport has on Thursday Island.
Arkell, the Head of Sport at Tagai College, reckons if you drive the streets of Thursday Island you won’t see any kids kicking a Sherrin in their front yard or at a park, or if you go to the pub for a quiet ale, there is not going to be AFL on the television.
“Nah, none, you would not see any AFL at all,” Arkell says bluntly. “As far as a game or anything that resembles a game, you would not see anything like that here.”
So, why have the Gold Coast Suns this week included three players, who are the first ever Torres Strait Island-based players in any AFL Academy in Australia, from that same Thursday Island which has almost zero Aussie rules?
AFL Cape York staff encourage participants to go to school and stay away from drugs, as well as delivering AFL programs to countless communities north of Cairns up to the Torres Strait.
“They would not know anything about the game if it was not for AFL Cape York House,” Arkell said.
“Now, and this is less than five years since they first found the game, these three are going to be running around with the best juniors from across Australia.”
The three talented Torres Strait Islanders — Jayden Seden, Hiroshi Sabatino and Allanah Phineasa — do not play any organised games ever at home.
They do when they travel away with the Cape York Crusaders representative side but actual games with positions, umpires, structures and coaching are few and far between.
On Thursday Island, the game is crunched into a one-hour training session on the school’s oval, which is the shape of a rugby league field, organised by Arkell and other footy loving teachers every Wednesday afternoon.
They reckon on some days when the game is offered after school, around 60 children turn up to have a crack with the oval ball, but on the day the Cairns Post visited, there was only around 20.
Of the 20, Seden and Sabatino were the only two who jumped and kicked like they were Lance Franklin or Cyril Rioli, the rest looked like they were trying to be Greg Inglis or Johnathan Thurston.
Phineasa, a hard-tackling midfielder, looked like a mixture of Darcy Vescio and Ellie Blackburn as she bashed and crashed the boys, most double her size and weight.
AFL Cape York House development manager Sean Hunter expects the trio to become role models for their Torres Strait peers.
“These three are the most remote northern players in the AFL system,” Hunter said.
“Their selection also identifies a clear and genuine pathway for Torres Strait Island athletes, males and females to make the AFL.
“They do not have access to quality coaching and resources, remunerated coaches, equipment and stadiums, which emphasises the achievement these three have made.
“They are pioneers.”
There have been Torres Strait Islander athletes in the Suns academy before, Timakoi Bowie and Philemon Baira to name two, but they resided in Cairns when named and have had access to additional opportunities
If either of Seden, Sabatino and Phineasa do complete the pathway and go from the Academy on to the Suns senior list — with the club to commence their AFLW team in 2010 for Phineasa — they would become the first ever Torres Strait Islanders to do so.
Brisbane Lions livewire Charlie Cameron attended primary school on Mornington Island before relocating south.
The Mt Isa-born Cameron is from a population of 200 people on Mornington Island, one of the Wellesley Islands in the Gulf of Carpentaria, showing the leap from a northern Queensland community to the MCG is possible.
Suns Academy Head Coach Andrew Raines believes the trio’s inclusion is a significant step for the growth of the game in the north of the state.
“We’ve had a great relationship with Cape York House and Rick Hanlon in Cairns over a number of years and that allows us to not only drive participation in the region, but identify talented athletes,” Raines said.
“Jayden, Hiroshi and Allanah will predominantly work with our qualified coaches in the Far North and fly down to the Gold Coast for matches and training camps throughout the year.”
Phineasa will this month take her first steps towards her AFLW dreams, representing the Suns Academy under-18 Youth Girls team against the Brisbane Lions at Moreton Bay, alongside fellow Far North athletes Kitara Farrar, Shantel Miskin-Ripia, Poppy Boltz and Lily Munro.
“It is exciting,” Phineasa said. “I am happy to be able to represent my home and my family.
“Playing in the AFL one day is my goal.”
Maybe, just, maybe, through Seden, Sabatino, Phineasa and the others they inspire, there might be a bit more presence of Australia’s Indigenous game on Thursday Island in the near future.
In their own voices
Jayden Seden — 16
Height: 185cms
Weight: 71 kgs
“It all feels natural for me. It is fun, good relationships with the coach and you can make a lot of friends through playing AFL. There is not many rules to follow in the AFL, which I like, other than rugby and basketball, I think the game is more free and open to play. It would nice if we had an AFL field here. I like Hawthorn, they are my team.”
Hiroshi Sabatino — 16
Height: 187cms
Weight: 69 kgs
“I like putting on hits. I like to jump at the ball, take marks and kick goals. It is fun to be included in the academy for the Suns and be one of the first ever from here.”
Allanah Phineasa — 17
Height: 160cms
Weight: 59kgs
“It is a bit different from rugby, that is why I like it. You get to run a lot, too. I like to watch the game on television. I support the Western Bulldogs. I went down and played with the Cairns girls in Townsville last year, it was hard but fun, and playing for the Suns soon will be the same, but I can’t wait for the opportunity. Playing in the AFL one day is my goal. When I speak to the Suns, they tell me to keep myself fit, train hard and healthy.”