Closing the Gap: Brett Goodes on footy and Aboriginal Australia

[1eyedog]

Re: Closing the Gap: Brett Goodes on footy and Aboriginal Australia

Easton's gotta work on his lower core strength more.

[Twodogs]

Re: Closing the Gap: Brett Goodes on footy and Aboriginal Australia

Does anyone know if there a story behind the design?

[1eyedog]

Re: Closing the Gap: Brett Goodes on footy and Aboriginal Australia

No. But in Wurundjeri and many other tribal areas a round symbol like that means a journey and it looks like a number of journeys are connected potentially implying a series of individual journeys which are (joined), as part of a collective whole - our club.

Bevo is often going on about our journey so it may have been the core directive to the artist.

The footprints support the journey hypothesis.

[Bornadog]

Re: Closing the Gap: Brett Goodes on footy and Aboriginal Australia

Indigenous jumper design a dream come true

Troy Daniel

The design of this year’s Indigenous Round guernsey, revealed on Tuesday night at the Western Bulldogs annual Community Foundation dinner, came to 16-year-old Wurundjeri –Yorta Yorta artist, Cooper Craig-Peters in a dream.Craig-Peters’ Bulldogs roots run deep.

He’s a graduate of both the Western Bulldogs Community Foundation’s Leadership Project (formerly Whitten Project) and Nallei-jerring Koori Youth Leadership Program, and is a member of the Club’s Next Generation Academy, and shared his story back in 2017 through his #RealStrength story on the Dogs website.

“I slept for a couple of hours and in my dream I pictured this guernsey,” he told westernbulldogs.com.au
“I woke up straight away and went straight into the study and started drawing my design up and it came out just perfectly, the way I wanted it to.”

The end result is universal story of a self-discovery expressed through art.
“Each circle represents what I've been through, an important part of me,” Craig-Peters explained.

“The bigger circle represents losing a loved one, achieving something I have never achieved before in my footy, in my academic ability and the little ones are just little goals I've done to change my character

“The white lines are the path that I've gone through to each on, and (the footprints) represent my ancestors, not just mine, our people's ancestors, where they've walked and how we look at them and see where they've been.”

Craig-Peters said he still can’t believe it’s his name that will now join a long list of Indigenous artists who have had their design adorn AFL guernseys on what’s become a significant weekend for both Indigenous people and the wider community in general.

“It's still surreal, I still think I'm dreaming. It feels so great and I feel so warm inside to have my actual design on this guernsey.

[Twodogs]

Re: Closing the Gap: Brett Goodes on footy and Aboriginal Australia

I never remember my dreams.

[HOSE B ROMERO]

Re: Closing the Gap: Brett Goodes on footy and Aboriginal Australia

Yes Lally & Magic. Life wasn't easy in the vfl environment in those days. I remember Magic recounting that the players would get together for dinner after Thursday night training. One of his teammates was telling a racist joke to which others laughed and he thought "what am i doing here?"

I admired Koby Stevens for getting the most out of himself.

Only for injury, Mark West would have been a beauty.

But it would be nice to recruit one who goes on to have a 10 year career. Come back Zeph.

[chef]

Re: Closing the Gap: Brett Goodes on footy and Aboriginal Australia

It's still bloody cold.

There are probably more now but back in the day I would have thought we wold recruit more indigineous players from the metro area than from the NT.

Its colder in Melbourne than it is in Shepp.

[Twodogs]

Re: Closing the Gap: Brett Goodes on footy and Aboriginal Australia

Its colder in Melbourne than it is in Shepp.

Whitten oval has a weather pattern of its own too.

[Twodogs]

Re: Closing the Gap: Brett Goodes on footy and Aboriginal Australia

And it's not tropical.

[Bulldog4life]

Re: Closing the Gap: Brett Goodes on footy and Aboriginal Australia

Charlie Stewart only played one season for us in the early 60's. 1961. He was replaced in the centre by Bob Spargo for the Grand Final. After an impressive only season he left at the start of 1962.

[LostDoggy]

Re: Closing the Gap: Brett Goodes on footy and Aboriginal Australia

Aye, it's a source of grim curiosity we haven't been able to successfully develop more indigenous players.

That you're probably forced to cite the likes of Josh Hill & Cam Faulkner after the trio above is evidence enough.

Nicky Winmar wore our jumper once or twice.

Ooh, and remember that brief but explosive purple patch Mark West had?

I reckon it's selling Nicky a bit short to say he played once or twice for us. He was really good in his 1 year for us, kicked 34 goals in 21 games as a flanker including a few bags of 4. Got a few Browlow votes from memory. He was well into his 30s by then but I was sad he didn't go around one more year.

[LostDoggy]

Re: Closing the Gap: Brett Goodes on footy and Aboriginal Australia

Charlie Stewart only played one season for us in the early 60's. 1961. He was replaced in the centre by Bob Spargo for the Grand Final. After an impressive only season he left at the start of 1962.

Thanks for posting that B4L. I didn't know about Charlie but will look him up. Maybe our first indigineous player?

I would love to be corrected, but I don't think we have had a single indigineous player play over 40 games with us and finish his VFL/AFL career with us.

[Twodogs]

Re: Closing the Gap: Brett Goodes on footy and Aboriginal Australia

I reckon it's selling Nicky a bit short to say he played once or twice for us. He was really good in his 1 year for us, kicked 34 goals in 21 games as a flanker including a few bags of 4. Got a few Browlow votes from memory. He was well into his 30s by then but I was sad he didn't go around one more year.

People slot Wallace and say he wasted a drafr pick on Winmar but I still hold that if Nicky played in that first final on that windy night when his sure ball handling would have been invaluable in 1999 we would have won, and if we won in week one and gone through to the prelim weekend we would have won the flag. Winmar's absence that night was incredibly costly. As was the umpiring when Nathan Brown had his head pulled off in time on in the last two minutes in the goalsquare.

[LostDoggy]

Re: Closing the Gap: Brett Goodes on footy and Aboriginal Australia

People slot Wallace and say he wasted a drafr pick on Winmar but I still hold that if Nicky played in that first final on that windy night when his sure ball handling would have been invaluable in 1999 we would have won, and if we won in week one and gone through to the prelim weekend we would have won the flag. Winmar's absence that night was incredibly costly. As was the umpiring when Nathan Brown had his head pulled off in time on in the last two minutes in the goalsquare.

It was even sadder than that. Winmar did play in that first final v WCE, but injured himself before he even got a touch and spent the night on the bench.

[Twodogs]

Re: Closing the Gap: Brett Goodes on footy and Aboriginal Australia

It was even sadder than that. Winmar did play in that first final v WCE, but injured himself before he even got a touch and spent the night on the bench.

It was such a Whitten oval night with the conditions too. It would have suited any other Bulldog team down to the ground. But those Wallace coached teams were probably the best skilled, most tradional football teams I've seen play in our colours.