The Tyranny of distance _Indigenous Round

Sam's article attempts to explain some of the issues facing Indigenous footballers but the deep cultural differences are sometimes very hard to comprehend.

I have been privileged to spend some time in a couple of communities and realise my understanding of their culture and problems has a long way to go but its clear they have many more issues to face before they can step onto the field.

It remains the simple fact that most Indigenous communities are underprivileged. That is as unacceptable.

We should be proud that the leaders at our club with the support of the members are committted to trying to undestand the issues and make a difference in Indigenous communities.

Our players are clearly committed to doing what they can. And whilst we might bag Kevin Sheedy on all sorts of other grounds he deserves credit for the work he has done over the years in this area.

Indigenous players make significant sacrifices to play for the teams we love and we should acknowledge and respect that.

So to our Indigenous players, their families and communities: thank you.

Is it correct about Liam currently facing pressure to return home? (paraphrasing)

Or is it just lazy journalism again, and they're actually referring to incidents from last year?

The Tyranny of distance _Indigenous Round

Sam's article attempts to explain some of the issues facing Indigenous footballers but the deep cultural differences are sometimes very hard to comprehend.

I have been privileged to spend some time in a couple of communities and realise my understanding of their culture and problems has a long way to go but its clear they have many more issues to face before they can step onto the field.

It remains the simple fact that most Indigenous communities are underprivileged. That is as unacceptable.

We should be proud that the leaders at our club with the support of the members are committted to trying to undestand the issues and make a difference in Indigenous communities.

Our players are clearly committed to doing what they can. And whilst we might bag Kevin Sheedy on all sorts of other grounds he deserves credit for the work he has done over the years in this area.

Indigenous players make significant sacrifices to play for the teams we love and we should acknowledge and respect that.

So to our Indigenous players, their families and communities: thank you.

Thanks Robbie, good post.

Is it correct about Liam currently facing pressure to return home? (paraphrasing)

Or is it just lazy journalism again, and they're actually referring to incidents from last year?

I swear i remember hearing that late last year (in the off-season), it's quite possible to issue is ongoing but i honestly couldn't say for sure.

It's an interesting article, certainly much has been said about the likes of Aussie and Liam coming from such a different culture, and the difficulties they've had adapting. It's a credit to Matty Whelan that we have such a close indigenous group at Melbourne, when Flash came it was Matty that took him under his wing (so much so i felt Aaron even played better early on when Whelan was out there). And that legacy has been passed on to Aaron, who from all reports has been particularly integral for both Aussie and Jurrah getting settled here.

Hopefully this is something that will continue on in perpetuity with all indigenous players that come to Melbourne.

I swear i remember hearing that late last year (in the off-season), it's quite possible to issue is ongoing but i honestly couldn't say for sure.

It's an interesting article, certainly much has been said about the likes of Aussie and Liam coming from such a different culture, and the difficulties they've had adapting. It's a credit to Matty Whelan that we have such a close indigenous group at Melbourne, when Flash came it was Matty that took him under his wing (so much so i felt Aaron even played better early on when Whelan was out there). And that legacy has been passed on to Aaron, who from all reports has been particularly integral for both Aussie and Jurrah getting settled here.

Hopefully this is something that will continue on in perpetuity with all indigenous players that come to Melbourne.

Hear, hear. I think it also shows the great job the club has done in making sure the right indigenous players have come to our club and that an environment has been created to sustain those players. The Richmond situation shows that this is not an easy thing to do. It's one side of the club we should be very proud of.