INDIGENE - PART EIGHT

INDIGINE - PART EIGHT by Whispering Jack

At 9:30am on 13 February 2008, Australia's Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd presented an apology in Parliament to Australia's Indigenous people which began as follows:

"Today we honour the Indigenous peoples of this land, the oldest continuing cultures in human history.

We reflect on their past mistreatment.

We reflect in particular on the mistreatment of those who were Stolen Generations – this blemished chapter in our nation's history.

The time has now come for the nation to turn a new page in Australia's history by righting the wrongs of the past and so moving forward with confidence to the future."

It was a long time coming and reflected the refreshing movement in the mood of the country towards reconciliation and to heal some of the deep wounds embedded in its history.

The lead had been taken in the sporting field decades before with Australia embracing heroes like Lionel Rose, Evonne Goolagong, Cathy Freeman and a host of footballers. By the time that Rudd spoke in Canberra, indigenous players made up in excess of ten per cent of AFL lists. Today, at the Melbourne Football Club, six out of forty-six Demons are Aboriginal.

Six others have represented the club in this century. Jeff Farmer and Scott Chisholm whose time at the club straddled the last century and have already been covered in this series. Matthew Whelan was the first Indigenous player to join the club in the new century.

Whelan's Indigenous Australian heritage can be traced to the Ngalakan language speaking peoples of the Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory. He grew up in Darwin playing rugby league until he converted to Australian football at the age of 15.

In his late teens he would play the summer season for the Darwin Buffaloes in the NTFL and in winter for Woodville-West Torrens in the SANFL where he came under notice of recruiting scouts leading to his drafting at age 20 in the 1999 national draft with the Demons' pick number 50 which proved to be a bargain selection.

Whelan was a hard nosed reliable 180 cm tall (80kg) defender/back pocket who wore the number 45 throughout his career. He made his AFL debut against St. Kilda in round four of season 2000 and played every game until round 20 when an injured neck cost him his place and he missed the finals series which included Melbourne's last grand final appearance in 2000 against Essendon.

Known as "Wheels", the youngster soon developed a reputation for tough uncompromising football but he was also a skillful player who sometimes went into the midfield.

His strong tackling style sometimes came under scrutiny and, during his career, he was involved in his share of incidents.

In 2003 he was reported for rough play against Hawthorn's Shane Crawford for a tackle described as similar to the now outlawed rugby spear tackle but the tribunal threw the charge out. The following year saw him shirtfront James Hird in the 2004 Elimination Final in a legitimate bump that rendered the Bomber skipper unconscious. He gathered the ball and fed it off to Travis Johnstone who goaled. Many observers considered the incident, which occurred just before half time, as the matchwinning passage of play.

During the final quarter of Melbourne's round 10 game against Richmond at the Docklands, Wheels came from nowhere to smother a Nathan Brown kick but he landed awkwardly shattering Brown's right foot. Brown was put out for the season and never fully recovered while Whelan seemed a subdued player for a long time although the incident was an accident.

A clash of heads with St. Kilda's Luke Ball led to Whelan being charged for rough play but the charge was later dropped as the high contact was ruled as an accidental clash of heads. In 2008, he accepted a one week suspension for striking Carlton's Brendon Fevola.

Despite his hardness, Whelan was a clever ball player who had few blemishes in his play.

Unfortunately, his career was marred by injury. He played every game in 2002 but was forced out in round 22 with a calf injury missing his second opportunity for a finals series. He was injured during the 2006 finals and played few games in the following season due to injury. Late in his career, calf and hamstring injuries curtailed his playing days and, in August 2009 Wheels announced his retirement playing his farewell game in Round 22 against premiership favourites St. Kilda.

In his final years he played a mentoring role for the growing list of young Indigenous footballers at the Melbourne Football Club and he will forever be fondly remembered by the Demon family for his 150 games (15 goals), his unrelenting courage and his strong play.

He was awarded life membership at the club's annual general meeting in February 2010.

Shannon Motlop played 54 AFL games for North Melbourne and, in just his seventh AFL game with the Kangaroos, he played in the victorious 1999 Grand Final against Carlton. His career there petered out and he was playing in the SANFL with North Adelaide when the call came in 2005 from the Melbourne Football Club for him to replace Troy Broadbridge who had perished in the Boxing Day tsunami. He failed to establish himself in the team, playing just ten times for five goals before being delisted at the end of 2006 returning to North Adelaide. During his time at the club Motlop played in successive VFL premierships with the club's then alignment partner Sandringham.

Byron Pickett, a teammate of Motlop in the 1990 North Melbourne premiership, was a highly decorated Indigenous footballer who was selected in the Indigenous Team of the Century and also played in Port Adelaide's first premiership. At only 178 cm and 86 kg, Pickett was tough and solidly built and developed a reputation for his aggression. During his initial season at Melbourne in 2006 his presence was invaluable and many of his teammates walked tall to become the leading Victorian team in the competition, then dominated by interstate clubs. Late in the season he suffered successive hamstring injuries which sidelined him for several games and his career went into decline. Unable to regain full fitness, his

2007 season was shrouded in controversy. He was suspended for failing to turn up for a game. With concerns surrounding his weight and work ethic and questions about alcohol, his retirement after 29 goals and 16 games at the end of 2007 was inevitable.

Isaac Weetra was drafted by Melbourne as a 17 year old from Port Adelaide Magpies at selection number 62 in the 2006 AFL Draft. Earlier that year, he represented Australia's indigenous youth on tour to South Africa with the "Flying Boomerangs" to play against South Africa's Buffaloes. He struggled with injury and confidence in his first season at the club but made his debut in Melbourne's opening game of the 2008 season. Weetra debuted against Hawthorn at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. He failed to make an impact, was dropped after his second game against the Western Bulldogs and delisted at the end of the season.

I met Isaac when he was playing in his first season with Sandringham. The son of a university lecturer came across as a highly intelligent and articulate young man. These days, he says his real work passion is “changing things for the better," and whilst he loves his football, his career ambition is now focused on his work in employment and training.

Isaac Weetra's dream of making it as a professional footballer might not have been fulfilled but he will one day be a leader of a community of people who can look forward to a better future in better times.

TO BE CONTINUED

This series is written in honour of the late Matthew Wonaeamirri, father of current Melbourne player Austin. Our hearts go out to all of the family.