Modelling the Bulldogs exclusive themed guernsey ahead of Sunday’s clash against Fremantle, Brett Goodes is proud the AFL recognised Indigenous Australians with a dedicated round.
The 30-year-old said the AFL and the Bulldogs commitment to Indigenous issues and inclusion extends much further than one weekend of the year, and praised the design work of artist Anzack Newman.
“It’s how important football is to us as a people, it’s a great design and also you will see in here just all the players’ names, indigenous players who have played at the club in the club’s history,” he said.
“The AFL are leading the way in a lot of things when it comes to indigenous relations, for every club this year to have an indigenous jumper, it’s fantastic.
“Some of the work the clubs are doing off-field, developing reconciliation action plans and engaging with their local community is great for us – we are currently working on that as well.”
Pending team selection, Goodes said all indigenous players would be representing not only their Club colours on the weekend but their ancestral history and origins.
“It’s great as an indigenous person that we have our own round in the AFL,” he said.
“That’s what we are doing by having indigenous round and having our own guernseys and representing the people that are on it.
“Not only are we representing our Club every week, this week in particular we are representing our mob back home and they are hopefully watching us play.”
An early stint in the VFL allowed Brett Goodes to fine-tune his craft and become a more dependable defender and the 30-year-old says he has benefited from the experience.
Named among the best players in three of his five appearances in the VFL, the defender was rewarded with a senior call up against the Suns - but that hasn’t stifled his motivation to improve.
“I think I need to work on a few things, ball use in particular and defensive effort sometimes,” Goodes said.
“Not too different from every other player in the VFL at the moment – we need to work on things and focus on our role and make sure we are ready to go when we come back to the AFL.”
