Source : ABC NEWS
Indigenous champions Michael Long and Stephen Michael have called on the AFL industry to do more to promote and support First Nations talent amid a sharp decline in numbers at the top level.
A record total of 87 Indigenous and Torres Strait Islander players were on AFL club lists in 2020, but that number has fallen each year since.
It sits at 62 in 2025, after Hawthorn’s Cody Anderson (pick 64) was the only Indigenous player selected at last year’s national draft.
Malakai Champion and Ricky Mentha were selected as Category B rookies by West Coast and Melbourne respectively.
Essendon legend Long spoke in recent weeks with a host of AFL clubs about what can be done to ensure more resources are put in place to support First Nations players.
The 55-year-old hopes Sir Doug Nicholls Round can shine a light on the falling number of First Nations players at the top level and ultimately reverse the trend.
“There’s a lot of things that clubs can do, not just the AFL,” Long said on Wednesday at the launch of this year’s “Dreamtime at the G” feature match.
Michael Long wants the AFL industry to do more to create opportunities for Indigenous players. ( AAP: Diego Fedele)
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“Football’s played at all different levels countrywide and in remote communities. I think we all have a role to play.
“We spoke to some of the clubs in Adelaide about how can we work closely with the clubs and resource the clubs, because it’s too important.
“Obviously we’ve seen the dip, but we want to improve that and give every kid the opportunity, boys and girls.”
It emerged this week former Essendon list boss Adrian Dodoro had lobbied the AFL in 2021 to introduce a rule that would have made it mandatory for each club to recruit at least one Indigenous player each year.
The initiative never got off the ground.
Long said he had predicted the fall of First Nations player numbers at AFL level.
“I saw it coming a few years ago with what was happening, not just on the field, but off the field,” Long said.
“Nothing’s perfect in this world, but we want to see it get better, definitely. That’s from past players.
“This week we embrace what clubs do and the good things that are happening. That’s important.
“Hopefully from this week we can have those discussions, which leads from the AFL.
“You’ve got to lead from the top, and it’s important that we provide that pathway.”
South Fremantle legend Michael — the 2025 Sir Doug Nicholls Round honoree — believes a whole-of-game approach is required to boost support for First Nations players and improve talent pathways.
“We all have to do something, somewhere along the line,” Michael said.
“We could have ideas, but it has to go through all clubs, from the top right down to the bottom and down in the country as well.”
Essendon host Richmond on Friday night in the 21st edition of the annual “Dreamtime at the G” contest, which is the centrepiece of Sir Doug Nicholls Round.
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The signature moment from the first two decades of “Dreamtime at the G” clashes came in 2022, when a group of eight Richmond players led a powerful pre-match war dance.
Four of them — Shai Bolton, Daniel Rioli, Shane Edwards and Maurice Rioli Jr — played for the Tigers that night.
This year, as few as two Indigenous players could feature, with Richmond’s Rhyan Mansell set to play and Essendon’s Jade Gresham cleared to return from injury.
“Indigenous players have sort of dropped off the last few years, but there’s a lot of talent out there in the community,” Gresham said.
“We’ve got to help out where we can. I’m not sure how that is.
“The clubs I think are getting better at it, but there’s a lot of improvement to go, I think, from the AFL as well.”
AAP
