IN THE lead-up to Indigenous Round, Melbourne’s four current Indigenous players Jeff Garlett, Neville Jetta, Dion Johnstone and Jay Kennedy-Harris spoke with Matt Burgan about what the round means, some of their heroes and how their reflecting on a significant anniversary …

What does Indigenous Round mean to you?

Garlett: It means a lot to all Indigenous players and past players. It’s an important round for us – it comes around once a year and we all enjoy it.

Jetta: It’s to continue the legacy that past players have left, and to be able to pull on an Indigenous guernsey. It’s a pretty special round and moment for me, but also my family and other Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as well.

Johnstone: It’s a massive week for all Indigenous people, especially the players as well. It’s a moment to represent our culture, our beliefs and it should be a good week of football. I’m looking forward to it.

Kennedy-Harris: It’s a round to celebrate and commemorate the people that have come before us and the current players. It’s inclusive of everyone, but it’s about recognising how far we’ve come.

How important is it to play a game in the Northern Territory, and on this occasion in Alice Springs, as part of Indigenous Round?

Garlett: It’s a highlight going back up to the community and to play in front of Indigenous people. To go out of Melbourne is an awesome feeling as well. We get to go to Alice Springs now and then up to Darwin later in the year. We also get to spend some time in the community, which I enjoy – I always love getting out among the community.

Jetta: To play in the middle of Australia, where the population is high for Indigenous people, it’s a great opportunity. This will be our fourth [home and away] match there. We love playing up there and having a cultural connection with the people up there.

Johnstone: It’d mean everything to me if I got the call-up, especially in Indigenous week. I’d love to put the guernsey on and play a debut game. Having an Aboriginal background, it’d mean everything to me.

Kennedy-Harris: We go up to Alice Springs every year now and it’s usually around Indigenous Round. With the Indigenous population high, it’s massive for them. The energy they bring to football games is great for us as players to feed off.

What’s it like to follow in the footsteps of other Indigenous players who have played for Melbourne?

Garlett: It’s a huge honour, especially after coming from Carlton and then being given Flash’s (Aaron Davey) old number. It was a huge honour to wear it after him. It’s also a huge honour to follow the likes of Jeff Farmer, Matty Whelan and a heap of Indigenous players who have played here.

Jetta: Other Indigenous players have come through the club and they’ve been my idols growing up. Seeing those blokes on TV and to be able to be them now, and inspire other Indigenous kids is pretty big. It’d definitely inspirational and it gives you the inspiration to go out and play your best footy – not just on Indigenous Round, but every round. You want to do that every game you play.

Johnstone: It’s another huge honour to follow in what they’ve done for the game, and what they’ve done in their culture. I look up to Jeffy and Nev a lot in the way they go about things. They’re well-respected by Indigenous and non-Indigenous people. They’re a huge eye-opener for me.

Kennedy-Harris: It’s a bit of an honour. There are some great names at the club, like Flash Davey and Jeff Farmer. There are some boys making their own strides now like Jeffy and Nev, and hopefully Dion and myself eventually, so it’s massive.

Who are your Indigenous heroes?

Garlett: Mine was Jeff Farmer, when I was a kid. I loved the way he played at Melbourne and then he went to Fremantle, I became a Fremantle supporter, because he came back to WA. I loved watching him play.

Jetta: Growing up, Nicky Winmar, Andrew McLeod, Troy Cook, Jeff Farmer, David Wirrpanda and Chris Lewis were among the guys I looked up to. There were a lot. I looked up to all of them and how they went about it, and how they represented their people on the field. To do what they did back then – and knowing a lot of their stories – definitely inspired me to be where I am today.

Johnstone: One of them is my granddad. I look up to him in the culture and the knowledge that he knows, and what he’s been through. I also look up to Jeffy, Jay and Nev. They’ve been an inspiration.

Kennedy-Harris: Most of mine are past footballers – Michael Long, Nicky Winmar and the Krakouer brothers. They’ve been massive in society – not just football.

How do you reflect on the 50-year anniversary of the referendum?

Garlett: This round is very important for us and the past players and important to create a pathway for the young Indigenous players as well, so this round, with the 50-year anniversary of the referendum is very important.

Jetta: It’s a time for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to reflect on what we were able to achieve and also look at how far we’ve come, and the strides that we want to make going forward. The work we did back then to get counted in the voting system and be acknowledged as people was significant. We’re still trying to create pathways and get to where we want to as people, so we can acknowledge that we were the first owners and hopefully we can gain some land rights. But it’s about reflecting on the challenges that we still face today. On Saturday, I’ll be wearing No.50 out on the ground to recognise the anniversary and Jeffy will be wearing No.67, so we’ll be walking out to toss the coin and wearing those jumpers.

Johnstone: It’s massive – it’s 50 years since the day changed a lot of things and history. It’s great to see so many people supporting it, so I’m looking forward to the reflecting on the anniversary.

Kennedy-Harris: Fifty years doesn’t sound that long ago, but it’s a massive accomplishment for us as Australians that we’ve come this far. We have so many Indigenous players in the competition now and others striving in other parts of society, so it’s a credit to us as a society.