THE Dees have kicked off AFLW Indigenous Round by rebranding to Narrm Football Club for the fourth consecutive season.
The initiative, which was first introduced in 2022, aims to further educate on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture and history, while highlighting the importance of traditional language.
Narrm is the traditional name for Melbourne, coming from Woi Wurrung – the language spoken by the traditional owners of the city and its surrounds.
The club has also relaunched its 2025 Indigenous guernsey, designed by Kevin Kropinyeri, a proud Ngarrindjeri artist, comedian and sculptor.
The Kropinyeri name is familiar to the Dees with Kevin being the father of much-loved AFL Demon Kysaiah Kropinyeri Pickett.
The special relationship between these two has led to the creation of this year’s powerful design, which was first worn by the club’s AFL side earlier this year during Sir Doug Nicholls Round.
The artwork that sits upon the guernsey was created by Kropinyeri to capture his and Kysaiah’s connection to their Ngarrindjeri culture, while also showcasing their love of the club.
At the centre of the design is a shield, which represents warriors and symbolises divine protection, faith and resilience.
“The shield is a symbolization of our traditional warriors, and our football players are our modern-day warriors on the field,” Kropinyeri said.
“This shield represents all the past, present and future players – the warriors of the Melbourne Football Club.
“I wanted to bring the fans of the Melbourne Football Club and Aboriginal culture together with the symbolization of this shield.”
Upon the chevron and the back of the jumper is an intricate weaving artwork which has been inspired by the important tradition of the Ngarrindjeri People.
The process of weaving is a way to share knowledge and bring people together and has been passed down from ancestors, currently still continuing to connect people to this day.
“The element of the weaving design symbolises the love of the Melbourne Football Club,” Kropinyeri said.
“This love and passion for Melbourne has connected people together from all walks of life.
“Every patron, staff, player, sponsor and fan are interconnected and intricately woven together through their love of the club.
“This is what has made this club strong for over 160 years. That is what the weaving design represents.”
The final key component of the design is the addition of Ngarrindjeri words underneath the chevron.
These words read:
“NAM Mi:WI WINNAMUN KATJIL PROLIN AMBI NGAMAR THAMELIN AMBI” meaning “ALL HEARTS BEAT TRUE FOR THE RED AND THE BLUE”
While the Ngarrindjeri People don't have a word for ‘every’, they do have a word for ‘all’, with Kropinyeri capturing the core of the Narrm Football Club while honouring his Peoples’ language.
The back of the guernsey features the names of all of the club’s Indigenous players, both past and present, acknowledging the important impact they’ve had on the club and its people.
The jumper will make its AFLW debut at Victoria Park (Wurundjeri) this Sunday when Narrm faces Collingwood during Round 3.
Narrm will then return to its home deck of Casey Fields (Bunurong) to host Richmond in Round 4.
The Dees will remain as Narrm Football Club for the duration of AFLW Indigenous Round, with more information found at our Narrm Hub.
Fans can purchase their very own guernsey, which is now available at the Demon Shop.
