Stand Strong – the meaning behind our Indigenous Guernsey

This Saturday we celebrate Indigenous Round at ACH Group Stadium.

Indigenous Round, which leads into NAIDOC Week 2021, is a celebration and recognition of all SANFL Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander players past and present who have made, and continue to make, such a significant contribution to our national game.

Our League side will wear the Indigenous guernsey designed by Marlon Motlop and his cousin Keelan Fejo.

Designed in 2018, this will be the third year the Tigers don this guernsey, labelled ‘Stand Strong’ by the duo.

“Football is very much like our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture – when you are a part of a club you are a part of its culture. You are committed and the effort you put in will get you to where you want to be,” Marlon said.

The meaning behind the various elements can be found below:

The Aboriginal man is holding his spear and shield which represents him standing strong in war/battle. This can reflect how we are when we play the game, for most of us it’s like going to battle.

The cross-hatching (Rarrkbun) represents the direction of strength, power and knowledge when the spear is being thrown.

Boomerangs represent stories/songs. This reflects a connection to footy and how many great stories/songs come out of the game and stay with us forever.

The weapons/tools represent the effort we give to get to where we are now.

The under layer is the Torres Strait Islander head dress “Dhoeri”, which is a representation of Torres Strait Islander people. The streams in the layer represent the 6 different Indigenous identities at the GFC.

FIND OUT GAME DAY INFORMATION HERE