South West Indigenous players highlighted in round seven

The recognition game will be held between Carey Park and Collie on Sunday August 30, and the South West Football League general manager Simone Nani said it was going to be a really special day.

She said the day would include a smoking ceremony, Elders tossing the coin, artwork on the ball and representatives from the WA Football Commission would be in attendance.

Indigenous guests on the day will include Syd Jackson, Troy Ugle, Brad Collard, Stephen Michael, Aaron Hill and Murray Collard.

For the first time the game will be sponsored by Indigenous based business IPS.

The IPS Indigenous Round will be from August 28 and will include clubs wearing special jumpers for their matches.

Ms Nani said the round was a great opportunity to celebrate the positive impact Indigenous Australians have on the game of AFL.

She said the map (below) which shows how many Indigenous players are currently playing in the AFL told a great story.

The map shows there are currently 12 Noongar men and one female playing at the highest level.

"The round is about inclusion and promotion of Indigenous players and encouraging them to go as far as possible because they have great skills," she said.

"As we work towards reconciliation, please join with us to celebrate Indigenous Round, and our united stand against racism at all levels in Australian Rules Football."

Ms Nani said the league had a vilification policy and each year the clubs hold a training workshop on vilification for its players, staff, members and volunteers.

Carey Park Football Club league coach Richard Barnard said he always looked forward to Indigenous round.

"It's really important to acknowledge Indigenous players who have been some of the greatest players our club and game has ever seen," he said.

"They have played a big part in the history of the game."

With racism regularly being a topical issue in AFL, Mr Barnard said the SWFL and his club had a come long way.

"Our club culture and standards does not allow for [racism] that to happen," he said.

"To be honest I haven't seen any racism within the league or fans for quite a few years."

Mr Barnard said in the past the club had heard from former players like Keith Narkle who told them about his troubles during his playing years.

Mr Narkle played for Swan Districts in the 1980s and captained them to two premierships.

He also played in a premiership side for Bunbury in the 1970s and after playing in the WAFL he came back to the South West to play for Carey Park.

Carey Park league player Viv Blurton has played the sport since he was a young teenager and echoed his coach in saying he hadn't encountered racism on the field for a long time.

He said he copped a bit in his junior days playing school footy which was really tough.

"It is hard at that age because you don't have the coping mechanisms to deal with it and I did have alot of anger about it," he said.

However it wasn't the case when Mr Blurton started playing senior footy at Carey Park.

"Internally we have a great representation of Indigenous boys so we are really close and none that stuff [racism] creeps in," he said.

Mr Blurton said the Indigenous round was a great way to bridge the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous.

"Some people may not even associate with Indigenous people if it wasn't for sport, so footy is a great way to build that relationship," he said.

The round also provides an avenue to keep the Indigenous culture and identity alive.

"It allows people to learn more about the culture, even me, I am always learning more about my culture," he said.

Mr Blurton said it was always a proud moment for the boys to put on their Indigenous jumper which was designed by Brandon Bennell and sister Korrine in 2018.

The Augusta Margaret River Hawks will be boasting a new jumper design when they play the Eaton Boomers.

Hawks president Andrew Hunter said they reached out to Wardandi custodian Josh Whiteland to create a design.

He said Mr Whiteland did a great job of incorporating the club's mascot of a hawk as well as the club colours.

Hawks coach Matt Jamieson said the round helped reflect how important Indigenous people are to society and the game.

He said he had really enjoyed coaching the Hawks Indigenous player Calvin Lawrence and watching his talents first hand.

In other round seven matches Harvey will host HBL, Busselton will play Bunbury and Donnybrook will host South Bunbury.