Indigenous All-Stars (Australian rules football)

The Indigenous All-Stars (known as for sponsorship reasons Qantas Kickstart Indigenous All-Stars and formerly known as the Aboriginal All-Stars) is an Australian rules football team composed purely of Indigenous Australians. The team has also represented Australia (in 2013) in the International Rules Series.[1]

Not to be confused with Indigenous All Stars (rugby league).

Indigenous All-Stars
Names
Full nameIndigenous All-Stars
Nickname(s)All Stars
Club details
Founded1983
Colours  Black   Red   Gold
Ground(s)Marrara Oval, Darwin (capacity: 15,000)
 Traeger Park, Alice Springs
Other information
Official website

The team was first formed in 1983 to compete in a once-off post-season exhibition match in Mildura, two games were played in 1985 and another once-off game was played in 1994. Since 2003, the team has played a regular biennial pre-season match against an Australian Football League (AFL) club; the only exception was in 2011, when the scheduled match was cancelled due to inclement weather. The matches are usually played in the Northern Territory, either at Marrara Oval in Darwin or Traeger Park in Alice Springs.

The AFL promotes the concept as recognition of the indigenous Australians' contribution to the national competition, with approximately one in ten AFL players identifying as an Indigenous Australian.[2]

The AFL has been criticised for letting its clubs prevent the All-Stars from selecting its top Indigenous senior players, or for placing restrictions on their game time. Additionally, the competing club side often treats the match as a preseason practice match, such that winning the match is less important than developing young players or building match fitness prior to the regular season. Despite this, the match remains popular with spectators in the Northern Territory.

The best on ground for the Indigenous All-Stars is awarded the Polly Farmer Medal which is in honour of Graham Farmer.

As of 2015, the All-Stars have won six of the ten matches it has played. The record attendance for the match was 17,500, in the 2003 match against Carlton at Marrara Oval. The AFL in 2017 committed to holding a match featuring the All-Stars every four years.[3]

Sponsorship and naming rights

Until 2005 the All-Stars were sponsored by the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission, who had naming rights over the team. After the abolition of ATSIC, the team was renamed from Aboriginal All-Stars to Indigenous All-Stars. Since 2006 the team has been sponsored by Qantas through the AFL Kickstart indigenous program.

Results
Matches
Year Date Opponent Result Stadium Captain (vice-captain) Coach Best (Polly Farmer Medal) Crowd
1983 1 October Richmond Football Club/Mildura All-Stars 37.11 (233) def Richmond/Mildura 14.11 (95) Sarah Oval, Mildura Stephen Michael[4] Michael Wanganeen[5] Rex Handy 3,500
1985 16 February Essendon Essendon 13.20 (98) def All-Stars 11.16 (82) Tatura Stephen Michael[6] Wilbur Wilson[7] Unknown 6,000
1985 13 September Premier's All Stars Premier's All Stars 23.12 (150) def All-Stars 10.8 (68) MCG Maurice Rioli[8] Syd Jackson[9] Unknown 5,333
1994 12 February Collingwood Football Club All-Stars 13.10 (88) def Collingwood 10.8 (68) Marrara Oval, Darwin Michael McLean[10] Maurice Rioli Fabian Francis 15,000
2003 7 February Carlton Football Club All-Stars 19.16 (130) def Carlton 8.9 (57) Marrara Oval, Darwin Andrew McLeod Michael McLean Adam Goodes 17,500
2005 5 February Western Bulldogs All-Stars 12.19 (91) def Western Bulldogs 10.3 (63) Marrara Oval, Darwin Darryl White (Chris Johnson) Michael McLean Daniel Wells 8,500
2007 11 February Essendon Football Club Essendon 14.9 (93) def All-Stars 6.7 (43) Marrara Oval, Darwin Andrew McLeod Michael McLean Andrew McLeod 13,119
2009 7 February Adelaide Crows All-Stars 14.13 (97) def Adelaide 6.7 (43) Marrara Oval, Darwin Andrew McLeod (Shaun Burgoyne) Chris Johnson Matt Campbell 9,497
2011 4 February Richmond Tigers Match cancelled due to inclement weather N/A Adam Goodes Michael O'Loughlin N/A N/A
2013 8 February Richmond Tigers All-Stars 14.6 (90) def Richmond 6.4 (40)[11] Traeger Park, Alice Springs Nathan Lovett-Murray[12] Michael O'Loughlin Harley Bennell 8,350
2015 20 February West Coast Eagles All-Stars 5.11 (41) def. by West Coast 7.7 (49)[13] Leederville Oval, Perth Shaun Burgoyne (Jarrod Harbrow)[14] Andy Lovell Shaun Burgoyne 10,000

Squads

International Rules

The Indigenous All Stars have also competed in the annual International Rules Series, representing Australia in the hybrid sport which consists elements of Gaelic football and Australian rules football. For the 2013 Series a 33-man squad was chosen, which was reduced to 21-man touring party:

The Indigenous team lost the series 2-0 and by a record 173-72 aggregate point margin.

Polly Farmer Medal

The Polly Farmer Medal is awarded each game to the best Indigenous All-Stars player.

See also

References
  1. Indigenous All Stars to Represent Australia in 2013 International Rules Series
  2. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 9 June 2004. Retrieved 18 May 2006.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  3. AFL Indigenous All-Stars match postponed until 2019 as focus turns to AFLPA camp
  4. http://www.ypct.com.au/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=202&Itemid=69
  5. http://www.sportingpulse.com/assoc_page.cgi?client=1-5545-0-0-0&sID=77314&news_task=DETAIL&articleID=5982563&sectionID=77314
  6. https://www.mcc.org.au/_/media/files/mcc/library/2016_05_28_rd10_essvrich_dreamt.pdf?la=en
  7. https://www.mcc.org.au/_/media/files/mcc/library/2016_05_28_rd10_essvrich_dreamt.pdf?la=en
  8. https://www.mcc.org.au/_/media/files/mcc/library/2016_05_28_rd10_essvrich_dreamt.pdf?la=en
  9. https://www.mcc.org.au/_/media/files/mcc/library/2016_05_28_rd10_essvrich_dreamt.pdf?la=en
  10. http://www.afl.com.au/news/blogarticle/tabid/8123/newsid/71861/default.aspx
  11. Edmund, Sam (9 February 2013). "Embarrassing Richmond no match for indigenous hunger, speed". Herald Sun. Retrieved 3 March 2013.
  12. Ryan, Peter (7 February 2013). "Youngers head up All-Stars squad". Australian Football League. Retrieved 3 March 2013.
  13. Malcom, Alex (20 February 2015). "Eagles edge out All Stars as Wellingham, Burgoyne dominate". AFL.com.au. Retrieved 21 February 2015.
  14. "2015 Indigenous All Stars Team details". Triple M. 19 February 2015. Archived from the original on 21 February 2015. Retrieved 21 February 2015.
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