Vic Indigenous and multicultural boys talent on show
Some of the best young footballers with Indigenous and multicultural backgrounds from across Victoria put their football talents on display at AFL Victoria’s annual All Nations and Kickstart Development program on the weekend.
The three-day program for 14-16 year-old boys culminated in a match between the Kickstart team (Indigenous) and All Nations team (Multicultural) at Highgate Recreation Reserve in Craigieburn on Friday September 30 which Kickstart won 15.14 (104) to All Nations 6.9 (45).
From that game, players have been selected to represent the Flying Boomerangs and World Team programs at the national camp taking place in Melbourne this week, culminating in a match between the two squads at Gosch’s Paddock on Sunday October 9 at 2pm.
The All Nations and Kickstart talent program for boys in Victoria has been running for nine years and has produced AFL players such as Jamarra Ugle-Hagan, Buku Khamis (Western Bulldogs) and Changkuoth Jiath (Hawthorn).
The All Nations and Kickstart Development program provides players involved with the opportunity to progress on their football pathway and prepare for trialling with NAB League teams in coming years.
In the 2021 NAB AFL Draft, the impact of players with multicultural and Indigenous backgrounds was there for all to see. Two players with South Sudanese backgrounds - Mac Andrew (pick 5, Gold Coast) and Leek Aleer (pick 15, Greater Western Sydney) - were selected in the first round, the first time this has happened, while Indigenous player Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera (pick 11, St Kilda), also had his name called out on the opening night of the draft.
2022 AFL Victoria All Nations (multicultural) and Kickstart (Indigenous) development program
Match played at Highgate Recreation Reserve, Craigiburn on Friday September 30.
Kickstart 15.14 (104)
All Nations 6.9 (45)
Best players:
Kickstart – Cody Walker, Kobe Williams, Mingara Clarke, Jyah Chatfield, Reiley Colins, Robert Whyman
All Nations – Obie Chambers, Zac McCarthy, Melvic Penbai, Isaac Abbay, Annguyen Tran, Lucas Baccari
Victorian players selected for national World Team and Flying Boomerangs squads:
Flying Boomerangs (Indigenous): Mingara Clarke, Cody Walker, Reiley Collins, Kobe Williams
World Team (Multicultural): Lucas Baccari, Obie Chambers, Zac McCarthy, Annguyen Tran, Adam Sweid, Hussein El-Achkar, Melvic Penbai, Isaac Abbay
VICTORIAN SQUAD LISTS
KICKSTART
1. Robert (Junior) Whyman (Richmond NGA)
2. Kendyn Brown (St.Kilda NGA)
3. Seth Hudson-Joseph (Carlton NGA)
4. Jailon Jenkins (Western Bulldogs NGA)
5. Thomas Steinman (Hawthorn NGA)
6. Malik Keegan (Carlton NGA)
7. William Lane (Geelong NGA)
8. Zac Larkins (Geelong NGA)
9. Tanner Armstrong (Richmond NGA)
10. Cody Walker (Richmond NGA)
11. Jyah Chatfield (Western Bulldogs NGA)
12. Russell Clarke (Richmond NGA)
13. Jaegan Briggs (Richmond NGA)
14. Max Fry-Barr (North Melbourne NGA)
16. Blake Halligan (Hawthorn NGA)
17. Keenan Boi (Melbourne NGA)
18. Khoder Jackson9 (Richmond NGA)
26. Robbie Cockerall (Western Bulldogs NGA)
27. Kobe Williams (Western Bulldogs NGA)
28. Mingara Clarke (Carlton NGA)
29. Reiley Colins (Western Bulldogs NGA)
ALL NATIONS
1. Darshan Muniraju (Melbourne NGA)
2. Marcus Prasad (Melbourne NGA)
4. Lucas Baccari (Carlton NGA)
5. Omar Abouied (Essendon NGA)
6. Annguyen Tran (Collinwood NGA)
7. Keyon Mertens (Hawthorn NGA)
8. Mousa Taleb (Essendon NGA)
9. Sebastian Wolff (Collingwood NGA)
11. Braedon Lee (Hawthorn NGA)
12. Lucas Hornblower (St Kilda NGA)
13. Nicky Robertson (St Kilda NGA)
16. Ali Mustafa (Carlton NGA)
17. Adam Sweid (Essendon NGA)
18. Isaac Gawne (Western Bulldogs NGA)
19. Adam El Haouli (Carlton NGA)
20. Obie Chambers (Collingwood NGA)
21. Phoenix Smith (St Kilda NGA)
22. Hussein Al – Achkar (Essendon NGA)
24. Rosario Todaro (Carlton NGA)
25. James Mikhael (St Kilda NGA)
32. Isaac Abbay (Western Bulldogs NGA)
33. Joseph Kiriua (Richmond NGA)
34. Melvic Penbai (Richmond NGA)
35. Neziah Mora-Mcdonald (North Melbourne NGA)
36. Damien Styne (Western Bulldogs NGA)
37. Zac Mccarthy (Collingwood NGA)
53. Ofi Marcue Ikafa (Richmond NGA)
