AFL Northern Territory last night officially launched the inaugural 2012 NT Indigenous All-Stars Healthy Living Carnival running from May 23-26 at TIO Stadium.
By using AFL programs as a vehicle, AFLNT have partnered with key health and community partners including Danila Dilba Health Service, TIO and Salvation Army to educate and train this select group about the importance of a healthy lifestyle through football.
AFLNT Indigenous Programs Manager Kevin Bruce said the added emphasis on educational programs and messages was a key aspect of the AFLNT remote projects charter.
"Young men in remote communities love their footy as we know but what we continue to discover is that access to education, employment and health outcomes for these young men is an area of grave concern," said Bruce.
"AFLNT has a responsibility as an organization to promote and facilitate these programs and messages and to work with the boys to help them understand the importance of healthy living and getting an education to compliment their sporting career".
Bruce added that participants from both sides would also have unrivalled access to elite high performance skill and fitness testing through the expertise of NT Thunder.
"We greatly appreciate the support of Thunder in holding these sessions as many of the boys participating in the carnival have aspirations of playing for Thunder or even AFL football," Bruce said.
"This will expose the boys to the high performance sporting environment and what it takes to succeed at the highest level".
The carnival will reach its pinnacle on Saturday afternoon when the Arnhem Cats take on NT Warriors at 3pm in a curtain-raiser to the NAB AFL Under 18 Championship match between NT Thunder and Vic Metro.
Bruce said that there were some exciting prospects playing for both sides and predicted that footy fans would be hearing some of these names for many years to come.
"Both sides have some outstanding talent in their line-up taking in communities including Galiwinku, Groote Eylandt, Gapuwiyak, Lajamanu, Ngukurr, Wadeye, Hermannsburg, Maningrida and Gove,"
"The Arnhem Cats players to watch include Merril Gurruwiwi, an athletic utility who has already played senior football with the Palmerston Magpies and loves a high mark, Basil Bara, a supremely skilled on-baller with a powerful kick and Gerrard Wunungmurra, who finally gets his chance on a big stage having been previously overlooked due to limited resources in Gapuwiyak,"
"The NT Warriors boast Aaron Sharpe, who has dominated AFLCA matches playing for Western Aranda and has already played a handful of senior matches for Thunder, Rowan Bonson, who is a stoppage specialist and works extremely hard to create attacking opportunities and Louie Narndo, a super quick on-baller who has exquisite skills on both sides of the body,"
"We encourage everyone to come down to TIO Stadium and witness the future of NT and AFL footy in action".
Please see below for the NT Indigenous All-Stars Healthy Living Carnival calendar of events.
Thursday 24 May
1pm – Elite High Performance Skill and Fitness Testing – Marrara Indoor Stadium
5pm – Arnhem Cats Training Session
Friday 25 May
9am – TIO Road Safety Program
9:40am – Drug & Alcohol Awareness Program
10am – Respect & Responsibility Program
11:30am – Danila Dilba Health Service health checks
Saturday 26 May
3pm – Arnhem Cats v NT Warriors – TIO Stadium
5pm – Post-match presentations
6:30pm – NT Thunder v Vic Metro – NAB AFL Under 18 Championship, TIO Stadium