Coaching great Kevin Sheedy has emphatically dismissed the suggestion an all-indigenous club should be introduced into an expanded AFL.
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Sheedy, one of the prime movers in fostering Aboriginal and Islander talent in the sport, said any move towards an exclusively indigenous club could undo much of the bridge-building AFL has achieved with the indigenous community.
The former Essendon coach said he would rather see Aboriginal talent spread throughout all AFL clubs, including the two new franchises at the Gold Coast and western Sydney.
“Why would you want to do that?” Sheedy said of creating an all-indigenous AFL club.
“The one thing that really makes our game is spreading the talent right throughout the whole nation. Otherwise it ends up becoming exactly what you don’t want.
“I would rather have the spread of (indigenous) players so we build a nation together.
“That’s not probably nowhere near where the AFL would want to go. They want a spread of talent, so let’s enjoy it in everybody’s camp.”
Sheedy today helped kick off the AFL KickStart camp in Melbourne, in which young indigenous footballers are invited to undergo high performance testing and life skills training.
The 14 and 15-year-old players involved in the camp will play in a curtain-raiser to the Richmond-Essendon AFL match at the MCG on Saturday.
Sheedy said the skills of the Aboriginal and Islander players had been a godsend for the competition.
“We’ve struck gold with the indigenous players,” he said.
“You think you’re a coach and then you get some really wonderfully talented people and they actually teach you how to coach.
“Indigenous players, they don’t need a compass and a protractor. They know the angle coming into the goals.”
Olympic gold medallist Cathy Freeman is among the mentors at the five-day camp.
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