For the first time in their 65 year history Port Melbourne Colts have designed special Indigenous jumpers for NAIDOC Week.
The Port Melbourne side have always had a strong indigenous presence within the club, with a strong number of past and present players being Indigenous, with this year's reserves captain also being indigenous.
The Club found it as a “No Brainer” to design these special guernseys, to show the importance of what the community means to the club, as sometimes it can be overlooked and under appreciated, so the club reality decided to show how much the community means to them through this jumper.
The jumper creation was a collaborative effort by two club legends. Both Les Taylor who has played over 20 games and won 4 flags for the club and Matthew Burns who has played over 300 games won 2 premierships and is also a life member at the club, had the privilege to design these magnificent jumpers and 14 year old Maxx Stevens drew them.
(ABOVE: Captain Justin Taylor and Coach Josh Caddy, modelling the special guernsey's)
‘The design on the jumper is symbolic of club values on and off the field’ .
The Colts will also be holding a women's day on the same day to recognise all the women involved in the club.
“We currently have 4 teams and over 90 Netballers at the club, which is amazing considering we didn't have any 4 years ago.” Stephen Duvnjak, President of the club, said.
With a major focus on being involved in the community there is a real togetherness within the club, which is extremely important with it coming to the pointy end of the season.
The club has also had a very multicultural group around the club so doing something that recognises the efforts of everyone and making everyone feel welcome, no matter where you're from is the biggest and most important message.
The Colts sit just outside of the Top 4 with a chance to make their way inside when they face Dingley on the weekend. The Port Melbourne side are undefeated at home this year and with Dingley coming off 2 losses, it will surely be a great game.
President of the Colts is confident Josh Caddy’s side can create something special at the end of the season. “We have been unlucky and we probably lost games we shouldn't have, but all the boys are confident for the second half of the season.” Duvnjak stated.
The game against Dingley will start at 2:00pm at JL Murphy reserve in Port Melbourne with a Welcome to Country and smoking Ceremony scheduled prior to the first bounce.
The Southern FNL wants to congratulate Port Melbourne Colts for the work they are doing this weekend in the community and the way they are celebrating NAIDOC week, as well as wishing all teams the best of luck on the weekend.
