The continued and increased celebration of Indigenous culture in the Orange and wider communities is “an absolute must” in Hawks president Mark Johnson’s eyes.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
That’s exactly why the two blues are dedicating this weekend’s Group 10 round to just that.
The two blues’ premier league side will wear special jerseys – donated by Orange Aboriginal Medical Service (OAMS) and designed by former player Hayden Gibbs-O’Neill – against Blayney on Sunday, one part of a huge day of celebration.
“Indigenous culture is a very heavy part of the fabric of Orange and country NSW, and rugby league plays a big role,” Johnson said.
“We’re working with [OAMS] and a few other organisations to try and keep these kids in the sport and the club as they get older, because we’ve seen how positive an influence sport can have on their lives.
“If we didn’t have our Indigenous players and volunteers we’d really struggle to survive, so we want to celebrate that culture as much as we can.
“It’s something that’s been done here and there in the past, but it’s great to see it happening more and more often.
“Our juniors, Bloomfield, are doing the same, and I believe Orange Emus’ under 17s and Orange High School will as well.
“The Indigenous culture within our club and community is something we should all be very proud of, so we’ll be working hard to make sure this specific day is an annual one, but also that we continue celebrating Indigenous culture all the time.”
While Gibbs-O’Neill doesn’t play for the two blues anymore, his two brothers Sandon and Jayden do.
The former will line-up at halfback this weekend in Hawks’ top grade side.
“I gave up footy a while ago, I’m well and truly out of it,” he laughed.
“But it’s really special for me to able to design a jersey like this, that at least Sandon will play in.
“As an artist, it’s a really good opportunity to expand what I do and showcase our culture.”
OAMS chief executive officer Jamie Newman applauded the move from Hawks and explained with NAIDOC week fast-approaching, Sunday is the perfect way to kick-start this year’s celebrations.
The Indigenous culture within our club and community is something we should all be very proud of.
- Hawks president Mark Johnson
“A lot of our people are connecting in communities through sport, rugby league has always been synonymous with the Aboriginal people,” Newman said.
“To have a local club with a number of young Aboriginal boys, men and women doing this is very significant, and having a local guy design them too we were only too happy to sponsor the jerseys.”
Hawks will raffle a number of jerseys off after the game, donate several to local businesses and auction a handful off as well.
The day starts with league tag kicking off at 10am, with premier league to start at 2pm, at Wade Park.