Yartapuulti Football Club has unveiled its 2024 AFL First Nations guernsey, which will be worn during Sir Doug Nicholls Round.
The annual, league-wide event will take place across Rounds 10 and 11, with the Power set to don the special guernsey in games against Hawthorn at Adelaide Oval and North Melbourne at Blundstone Arena.
The club is also proud to confirm it will be known as the Yartapuulti Football Club again in 2024 for all games played during Sir Doug Nicholls Round, AFLW Indigenous Round and the SANFL First Nations Round.
This year’s striking strip, inspired by the essence of family, was a collaboration between two-time premiership player, Norm Smith Medallist and 200-game player, Byron Pickett, and his first cousin Melanie Pickett.
The guernsey depicts Byron’s strong connection to family, to the land, and to the Port Adelaide region, as well as the seven current First Nations Yartapuulti AFL players.
“To get asked to do the design for this great club is…I’m a pretty humble guy, I like to think I am, and I was just over the moon when they asked me to design it,” Byron said.
“It (the design) is about family. I’m really big on family. I’ve always put family before myself, it’s just what I’ve been taught by my father, my mother, and my older sister.”
The guernsey design is centred around three round symbols, while the Port River forms the traditional Yartapuulti ‘V’ shape across the chest.
“The rivers represent the Port River, the home of Yartapuulti and my football journey,” Byron said.
“The animal prints on the side of the guernsey are my totems. The bird footprint is the pee wee, that’s my Nyoongar totem on my dad’s side. And the dog print is a dingo (ngubanu), and that’s my mum’s totem on the Yamatji side.
“The background represents my father; he did a painting a while ago with that design on it.
“My dad is no longer with us today, and I just thought because I am really family orientated man, I wanted to include that as a representation of my father.”
Three round shapes sit at the centre of the guernsey and represent three meeting places of great significance to Byron.
“The main shape is Alberton Oval and the smaller shapes around it represent the seven current First Nations Yartapuulti players, plus one that represents me.
“The top shape is a place called Mount Magnet (Budimia) that’s where my mum is from, and the bottom shape is where my dad is from Quairading (Balardong) down south in Western Australia.
“There are three ‘U’ shapes on the back of the guernsey. The teal one is my granddaughter, Zaylera, and the two others are the boys, my two grandsons Z’kye and Zyree.
Sir Doug Nicholls Round was established by the AFL to highlight Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander contributions to Australian football and to elevate First Nations culture onto the national stage, something Byron says the league should be proud of.
“Sir Doug Nicholls Round is really important,” he said.
“It didn’t happen when I was playing, but the AFL community around the whole of Australia has really jumped on board with it.
“It’s getting bigger and bigger every year. That’s something to be proud of.
The round also gives Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people with connections to clubs an opportunity to showcase their artwork, their stories, and the stories of their families.
Replica guernseys in adult and youth sizes are now available at the Port Store at Alberton Oval and online. A range of apparel including adult and youth unisex hoodies and t-shirts, 100 per cent merino wool scarves and can coolers will be available in the coming days.
Player-worn guernseys will be auctioned off after the game, with 100 per cent of the proceeds going back into Power Community Limited’s Aboriginal programs.
