To see just what our 'Bruses' get up to on their journey to Alice Springs, Port Adelaide chief executive Keith Thomas joined the EnergyAustralia Aboriginal AFL Academy on what Eugene Warrior and his playing group have christened the 'Brus Bus' as they continue their journey north to play Clontarf in Alice Springs...

Coober Pedy

I think it was just after my third slice of pizza at the Coober Pedy Area School that it struck me just how insanely talented our Aboriginal Academy boys really are.

A restless energy emerges in young men who have been sitting in a bus all day, and their outlet tonight is to try and kick goals through the netball hoops of the indoor gym we are staying at overnight.

In among the 20 or so players, coaches and a pet joey running about playing footy, a cricket match of sorts has broken out - no batsmen, just two, then three, then four leg-spinners rolling their arm over using a rock hard ball, trying to rip it like Warnie!

It’s chaos, but the raw footy skills are phenomenal. We have a lot to look forward to.

Indulkana

We awake to the gentle hum of rain on the gym's tin roof, and thoughts immediately shift to the red dirt tracks of Indulkana.  

Is it raining 200ks up the road, and if it is, will the roads hold up well enough to take the weight of a fully laden passenger coach?

A coffee, a donut and 2.5 hours of dead flat bitumen driving later, we have our answer: Indulkana is dry as a bone and looking forward to seeing us.

As we approach this small remote community, our tour leader Pauly V, gets up to address the boys.

"Be respectful out there today lads," he says, "You are going to see some things that you have never seen before."

"The children will be really friendly, and they are looking forward to seeing you. Make sure you take the chance to speak to them, run the clinics properly and give them a good time."

"But don’t touch the dogs! They bite!"

The environment is harsh.

The local teachers and police officers inform us of the difficulty some of the school children experience living in remote communities, where simply getting to school regularly and in a healthy state is a real challenge.

The school sits behind heavy security fences and the oval doesn’t have a blade of grass on it.

It’s barely 20 degrees today, I can only imagine what it’s like playing up here when it’s 40!

The boys file into a fortified assembly area, to be greeted by the 50 or so children attending school that day. The excitement is tangible.

Each Academy team member nervously introduces themselves to the students and proceed to organise the football clinic. The boys are given full responsibility to split the students up into groups, explain the rules and then it’s on!

The action is frenetic for the next 30 minutes. Only the promise of free footies, boots, shirts and a few photos help to restore order.

As we say our goodbyes, Pauly again takes centre stage and asks each boy to use just one word to describe the experience they have just had.

"Happy," "Fantastic," "Proud," "Joy" - these were the general feelings of our players; and then quietly from somewhere near the back, "Grateful."

Another opportunity.

When we sat down with our mates at EnergyAustralia (sponsors of Aboriginal Academy program) to discuss the purpose of this trip, it was just this sentiment we were trying to reinforce in our team.

We knew our lads would enjoy the moment on a personal level, but what we were hoping for was an opportunity to reinforce the positive effect that they could have on kids less fortunate than themselves.

We wanted them to reflect on the power of the message they are sending to their peers, by committing themselves to school, hard work and behaviours befitting of future leaders of their community.

It’s fair to say that it takes time for shy young men to fully understand the important and inspirational role that they can play.

As we explained to them, it’s the same conversation we have with Chad, Ollie, Karl, and the rest of the AFL boys every year…We Exist To Win Premierships and Make Our Community Proud.

Today, we can all feel very, very proud of our Aboriginal AFL Academy boys. They were exemplary.

We’ve just crossed the border into Northern Territory and are headed to Alice Springs.

Another cold night of pizza, pranks and glorious chaos!