The SANFL Crows will pull on their Indigenous guernsey for the first time in 2019 as they head to Port Pirie for the SANFL Showdown on Saturday afternoon.
Marking Adelaide’s only ‘home’ match of the season, the annual game gives regional communities an opportunity to experience SANFL football first hand.
As the round falls during NAIDOC Week, Indigenous culture will also be celebrated as part of the SANFL’s Indigenous Round.
The Crows will wear the Club’s 2019 Indigenous guernsey designed by Crows legend Andrew McLeod, which the AFL side wore in Sir Doug Nicholls Round.
First-year Crow Shane McAdam said he hoped wearing the Indigenous guernsey would shine a light on Indigenous culture across the football community.
“It’s really important because it gives us time to reflect on our culture, and help us teach non-Indigenous players to get involved with our culture and Indigenous heritage,” McAdam said.
“Hopefully it will encourage people to talk about it and get more involved in the future.”
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The regional game coincides within the SA Country Championships, where the best male and female country footballers from across the State will compete on Saturday and Sunday.
Eyre Peninsula, Southern Districts, Eastern, Central, Western, Murray South East and Northern teams will compete against each other in both the Men’s and Women’s Championships.
Over the last two years, Crows SANFL development squad members have won the Best Under-21 Player Medal at the Championship – Scott Merrett (Murray South East) in 2018 and Dom Costanzo (Central) in 2017.
SANFL Crows players will also wear purple and blue armbands during the match to raise the awareness of the importance of mental health research.
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The initiative was organised through Club partner Breakthrough Mental Health Research Foundation, which supports research to better understand what causes mental illness, how to treat it, and how to prevent it from happening in a bid to create a life free from mental illness.
Mental health issues are prominent in country areas, so it is hoped that wearing the armbands during the SANFL’s only regional game in 2019 will start important conversations.
The match at Memorial Oval, Port Pirie will begin at 2.40pm on Saturday.
Entry to the game will be free for Under-18s and fans can bring their own chairs to sit and watch the game.
