Indigenous jumpers

Adelaide’s first AFL Indigenous Round guernsey was produced to honour the contribution to the game by all Aboriginal footballers.

The 2013 one-off jumper retained the Crows’ traditional red and gold hoops but replaced the navy blue with black to match the Aboriginal flag, a move suggested by senior coach Brenton Sanderson.

Remarkably, Indigenous Crow Jared Petrenko kicked the winning goal in a thrilling finish against North Melbourne at Etihad Stadium.

With less than 20 seconds to go in the final quarter and his team five points behind after ten minutes earlier trailing by five goals, Petrenko ran on to a loose ball as it tumbled towards goal. Petrenko was not sure who was around him so he hacked the ball out of the air.

Adelaide Football Club champion Andrew McLeod designed the 2014 Indigenous guerney to tell his story of the Crows.

It featured a Crows head joined with a map of SA communities and 24 stars representing the Club’s number of seasons.

The Crows footprints were in honour of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander players who had been on Adelaide’s playing list and the number seven boomerang represented a warrior culture, which is strong, proud and resilient.

Adelaide wore the jumper in a win against Gold Coast at the Adelaide Oval on June 1, the first time in nine years the Club had hosted an Indigenous Round match.

Crows premiership star Andrew McLeod collaborated with renowned Torres Strait Island artist Laurie Nona to create the 2015 Indigenous Round guernsey.

The design featured two striking images of Crows and was worn by Adelaide in the round nine game against Fremantle at Adelaide Oval on May 30.

“This year’s guernsey is still about the Crows and our continuing journey, with a specific focus on the strength of team,” McLeod said.

Eddie Betts celebrated by kicking the 2015 AFL Goal of the Year.

Renowned Australian Aboriginal artist, Susie Betts – the sister of Eddie’s father, Eddie Betts the second – created the artwork for Adelaide’s 2016 Indigenous jumper.

Incredibly, Betts won his second consecutive AFL Goal of the Year in Sir Doug Nicholls  Round, against Greater Western Sydney at Adelaide Oval in Round 10.

Their family belongs to the Wirangu people, as well as the Kokata and Mirning communities on the far West Coast of South Australia. In the Wirangu culture, the crow is called ‘Garnga’ and plays an important role spiritually as a messenger and healer.

The design featured a crow in full flight on a navy blue base, surrounded by red, gold and white circles and dots. The jumper also featured the ‘R’ RECOGNISE logo.

Crows players wore a special guernsey designed by accomplished Indigenous South Australian artist Allan Sumner to celebrate Sir Doug Nicholls Indigenous Round in 2017 at Adelaide Oval.

Sumner, a descendant of the Ngarrindjeri, Kaurna and Yankunytjatjara people, designed the navy blue guernsey in collaboration with local Aboriginal business Ochre Dawn Creative Industries. The design prominently displays the symbols of the warrior preparing for battle.

The title of the design is Kuwa Irrapina Tuwila nakurri-apinga, which means ‘Awaken the Crow Warrior Spirit’. The aim of the guernsey was to inspire Crows players and stimulate their warrior spirit against the Fremantle Dockers in round ten.

Eddie Betts and Rory Sloane in the 2017 guernsey.

Adelaide’s first AFLW Indigenous guernsey was also the first in the new competition when it launched in 2017.

Darwin-born Crows legend Andrew McLeod led the design process for the guernsey – to be worn in away games – to celebrate the Club’s unique partnership with the Northern Territory.

“At the centre of the guernsey is a sun – the sun mother is the giver of life, nurturer and educator, she give us strength and courage,” he said. “The sun mother comforts and keeps us warm, she guides us and is someone we draw strength from. The claws of the Crow wrapped around the sides of the guernsey represent a mother’s hug.”

Of the inaugural squad’s 27 players, nine were based in Darwin with the remaining 18 located in Adelaide. The jumper was worn by the Crows when they won the inaugural AFLW premiership in 2017.

Sir Doug Nicholls Round in 2018 was extra special for promising Crow Wayne Milera Junior.

Milera’s uncle Roger Rigney designed the Club’s 2018 Indigenous guernsey to celebrate the Round and the contributions of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders to the Club and the wider community.

The guernsey, which was worn in Adelaide’s Round 11 clash with Greater Western Sydney at Adelaide Oval, had an overarching theme of ‘bringing people together’.

It depicted Adelaide Oval, as the location which brings everyone involved in the Club together to Fly As One. Also at the centerpiece was the Club’s 23 past and present Indigenous players, as well as the communities they are connected to.

Andrew McLeod returned to the drawing board in 2019 as the visionary for Adelaide’s 2019 Indigenous guernsey for Sir Doug Nicholls Round.

He was no stranger to designing the coveted guernsey, but this time he had some extra help from his brother Jonathan. Together, the pair created a unique design while paying homage to their Torres Strait Islander culture through nine different elements.

The centrepiece of the guernsey was a headdress, known as a Dhoeri – a significant piece of McLeod’s culture.

“The Kaurna shield allows us to pay homage to the Kaurna people whose lands we reside on, but also our team plays footy on,” McLeod said. Adelaide wore the guernsey in the round 10 game against West Coast.

2019 design; Eddie Betts, Riley Knight and Wayne Milera.

Slight changes were made to the AFLW away guernsey before the 2019 season.

Some blue (sky) was added to the front Crow design, the bird claws were white, side claw stripes were larger and the barramundi and crocodile were darker.

Adelaide’s 2020 Indigenous guernsey for Sir Doug Nicholls Round was designed by former Crow Eddie Hocking, the Club’s first Indigenous player.

The guernsey represents Hocking’s journey with the Adelaide Football Club. He played 11 games for the Club – including the Club’s first game in 1991 – and worked with local artist Shane “Mankitya” Cook to craft the design.

The design pays homage to not only Hocking’s journey, but the players and the extended Adelaide Football Club family.  It was worn in round 13 against Geelong.

Adelaide’s 2021 AFLW clash guernsey tells the story of a shared journey, retold through the perspectives of two Aboriginal women.

Designed by renowned Aboriginal Visual Artist Elizabeth Close and Crows AFLW player Danielle Ponter, the Indigenous design was worn at away games as well as for the inaugural AFLW Indigenous Round.

The Adelaide players are represented on the guernsey by the concentric circles and the rings, while the bold navy line is their journey, weaving in around and through the circles, connecting them on their journey together. The dots that sit on top of the circles represent the many other people who support the players, including family, coaches, partners, colleagues, and support staff.

Adelaide celebrated Torres Strait Islander culture when it wore its 2021 Indigenous guernsey in the 2021 Sir Doug Nicholls Round and again four rounds later.

Designed by Crows player Ben Davis, the guernsey featured a dhoeri, a traditional head dress which is a significant part of Torres Strait Islander culture, and represented Davis’ personal story of cultural discovery.

It also included other Torres Strait Islander elements, including the Hammerhead shark, fish and spears, while the back displayed a large turtle, which is the totem for the Torres Strait Island people. The guernsey honours the country on which Adelaide plays and trains, with a Kaurna shield prominently displayed and connected to the dhoeri.

For the first time in Adelaide’s history, the Club’s AFL, AFLW and SANFL sides wore Indigenous guernseys with the same design in 2022.

The design by Eastern Arrernte man Pat Caruso highlights the coming together of the men’s and women’s teams on their reconciliation journey, as well as acknowledging the impact that the many members of the Crows family have left on the Club since 1991.

The Aboriginal adaptation of the crow sits at the centre of the guernsey, with the Kaurna shield perched proudly on its chest. The male and female hands which make up the wings of the crow and the fingerprints on the feathers which wrap around the guernsey represent the imprint players, staff, members and supporters have left on the Club.