The Indigenous All-Stars (formerly known as the Aboriginal All-Stars) is an Australian rules football representative team composed of players that identify as Indigenous Australian or with an indigenous culture.

The team has played sporadically in select years, usually against other representative teams or clubs from the Australian Football League (AFL) in the post or pre-season period. The team has also represented Australia on one occasion (in 2013) in the International Rules Series. Junior under-18 and under-16 teams, known as the Flying Boomerangs, have also been part of the All-Stars programme.

Matches featuring the Indigenous All-Stars have been played throughout the country, though originally when the team began playing biannual fixtures the team was based primarily in Darwin. The AFL promotes the concept as recognition of the Indigenous Australians' contribution to the national competition, with approximately one in ten AFL players identifying as an Indigenous Australian.

The best on ground for the Indigenous All-Stars is awarded the Polly Farmer Medal which is in honour of Graham Farmer.

History

All-Indigenous sides have been documented as early the turn of the 20th Century,Indigenous influence on AFL creation confirmed by historical transcripts, historian says Malcolm Sutton ABC News 13 April 2017 and the first representative teams began playing matches after World War II.Golden age of Indigenous Aussie Rules in Victoria beckons Patrick Skene for The Guardian 13 November 2014 07.31 AEDT

Following his career in the VFA, Doug Nicholls was instrumental in the concept of an All-Aboriginal representative side. He organised (assembling players mainly from Taree in New South Wales), captained and coached an All-Aboriginal side against the VFA's Northcote Football Club in 1944. Among the aboriginal players was James Murray, Australian Kangaroos rugby league representative. The match drew more than 10,000 spectators.

Nicholls team's matches against the Northcote Football Club became an annual event becoming a regular fixture in 1945 and 1946. The match led to a number of similar contests springing up around the country. It played a charity match against VFA club Oakleigh Football Club attracting 2,000 spectators.

One of the first major representative matches was a side's defeat the Australian Capital Territory, one of the strongest sides in the country, at Manuka Oval in Canberra in 1970.

In 1973, a team was assembled from the best Indigenous Australians across all states and territories to tour Papua New Guinea and play against the Papua New Guinea team. It was originally also scheduled to play against Nauru's national team. Sir Douglas Nicholls accompanied the side. The Australian side lost narrowly and a return match in Australia was scheduled for an Aboriginal Australian Rules carnival to be hosted by the Australian Capital TerritoryAboriginal carnival in ACT. The Canberra Times 4 October 1974 Page 18 Papua New Guinea narrowly defeated the Indigenous Australian side at Ainslie Oval.pg.10 The Canberra Times Mon 7 October 1974PNG defeats Aborigines. The Canberra Times 7 October 1974 Page 10

All-Stars take on the VFL In 1983, the "All-Stars" competed in a once-off post-season exhibition match in Mildura; two games were played in 1985, while another one-off game was played in 1994.

A match between the All-Stars and The Swans was proposed for Canberra in 1984, to be organised by the National Football League, but did not go ahead.

All-Stars take on National competition In 1993, a bi-annual All-Stars vs Collingwood match was proposed.

In 1994, disputes over player releases put the concept into doubt. The St Kilda Football Club refused to release Nicky Winmar, while the West Coast Eagles refused to release Chris Lewis to play.

As of 2015, the All-Stars have won six of the ten matches it has played. The record attendance for the match was 17,500, in the 2003 match against Carlton at Marrara Oval.

Hiatus and return in 2025 There was a ten year gap to the next Indigenous All-Stars match. Postponing the proposed 2017 match, the AFL Players' Association's Indigenous members, which managed the team, decided that the match should be scheduled for every four years instead of two.AFL Indigenous All-Stars match postponed until 2019 as focus turns to AFLPA camp By Daniel Cherny for The Age 28 January 2017

No full Indigenous All-Stars match was played in 2019. The 2019 AFLX tournament in the 2019 pre-season featured an all-Indigenous AFLX 8-player team named "Deadly", captained by Eddie Betts. This team won one of its three matches. However, the experimental AFLX format was not popular and has not been repeated since.

At a summit in 2022, a 2023 match was proposed between the Indigenous All-Stars and a newly formed Multicultural All-Stars team to draw from players of a variety of diverse cultures, though this never occurred.

The AFL scheduled an Indigenous All-Stars match for a pre-season fixture against at Optus Stadium in February 2025. The match was heavily promoted by the league and most of the league's best Indigenous players were named in the side. The Indigenous All-Stars defeated Fremantle by 43 points with a crowd of nearly 38,000 in attendance. The success of the event led to the AFL CEO, Andrew Dillon, stating the league would look to more regularly schedule All-Stars contests, possibly within a State of Origin context.

Sponsorship and naming rights Until 2005, the All-Stars were sponsored by the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission, who had naming rights over the team. After the abolition of ATSIC, the team was renamed from Aboriginal All-Stars to Indigenous All-Stars. Since 2006, the team has been sponsored by Qantas through the AFL Kickstart indigenous program.

Results + Matches+YearDate OpponentResultStadiumCaptain (vice-captain)CoachBest (Polly Farmer Medal)Crowd 1973 3 October Lae, Papua New Guinea Lae 9.12 (66) def All-Stars 9.8 (62) Lae, Papua New Guinea Ray Rigney Dennis Archee 1973 7 October Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea 17.19 (121) def All-Stars 12.18 (90) Sir Hubert Murray Stadium, Port Moresby Ray Rigney Leo WanganeenPNG too good for Aboriginal side in rules match. Papua New Guinea Post-Courier 8 October 1973 Page 22 6,000Good win to PNG in rules game (8 October 1973). Papua New Guinea Post-Courier (Port Moresby : 1969 – 1981), p. 22. Retrieved 24 September 2021, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article251224970 1974 6 October Papua New Guinea All-Stars 12.10 (82) def. by Papua New Guinea 13.11 (89) Ainslie Oval, Canberra Ray Rigney Ralph White 1983 1 October Richmond Football Club/Mildura All-Stars 37.11 (233) def Richmond 14.11 (95) Sarah Oval, Mildura Stephen Michael Michael Wanganeen Rex Handy 3,500 1985 16 February Essendon Essendon 13.20 (98) def All-Stars 11.16 (82) Tatura, Victoria Stephen Michael Wilbur Wilson 6,000 1985 13 September Premier's All Stars Premier's All Stars 23.12 (150) def All-Stars 10.8 (68) MCG Maurice Rioli Syd Jackson Ian Barry 5,333 1994 12 February Collingwood Football Club All-Stars 13.10 (88) def Collingwood 10.8 (68) Marrara Oval, Darwin Michael McLean Maurice Rioli Fabian Francis 15,000 2003 7 February Carlton Football Club All-Stars 19.16 (130) def Carlton 8.9 (57) Marrara Oval, Darwin Andrew McLeod Michael McLean Adam Goodes 17,500 2005 5 February Western Bulldogs All-Stars 12.19 (91) def Western Bulldogs 10.3 (63) Marrara Oval, Darwin Darryl White (Chris Johnson) Michael McLean Daniel Wells 8,500 2007 11 February Essendon Football Club All-Stars 6.7 (43) def by Essendon 14.9 (93) Marrara Oval, Darwin Andrew McLeod Michael McLean Andrew McLeod 13,119 2009 7 February Adelaide Crows All-Stars 14.13 (97) def Adelaide 6.7 (43) Marrara Oval, Darwin Andrew McLeod (Shaun Burgoyne) Chris Johnson Matt Campbell 9,497 2011 4 February Richmond Football Club Match cancelled due to inclement weather Adam Goodes Michael O'Loughlin 2013 8 February Richmond Football Club All-Stars 14.6 (90) def Richmond 6.4 (40) Traeger Park, Alice Springs Nathan Lovett-Murray Michael O'Loughlin Harley Bennell 8,350 2015 20 February West Coast Eagles West Coast 7.7 (49) def All-Stars 5.11 (41) Leederville Oval, Perth Shaun Burgoyne (Jarrod Harbrow) Andy Lovell Shaun Burgoyne 10,0002025 15 February Fremantle Football Club All-Stars 16.12 (108) def Fremantle 9.11 (65) Perth Stadium, Perth Michael WaltersXavier Clarke Jy Simpkin 37,865

Squads

1973 team Roger Rigney (SA); Michael Mansell (Tas); Anthony Miller (WA); Brian Warrior (SA); Dennis Lewfat (NT); Patrick Purantatameri (NT); Reg Mathews (QLD); Bill Ellis (NT); John McHenry (WA); Leon Wanganeen (SA); Alec Smith (Vic); John Pepperill (NT); Phillip Archer (SA); Ian Charles (VIC); Robbie Muir (VIC); Ken Liddle (NT); Wilfred Wilson (SA); Tim Agius (SA); Garry Murray (VIC); Paul Hansen (WA); Lloyd Bray (NT)

International Rules In 2013, the Indigenous All-Stars team competed under the Australia banner against Ireland in the International Rules Series, a hybrid sport which consists elements of Gaelic football and Australian rules football. For the 2013 Series a 33-man squad was chosen, which was reduced to 21-man touring party.

The Indigenous team lost the series 2–0 and by an aggregate score of 173–72, a record-high margin for the International Rules series.

Polly Farmer Medal

The Polly Farmer Medal is awarded each game to the best Indigenous All-Stars player.

See also

Flying Boomerangs Rugby league Indigenous All-Stars

References