Richmond’s latest trip to Central Australia, as part of its Outback Tigers program, was extra special for one of its new rookie-list players, Gibson Turner.

The 18-year-old, who was taken by the Tigers at pick 60 overall in the AFL’s 2012 rookie draft, is a product of Alice Springs, and he was delighted to return to his old home town last week, with new teammates Alex Rance and Ty Vickery, plus the Club’s development coach, Greg Mellor, community programs manager, Michael Lacy, and director of the Korin Gamadji Institute at the ME Bank Centre, Punt Road Oval, Belinda Duarte.

Turner was a huge hit with the locals, who welcomed him back with open arms and wished him well in his football career at Richmond.

One of the schools the Tiger party visited, to discuss the importance of education, in line with the Outback Tigers program, was Gillen Primary, which Gibson Turner attended as a youngster.  The touring Tigers travelled on Gibson’s old school bus to pick up students for their day at school. 

Other schools visited included Braitling Primary and Sadadeen Primary, with the players also making a 260km trek north east of Alice Springs to the remote Heart Range and Alcoota communities.

The Outback Tigers program aims to assist schools with increased attendance, and also promote healthy lifestyles.

“We are grateful to Dick Smith for their support of the program, which is assisting schools and inspiring Indigenous students throughout Central Australia,” Vickery said.

“It was pretty powerful when we were on the school bus, to tell the kids that ‘Gibbo’ used to travel on this bus, and that he is now on an AFL list.”

For Rance, another key highlight of the trip was also Gibson Turner-related . . .

“Meeting Gibbo’s family, who cooked up kangaroo tail on an open fire for us all to taste, was a pretty cool cultural experience,” Rance said.

“It was great to get up to Central Australia and meet so many of the locals.  A lot of the primary students we met were shy initially, but once they got to know us, we had them climbing all over us!

“Students there are so engaged in football and, as players, we can play a role in reinforcing the importance of school and healthy living.”