Richmond fans know Ivan Maric as a tough, fearless ruckman – the ultimate team player who gets the best out of himself and drags his mates along with him.

He is all of those things, but he is also a man proud of his Croatian heritage, particularly when this week, the AFL’s Multicultural Round, he can reflect on the impact his family has had on his league career.

Maric was born in Melbourne to Croatian parents, who migrated to Australia separately and met in St Albans, in Melbourne’s western suburbs.

Croatian was his first language – he still speaks it at home – and the strength of family was instilled in him from a very young age.

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“My mum is one of 11 kids, so I’ve got a lot of cousins and aunties and uncles on mum’s side,” he said.

“Growing up we were all pretty close.  There was no need to have friends from school over, because you had all of your cousins.

“We’d hang out every weekend at my aunty’s place.  She lived on 100 acres of bush, so we got up to all sorts of things out there.”

Maric grew up around soccer clubs, in particular the St Albans Saints, where he has become the number one ticket holder.

While soccer was a big part of his life (it is recognised as Croatia’s main sport), his school friends introduced him to AFL.

He was a late bloomer to the sport, but didn’t take long to catch the eye of the Calder Cannons in the TAC Cup, which led him to be drafted by the Adelaide Crows in 2004.

Seven years later, he was lured to Tigerland, and instantly became a favourite of the Yellow and Black army.

He was also drawn to Richmond defender Bachar Houli, the AFL’s first Muslim player, and one of the league’s multicultural ambassadors.

“He was one of the first guys I contacted when I got traded to the Tigers,” Maric said.

“Through our cultural similarities we’ve become really good friends.  We understand each other a lot better than maybe others in the team.

“We’re trying to educate the rest of the playing group about our cultures, and the different things we do.

“Everyone’s really willing to listen, and they’re curious about the different foods, and our religions and those sorts of things.”

Click on the player above to see the Matthew Richardson’s full interview with Ivan Maric.