SPRIGHTLY forward Andrew Krakouer plays his 100th AFL game this Saturday night for the Tigers and is excited about the prospect of celebrating the milestone during Indigenous Round.
“It’s great to go out there and recognise the guys that went before us and paved the way for Aboriginal guys,” Krakouer said this week.
“It's amazing, and to play my 100th game is just awesome.”
The 25-year-old is the son of Jim Krakouer and nephew of Phil Krakouer, two of the most exciting Aboriginal players ever to play league football.
Andrew has said in the past that he wanted to emulate his father’s intensity and approach to the game.
Jim Krakouer played 147 matches and booted 236 goals for the Kangaroos and St Kilda from 1982-91. Phil played 148 games and slotted 231 goals for the Kangas and the Bulldogs from 1982-91.
Tackling has become a major feature of Andrew Krakouer’s game. He has laid the most number of tackles inside forward 50 of any Tiger over the past two seasons.
Indigenous Round celebrates the contribution of indigenous players to the game, along with the role the game has played in building bridges between cultures.
Dreamtime at the G is the centrepiece of Indigenous Round. The match celebrates the contribution indigenous players have made to Australian football.
The Tiwi Bombers, from the Tiwi Islands 80 km north of Darwin in the Arafura Sea, and Rumbalara Football Club, from Shepparton in Victoria, will play in the curtain-raiser.
The match begins at 4.25pm and is to be televised at Melbourne’s Federation Square big screen for those gathering for The Long Walk. The match will also be shown live on the Imparja network in the Northern Territory, including the Tiwi Islands.
The Long Walk starts in Federation Square at 4pm and continues through Birrarung Marr, across William Barak Bridge and into the MCG to be a part of the pre-match entertainment for the Richmond v Essendon clash beginning at 7.40pm.
Singers Archie Roach, Iva Davies and Shane Howard will perform before the game, as well as indigenous musicians Ron Murray and Russell Smith. Auntie Joy Murphy-Wandin will perform Welcome to Country.
At half-time, indigenous children from Lake Tyers, Rumbalara, Echuca/Moama, and Fitzroy Stars Auskick centres will play on the MCG.
It’s going to be an emotional and memorable occasion for all Australians at the G on Saturday night.
