| Yuendumu Magpies |
To the people of Yuendumu, football occupies a crucial position in the social infrastructure of the Yuendumu community. Sport is a key aspect of the community's strategy to combat substance abuse and the consequential domestic violence and dysfunctional social and health costs.
First among sports in Yuendumu is football. Football is played all year round with teams organised to play in the local competition. Two of these teams play in the country football competition in the Collingwood strip for the Nungataratja Cup. The constant regime of organised football builds motivation, self esteem, healthy lifestyles, role modelling, discipline and responsibility among the young men of the Yuendumu community, who would otherwise have very little to do. A number of them, in addition to playing for Yuendumu in the community competition on Saturdays, play for CAFL club Souths, on Sundays.
The Yuendumu Magpies is the premier club amongst the indigenous football clubs of Central Australia. It was the first indigenous community team to win the CAFL Lightning Carnival (Easter 2001) in 2005 won their third successive premiership in the community football competition and were premiers again in 2007.
In Yuendumu, the connection with black and white is more than a mere shared playing jumper. To quote Lindsay Japangardi Williams, former coach of the Yuendumu Magpies;
“Black and White isn’t just worn on Friday nights or Saturday in Yuendumu, we are proud to wear the colours all week long….It’s not just the young people in the community who follow and talk about Collingwood and the Magpies, but in our community the elders follow the Magpies too. They like to talk about how Collingwood played, who marked and kicked well, and if Collingwood won. They love to talk about this sort of football – it’s in them”
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