It will be a momentous occasion for the club when the SUNS run out for the very first time in an AFLW fixture this weekend against GWS, but for some the match is even more special.
It’s the first time the team will wear the predominately blue Indigenous clash strip, which symbolises the water, joined by the sun which signifies people coming together with a cultural connection.
The guernsey was designed by local Bundjalung/Yugambeh woman Christine Slabb and represents the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
For Kalinda Howarth, it will be a surreal moment to run out for her first game in the Indigenous strip if she’s named to make her debut.
“It’s such an honour to be able to wear an Indigenous guernsey in our first ever match,” Howarth told SUNS Media.
“It means so much to me as a young Indigenous Australian and I know how important it is to the other Indigenous girls on the list to see our cultures represented.
“Hopefully I get selected because it would be a dream to debut in the Indigenous SUNS guernsey and represent my culture with pride.”
Howarth is one of four Indigenous players on the SUNS AFLW list.
Kalinda Howarth:
From: Gold Coast
Mob: Yuin
Paige Parker:
From: Brisbane
Mob: Quandamooka
Tribe Name: Nunukal
Totem: Carpet Snake/Dolphin
Kitara Whap-Farrar:
From: Cairns, QLD
Mob: Wagadagam (TSI), Alawa (NT) & Kidja (WA)
Totem: Crocodile (TSI), Wedge Tail Eagle (WA) & Bush Turkey (NT)
Tayla Thorn:
From: Darwin, NT
Mob: Wurrji
Tribe Name: Iwaidja
Totem: Salt Water Crocodile
