Sonny Smiler poised to become first Gurindji AFL player
Sonny Smiler is in the hunt to become the first Gurindji person drafted to the AFL.
Reported by AFL.com.auClaims checked against the source, 21 h ago.
ShareWhy it matters
An AFL debut would create a pathway for young Indigenous players from remote regions and honour his family's legacy of breaking barriers.
In Australia. Success would put Kalkarindji and remote Northern Territory communities on the AFL map and inspire the next generation of players across Aboriginal Australia.
Key facts
- 2.868 seconds, 2nd fastest
- 20m sprint time
- 86cm, 10th fastest
- Vertical jump
- Vincent Lingiari, Wave Hill Walk-Off 1966
- Great-grandfather
- 600 people
- Kalkarindji population
- Sonny Smiler has impressed recruiters at the Combine with genuine athletic credentials.
- Smiler ran 2.868 seconds in the 20m sprint, the second fastest, and jumped 86cm in the vertical.
- Smiler's great-grandfather Vincent Lingiari led the Wave Hill Walk-Off in 1966, a pivotal moment in the Aboriginal land rights movement.
- Smiler grew up hearing those stories in Kalkarindji, a remote community of 600 people about nearly 800km south of Darwin that has never produced an AFL player.
- If a club picks him at this month's draft, or under the new Category B rookie spot, it would mean everything to his family.
- His mum has been his biggest supporter, driving eight-and-a-half hours to get him to games.
- Smiler has played for the AFL Academy, the Northern Territory's Talent League side, and the Allies in the under-18 championships.
- His backflip celebrations have gone viral on social media.
