The North Melbourne Tasmanian Kangaroos have unveiled their 2023 AFLW Indigenous guernsey.

The Kangaroos will wear the design titled ‘Connecting Through Identity’ during Indigenous Round and as a clash guernsey this season, including in this Friday night’s game against Geelong.

The design was created by Wemba Wemba, Gunditjmara, Ngadjonji and Taungurung artist Emma Bamblett and is similar to the design worn by the club’s men’s team earlier this year.

It was inspired by the club’s Indigenous players and where they come from, including midfielder and proud Jawoyn woman Mia King.

Bamblett visited the club this week to explain the meaning behind the design before the teams wears it for the first time.

At the heart of the guernsey is a football field with the outline of the Aboriginal flag in the centre. This represents the club’s home of Arden Street Oval and identity.

Water is also a key element of design, flowing throughout the front of the guernsey. The larger circles connected to the field by rivers represent the players and their communities and depict the players being brought together at the club by the waterways from their Country and the waterways that surround Arden Street Oval.

The back of the guernsey features symbols connected to the players and where they come from, including a coolamon on the left and a figure of a female on the right. Mia King will talk more about the design and how it connects to her in the lead-up to Indigenous Round.

“The back of the guernsey is a way to highlight each players’ identity and connection to who they are and where they come from. It was important for me to show these symbols on the back alongside their playing numbers,” Bamblett added. 

The design also pays respect to the Wurundjeri people, the traditional owners of the land on which Arden Street Oval sits, with the Bunjil soaring high over the hills and waterways at the bottom of the guernsey.

The Kangaroos’ 2023 AFLW Indigenous guernsey will be available in-store and online at the Roo Shop.