Pacific Australian Football players are on the mark

Ben Drew [00:00:04] This is our South Pacific Talent Camp. The purpose of the talent camps is to provide education and real time experiences for our players. We're teaching the players pieces of the game that they may not necessarily be taught back home.

Ben Drew [00:00:21] So kick it out to the grass. That wide safety of the bench.

Ben Drew [00:00:29] Within the talent camp. We've got players representing Vanuatu, Nauru, Papua New Guinea and Fiji.

Lucillia Kami [00:00:39] The first time I fell in love with a AFL was when I found out that my grand uncle represented my country down here in the 1980 squad.

Anaseini Kamikamica [00:00:50] I play AFL because it's a continuous game. Yeah, just passing the ball forward. Yeah, it's fun.

Doreen Tokiong [00:01:00] So we're playing today. It's a privilege, especially like this is the first South Pacific Girls Academy, and it's history for us.

Ben Drew [00:01:23] It's a big learning experience. There's eight dorms, four beds in each dorm and a person from a different country in each dorm. And we have to find a way to communicate and we have to find a way to teach some skills of the game.

Zimmorlei Farquaharson [00:01:39] My role here is a Multicultural Ambassador, so I usually come down to the games. I try and get around and interact with the girls as best as I can. Do water running, talk to the girls, be in the line groups, have a chat with them if they need a little bit of extra talk about what you need to do in AFL and how you develop.

Anaseini Kamikamica [00:01:58] I learned so much and I came here, I have learned for to grap the ball properly and communications inside the ground.

Ben Drew [00:02:14] Part of our program encompasses umpiring. And they've had education through our through the week we've been here as well as our coaches.

Sam Wetton [00:02:24] Got involved with this program as a Multicultural Ambassador. So mom is originally from Papua New Guinea, so I've got a bit of culture there and yeah, it's how I'm involved with the South Pacific program out here in Springfield. This past week been very special, had three girls, two from Papua New Guinea and one from Vanuatu special to to meet them and hear about what their umpiring experiences are like back home.

Vanuatu participant [00:02:46] The challenge we're facing back at home is so when there is a  game we just don't have umpires. So it's a great opportunity to be here and give some ideas out for the umpire. I'm biased here and then get back to Vanuatu and have some good umpires.

Ben Drew [00:03:03] Talent academies are there to help improve the skills of our players, of our coaches, of our umpires. If we can upskill everybody, then the quality of competitions and community competitions will grow, which will then increase the talent that will be a part of our game.

Zimmorlei Farquaharson [00:03:28] Hopefully when they do this program and really engage with the coaches, be like, I want to do this again. I want to be an elite athlete, I want to do more with AFL, then hopefully we can, they can come back, bring them here and we can start training them to be professional athletes.

Ben Drew [00:03:47] An aspirational pathway for our players and our coaches and umpires from the Pacific. It is important to us.

Lucillia Kami [00:03:55] I hope service in my country, actually, maybe in the next International Cup, down with the women's teams, The Flames. I hope to probably make the squad. Yeah.

Anaseini Kamikamica [00:04:08] Oh, maybe I'll get into one Australian AFL team.

Doreen Tokiong [00:04:17] I'm hoping I get into scholarships here in Australia and to carry the South Pacific name here and Papua New Guinea especially.

Zimmorlei Farquaharson [00:04:30] If they've been given this opportunity, I don't think they're going to throw it away because it's a big step in their life and especially being in another country and being away from family and getting that opportunity to kind of open up and be like 'I can do this'. Probably would change the whole mindset of life and like 'I can get out and do something for myself'.