Amid a week celebrating the oft-unknown talent of WA football legend Stephen Michael, his deeds and impact beyond the field since retiring have also emerged.

The choice of Mr Michael as the 2025 Sir Doug Nicholls Round honouree was well granted and well received from the football industry.

The Noongar man is regarded as one of the greatest footballers to ever pull on the boots, resisting numerous overtures from VFL clubs to stay west with his beloved Bulldogs, where he won a WAFL premiership in 1980, five club best-and-fairests and the Sandover Medal for the league's best player in 1980 and 1981.

Strong, versatile and intimidating at only 188cm, the Kojonup-bred Mr Michael dominated the WAFL's best players between 1975 and 1985 with the Bulldogs, playing 243 games and kicking 231 goals.

His high-leaping skills, awareness and aerial and running prowess was unmatched in the league - before the Eagles and Dockers had joined the AFL competition.

The now 69-year-old set a record for the most consecutive WAFL games played (217) during his career.

He represented WA in State or State of Origin football 17 times, three as captain, and in 1983 won the Simpson Medal in the WA-SA match and Tassie Medal for the best player in Australia across the Origin series, a feat honoured by being chosen captain of the All-Australian team the same year.

While his unmatched achievements led to the AFL naming Mr Michael the Sir Doug Nicholls Round honouree for 2025, his representation supporting disengaged, at-risk and disadvantaged youth across WA since his retirement is an off-field legacy just as great.

Inducted to the Australian football Hall of Fame in 1999 and WA football Hall of Fame in 2004, Mr Michael's influence now extends beyond footy, as patron of the Stephen Michael Foundation since its inception in 2017.

The foundation's broad and tailored school and community programs have benefited more than 10,000 youths across WA, cementing an unparalleled football legacy on and off the field.

The organisation provides life-changing opportunities to young people across WA, delivering leadership and mentoring courses, to sporting and educational pathways for youths living in Perth, the Mid West, South West, Upper Great Southern, northern Goldfields, Murchison and the Gascoyne.

Mr Michael said being named the 2025 Sir Doug Nicholls Round honouree was a deep honour and very humbling.

"I'm extremely proud to be named as honouree," he said.

"Sir Doug was a pioneer for Indigenous footballers.

"To be recognised for the round named in his honour, and alongside some of the previous honourees, is extremely humbling."

The Sir Doug Nicholls Round, a key moment in the AFL season, recognises the contributions of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to Australian Rules football, and the announcement of Mr Michael as the 2025 honouree highlights the extraordinary contributions he has made.

With Mr Michael as patron, his Foundation has engaged thousands of young people across WA through tailored sport, leadership and education programs.

With a mission to empower the most vulnerable youth, SMF runs an expansive range of school and community initiatives which help foster confidence, resilience and connection to culture with participants, and addresses critical challenges young people mostly in regional and Indigenous communities face.

"It's an honour to be recognised as the 2025 Sir Doug Nicholls Round honouree, but for me the real privilege is the work we do every day through the Foundation," Mr Michael told National Indigenous Times.

"Our programs are really about empowering young people… no matter their background, gender or ability, and giving them the tools to build a better future.

Mr Michael said sport was just a starting point for the foundation.

"Sir Doug stood for leadership, opportunity and community, and that's the legacy we strive to continue across WA, on and off the field," he said.

Stephen Michael Foundation chair Chrissie Maus said the foundation was intent on helping youth achieve their full potential.

"Stephen's legacy extends beyond his playing career," she said.

"Through the Foundation, he is creating real change for young people in Western Australia.

"We hope that this incredible recognition inspires more people to support our work and the communities we serve."

School and community band programs are broad and maximise reach and engagement with young people.

The Nightfields program for example is a multi-sport-based activity delivered to at-risk, socially disadvantaged and disengaged youth aged six to 18.

It is run after school hours, encouraging positive community engagement and participation, to develop healthier individuals while reducing anti-social behaviour.

Nightfields is delivered in consultation with WA Police, local governments and shires, and local service providers, who help devise program planning, promotions and participant engagement.

Simple initiatives such as free food after the conclusion of Nightfields sporting activities are just one of the myriad benefits of such programs.

Another, Night Hoops, leverages the sport's current popularity with teens, and has been a successful engagement tool for young people to participate in pro-social activities during peak times for anti-social and offending behaviours.

School programs form a major part of the Foundation's strategy too, and encompass the development of rising young leaders, embracing culture through sport and cultural connections, coaching, nutrition, sport in schools, sporting carnivals, developing regional talent academies, sport-focused initiatives for Aboriginal girls, umpiring and other services for those with special needs, as well as a program for youths in Banksia Hill Detention Centre.

Another partnership-based program is Old Ways New Ways, with the Aboriginal Legal Service, Hope Services and Wadjak Northside collaborating with the SMF to blend traditional Aboriginal knowledge with contemporary leadership practices.

Cultural games, storytelling and workshops help foster communication, resilience, and cultural pride, with participants empowered to embrace Aboriginal leadership and further develop life skills.