A football jumper designed by a young Indigenous teenager has topped the voting in AFL Victoria's Best Local Footy Jumper competition.
In a poll that attracted well over 3,000 votes, 13-year-old Kobi Chatfield's design for Warrnambool & District Football League club Russell's Creek received the nod.
AFL Victoria accepted footy jumper submissions from all over the state before eventually narrowing it down to a final-16 shortlist for voting.
Chatfield told AFL Victoria that the jumper design celebrated the community coming together.
"I guess that's the story in Warrnambool, it's a small town and everyone comes up to the meeting place where we are today at the Mack Oval," Chatfield said.
It is Russell's Creek's first-ever Indigenous design and was also worn by the club's U15s team.
"It was good to be able to show my culture just through art and to see everyone wearing my jumper.
"They came up to me saying how proud they are that they were wearing my guernsey, it was very inspiring.
"I was pretty proud."
The teenager is the son of Russell's Creek co-coach Danny Chatfield who said his son's artwork incorporates the Hopkins River, an important spot for First Nations people.
"For us Aboriginal First Nation people, it was a fairly significant spot, all our elders talk about it so it's something we'll continue to talk about," Chatfield said to AFL Victoria.
"We are always proud of our boys, they acknowledge they've got both sides of the family.
"They've got plenty of mates, they know who their family are, who their Aboriginal community are."
"It was good to see the wider community get down here and support it."
Russell's Creek Football Club said they were proud of the acknowledgement.
"We are very proud of all involved in recognising that everyone and anyone can play the game of Australian Rules Football," the club wrote on social media.
Russell's Creek wear the jumper several times a year to celebrate the club's Indigenous and multicultural players, and also to highlight the inclusivity that the club prides itself on.
