A number of Sydney Roosters players will wear specially designed boots this week in the NRL’s Indigenous Round through the Boots for Brighter Futures campaign.
Seven pairs of boots were specially designed by young Indigenous artists, and through Cultural Choices Association, will be up for auction in a bid to raise money for suicide prevention in Indigenous communities.
The young artists not only looked to add a personal flair to the boots but catered to their respective players, adding motifs centring around heritage, culture and family.
Joseph Manu’s boots, designed by Brayden Skuthorpe from the Murrawarri tribe in Brewarrina, incorporated designs inspired by Manu’s Māori and Cook Islander heritage, while James Tedesco’s Italian heritage was represented through red, white and green dot paintings by Rome Toomey of Dubbo.
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Allan Middleton, Kamilaroi Tribe: Angus Crichton's boots feature drawings that signify Allan's Aboriginal culture and deep connection to the country, including his parents' totems, the snake and gonna. Earth colours with blue within the dot paintings represent Aboriginal land and waters.
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Rome Toomey, Wiradjuri Tribe: Rome Toomey's design both represents himself and James Tedesco, with the left boot featuring the red, white and green of the Italian flag as well as the Red, White and Blue of the Roosters. The right boot reflects Rome's Indigenous heritage with red, yellow and white dotpainting.
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Brayden Skuthorpe, Murrawarri Tribe: Joseph Manu's boots feature a mixture of cultural representation, with his Māori and Cook Islander heritage depicted in the dot paintings, while Brayden's Indigenous heritage is represented with the Aboriginal flag and Kangaroo tracks, which symbolise his journey from Brewarrina to Newcastle.
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Shanay Fahey, Wiradjuri Tribe: Shanay's boot design is a connection to culture for both herself and Lachlan Lam, which incorporates the gonna totem and Aboriginal flag as well as Red, White Blue of the Roosters and the flag of Papua New Guinea.
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Ralph Binge, Kamilaroi Tribe: For Lindsay Collins' boots, Ralph Binge designed the right boot to illustrate his own personal journey from New South Wales' country to coast, while the left represents both the Roosters with Red, White and Blue dots as well as the colours of the earth symbolising a deep connection to country.
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Jalyah Boney, Ngemba Tribe: The drawings on Sam Verrills' boots represent his deep connection to family, specifically his twin brother with the 'U' shape, which stands for 'twin' in Aboriginal language. The initials 'JV' is in honour of his late, older brother, while the colours and drawings reflect Sam's life journey and his deep connection to country.
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Ahliyah Toomey, Wiradjuri Tribe: A combination of family heritage and deep connection to Aboriginal heritage is what is represented in Sam Walker's boots. The Māori symbol, Aboriginal dot paintings and flag illustrates Ahliyah's cultural identity as well as Sam's connection to his heritage and Aboriginal lands.
Ahliyah Toomey was inspired by her cultural identity in designing Sam Walker’s boots, while fellow Wiradjuri woman Shanay Fahey combined her own culture and totem – the goanna – with the Papua New Guinean flag for Lachlan Lam’s boots.
Allan Middleton and Ralph Binge, two young Kamilaroi men, were tasked with designing the boots of Angus Crichton and Lindsay Collins respectively, with Allan’s art featuring his parents’ totems and designs representing Aboriginal lands and waters, with Ralph’s design illustrating his journey from country and coast as well as the Red, White and Blue of the Roosters.
Although he will not take the field on Saturday, the boots dedicated to Sam Verrills feature the initials of his late brother in a heartwarming tribute, with the design curated by Ngemba woman Jalyah Boney.
Future Artists: Students got together to create their own designs for Roosters players to represent.
Upon receiving his boots, Crichton was thrilled with the final product and the chance to step onto the field wearing the designs.
"I think it's great to represent the kids that have put the work in," he said.
"It's a cool initiative to give them something to look forward to and put their artwork on show and it clearly shows that they did their research.
"Joey Manu's has the Māori and Cook Islander flag and the same goes with Lachy Lam's with the Papua New Guinean flag.
Sydney Roosters respect and honour the Traditional Custodians of the land and pay our respects to their Elders past, present and future. We acknowledge the stories, traditions and living cultures of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples on the lands we meet, gather and play on.
