Michael Walters: My top 8 Indigenous AFL players in history ahead of Sir Doug Nicholls Round

West Australian

14-05-2025

On the eve of Sir Doug Nicholls round, I've picked the eight greatest Indigenous players in AFL history.
For this list, I've chosen the players who inspired me and shaped my career, made an impact on the field and were also role models off the field.
I want to give honourable mentions to Cyril Rioli, Michael Johnson, Stephen Hill, Peter Matera, David Wirrpanda and Sean Burgoyne.
In the midfield and on the wing, this man was a running machine. The Adelaide star was able to do things a lot of players can't do. He was born with unbelievable talent and it was incredible to watch him burst out of contests, bring the ball forward and kick brilliant goals.
I loved watching him play for the Indigenous All Stars and Adelaide and he is, in my opinion, the greatest to ever play for the Crows. And let me tell you — he's now aged 48 but is in such ripping nick he would still be able to do some damage on the field. It is criminal that he never won a Brownlow medal.
This late legend changed the game for ruckmen and what they're able to do and achieve on the footy field. He was so mobile as a ruckman, playing as a fourth midifelder the way he would crumb it and get the ball forward. I saw glimpses of the great man in Adam Goodes.
And don't get me started on that handball, that unbelievable handball. He was one of the first West Australian Indigenous stars to go over and make a name for themselves over east with Geelong and he has had an undeniable impact on WA football, the national competition, Indigenous community and our State in general.
It's rare to see two brothers get drafted to the same club and even rarer that it's two Indigenous blokes from the South West of WA, but these guys defied all the odds they had stacked against them.
I cannot imagine what they had to endure playing AFL through the 1980s and early 1990s, enduring racism, getting abuse yelled at them over the fence.
But then to also play the way they did and have the careers they did was amazing. They have left a legacy as two underdogs who achieved so much, not only here in WA but in the AFL community as a whole.
The famous photo of this great legend of our game says it all.
Winmar pointing to his skin while playing for St Kilda in 1993 after copping racist abuse is now one of the most iconic moments in our sport's history.
It gives me so much pride when I see that statue of him at Optus Stadium. He is a player who persevered after still played amazing football despite putting up with what he did.
These days, society has changed and we call out racial abuse. In his days, he would have felt so alone and isolated, so I look up to him for his strength more than anything.
A Brownlow Medallist who changed the game — that is how I will always remember Adam Goodes the footballer.
As a player, you could move him into multiple positions, whether it be in the ruck, as a forward or midfield. He stood out in every game and took it to a new level when it counted too and retired with two premierships to go with his Brownlow.
To many, they remember him as the man who was booed by fans. To me, he is a man who stood by his culture and was a role model to all even when he was at his lowest.
I always looked up to him as a player and the amazing things he could do for his size, but just as much off the field.
I loved watching The Wiz play at Melbourne when I was a young kid and then even more so when he moved over to the Dockers.
I never wanted to miss one of Farmer's games because I knew his was the type of game I wanted to replicate — the man who could take crazy big marks, celebrated hard and put bums on seats.
I have a good relationship with him with The Wiz now, he's so humble off the footy field. Watching him, he made me want to base my game on the way he played, but meeting him I wanted to be the humble role model he is too. Sometime who never let the limelight get to his head despite being a generational talent.
Do I even need to say anything for Buddy? He speaks for himself.
Eight-time All-Australian, over 1000 goals, two premierships, four Coleman medals, 13-time leading goal kicker, the list goes on and on.
He is one of the best players in AFL history, Indigenous or not. He changed the game for forwards, moving around the ground with unbelievable speed, a long kick you got to see to believe and was impossible to stop in his prime.
His record and numbers speak for themselves. All I'll say is there will never be another Buddy Franklin.
To me, I knew Eddie was my number one straight away.
Coming through the system as a teenager, I moulded my game around Eddie. There's no chance I became the player I did if it weren't for his impact.
I got to see him strut his stuff first-hand when I played against him as well. I would like to think I managed to become the type of player he was, but not to the degree that he accomplished.
He was able to go to two different clubs and do unbelievable things. I was lucky enough to play in the Indigenous game against him at Adelaide Oval in 2019 and we swapped jumpers, which is still to this day one of the highlights of my career.