BEING a WA boy, I grew up supporting West Coast and Peter Matera was one player I really loved.

For a few years there, I actually didn't realise he was Aboriginal but thought the way he went about his footy was just fantastic.

The Eagles had a lot of unreal players, though Matera and Chris Lewis were the ones I looked up to.

I wasn't the kind of kid who had posters on his wall or collected cards. I never had the money for that stuff.

We just went outside to kick a ball, enjoying footy the simple way - much like the other kids in town.

But I was envious of those who knew a lot more about their family history.

Dad's from Kalgoorlie while Mum is from Whyalla in South Australia. They're from different tribes, different people and different country, as they say.

A fair bit of Dad's family is still entrenched in the traditional side of things, so it's good to know that some people still speak the language and are pretty involved.

Down the track, I'll definitely look to find out a lot more about how I came to be.

In the AFL, no matter who plays for what club, we all feel like cousins whenever we catch up. There's a special bond there with how we were raised and what our families mean to us.

It's probably why you see a lot of us speaking with each other after games, shaking hands and giving encouragement.

It's always been that way in my time and when the Motlop brothers were at North, they were always good at it. They could start up a conversation pretty easily.

These days, you feel embarrassed if you don't say hello to another indigenous player after a game. Sometimes we even give each other a wink beforehand, which some coaches might not like, but when the ball is bounced we put our connection aside.

We're a club where a lot of indigenous players have had a lot of success and I know I've got a bit of ground to make up on some of the names on that list.

I'm always looking to get better as a player and a person.

The Krakouers were in the competition's elite and to see videos of the stuff they used to do, I'm sure they could have done the same now.

Being the oldest 'brother' at North these days, I have a mentoring role with Matty Campbell, Lindsay Thomas, Cruize Garlett and Warren Benjamin.

The boys jell together pretty well and Wazz, who's all the way from Broome in WA, is starting to find it a lot more comfortable in Melbourne.

My leadership does extend to others in the squad but I'd like to think that if one of the indigenous boys had an issue, I would be the guy they'd come to who could make a difference.

I've been trying to fill the void left by Eddie Sansbury, who was delisted at the end of last year. Ed and I were pretty close and even though I'd played more games than him, I looked up to him.

He had a great attitude and a lot of stories to tell and was a more natural leader than me. He's playing for Centrals in South Australia now and is enjoying his footy and life.

I'm a bit more of a quiet one. I like to watch how players go on their own first and then have a bit of input one-on-one style.

When you do it that way, I reckon it shows you actually care that bit more and are looking out for them.

I didn't play but was so proud of our boys' efforts in this year's Indigenous All-Stars game, representing their people, their communities and the club as well.

But this week is one round of footy you just don't want to miss out on.

The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the club.