EVERY club now has one. Some are 300 or 400-game greats. Others are cult figures. One is also in recruiting. A couple combine the job with a role in the VFL. All play a crucial role behind the scenes.

Since 2021, the AFL has mandated the appointment of an Indigenous Player Development Manager (IPDM) at each of the 18 clubs to ensure the development of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander players is supported through culturally informed practices. 

SIR DOUG NICHOLLS ROUND Explore the Indigenous history of our game

Four-time premiership champion Shaun Burgoyne leads Yaartapuulti's Indigenous programs at Alberton around his work on Fox Footy. Shane Edwards joined Kuwarna as the IPDM alongside a role in the Crows' recruiting department after calling time on his 303-game career at Richmond. 

Travis Varcoe is the most recently appointed IPDM after joining Essendon in April, having worked as a development coach with the Western Bulldogs following his 230-game career with Geelong and Collingwood. 

Two former AFL players have dual roles in 2025, combining the IPDM job with a playing position in the VFL. Ex-Docker Brady Grey joined Collingwood in the off-season. Former Power midfielder Joel Garner, who is soon to turn 26, is the youngest IPDM and plays for Richmond's VFL team. Jarrod Lienert initially joined North Melbourne's VFL program as a playing assistant coach and combined the roles last year, but is now solely focused on running the Indigenous program at Arden Street. 

After playing 177 games and winning a premiership with Hawthorn in 2008, Chance Bateman started at Waalitj Marawar in a multifaceted role in 2018 but is now the IPDM at the Eagles. 

Jarrod Harbrow joined Gold Coast ahead of its inaugural season and played 192 of his 262 games for the Suns, where he launched Harbrow Mentoring in his first season in Carrara and has helped every Indigenous player that has ever joined the Queensland club. 

Matthew Whelan was first appointed as Indigenous Project Officer at Narrm in 2017 and has been the leader in this space. The Northern Territorian was a fan favourite across his 150 games for the Demons in the 2000s, and has made a significant impact on the Indigenous players at the Dees. 

"We didn't have it when I played so I jumped at it when Josh Mahoney called in 2017. I thought there was a need for someone in the role. That's how it started," Whelan told AFL.com.au this week ahead of Sir Doug Nicholls Round.

"A lot of boys have to move to play footy. Being from the Territory we don't have a team, so we know we have to move interstate. To have someone who has gone through it before you and been through the pitfalls and the ups and downs of moving interstate to chase the dream is important. I've probably been through everything they're going through so I can provide advice and help them. 

"I'm separate from the coaches and can be the person they go to, to talk about how they are feeling or any off-field issues. It's important to have someone safe to vent to and feel comfortable with. The one place they can relax in the AFL system is the room that most PDMs would have. It's a safe spot in the club where they can truly let their guard down."

Whelan drove the club's rebrand to Narrm Football Club for the 2022 Sir Doug Nicholls Round, with the Demons continuing to be referred to by the traditional owners' name for Melbourne – which comes from the Woi Wurrung language – each year since then. 

The 45-year-old wanted to use the concept to educate the industry through storytelling, just like the Anzac Appeal Round has done when it comes to teaching new generations about Australia's war history.

"Like other themed rounds, it's all about education. Anzac Day is a big round and I've learned so much more from being involved with the footy club through the stories that are told about Australia's history. I thought we needed to do something like that with education for Indigenous Round," he said.

"Yes, it is about the stories and the guernsey, but language is massive in Aboriginal culture. I saw it as a way to educate people by using traditional names. It probably took about two or three years to come to fruition after speaking with all the right people.

"It is an opportunity for education for everyone, including myself, and I think it's fantastic; I love seeing all the name changes and the backstory behind them all. I'm surprised more sports haven't done the same thing."

Aunty Katrina Amon was appointed Euro-Yroke's first IPDM in 2022 to improve the Saints' support of First Nations people at a time when Indigenous representation across the League was declining. Long-time welfare manager Tony Brown knew of her work and had coached her son, Hawthorn star Karl Amon, at Haileybury College, and encouraged the club to appoint her. 

Since then, Aunty Katrina's impact has been profound. The Saints opened the Yawa Room at RSEA Park and have become one of the industry leaders at a club that has the second largest Indigenous cohort currently in the AFL – Bradley Hill, Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera, Marcus Windhager, Isaac Keeler, Liam Henry and Lance Collard.

"The idea was for me to come in as IPDM and look after the Indigenous players. They are my players to care for in both the men's and women's programs and cater for their needs," Amon told AFL.com.au last year.

"The senior Indigenous players spoke to (former AFL CEO) Gill (McLachlan) and they wanted an Indigenous person within the club. It is important because they wanted someone to support the players and their needs, because they do have different needs –  a lot of them get homesick, so we have to really accommodate for them, allow them to go home and (find) other ways to support them."

Your club's Indigenous Player Development Manager

Kuwarna - Shane Edwards
Brisbane - Anthony Corrie
Carlton - Uncle Ralph White
Collingwood - Brady Grey
Essendon - Travis Varcoe
Walyalup - Che Wyatt
Geelong - Brett Goodes
Gold Coast - Jarrod Harbrow
GWS Giants - Malcolm Lynch
Hawthorn - Jamie Bennell
Narrm - Matthew Whelan
North Melbourne - Jarrod Lienert
Yartapuulti - Shaun Burgoyne
Richmond - Joel Garner
Euro-Yroke - Aunty Katrina Amon
Sydney Swans - Jarred Hodges
Waalitj Marawar - Chance Bateman
Western Bulldogs - Lachlan Edwards