First Nations Round Guernsey, designed by Tesharna Maher

Norwood’s Senior Men’s and Senior Women’s sides will take to the field this weekend wearing First Nations Round guernseys designed by Redlegs SANFLW player Tesharna Maher. 

This season the SANFL has aligned the SANFL and SANFLW First Nations Rounds to be played over the same weekends – the Senior Men’s Rounds 7 & 8, and SANFLW Rounds 11 & 12.

With First Nations Rounds spanning two weeks the Redlegs will wear the guernsey against Central District at Elizabeth on May 25, and then against Woodville-West Torrens at Coopers Stadium on June 2.

Both rounds will be played as triple headers – SANFL, SANFLW and SANFL Reserves, beginning this Saturday at X Convenience Oval.

Maher designed the guernsey last season, as Norwood’s First Nations Round design for 2023 and 2024.

Maher has played with the club since 2021, winning the 2022 club Best and Fairest award, and last year bringing up her 50th SANFLW game.

She said it was an honour to play in First Nations Round.

“I am a Western Aranda, Yankunytjatjara Pitjantjatjara, Yamaitji (Fathers’ side), Kokatha and Gurrinji  (mothers side) woman,” she said.

“I was born in Darwin on Larrakia Land and regularly travel through Alice Springs (Arrernte Land) to spend time on my homelands before eventually arriving back on Kaurna Land – my final destination in my journey so far.

“My family moved to SA because my dad was playing footy down here so I have lived most of my life in Adelaide, but I have a strong connection to the Northern Territory.

“I go back to the NT three or four times a year to connect back with my land, culture and family – I love to go back up to Darwin and Alice Springs, going out bush.”

Maher said she enjoyed the process of designing the guernsey, with the help of her family, Maxima and Apelle.

“I was approached by the club to design the guernsey which was an exciting opportunity, and I got my family from the Northern Territory to help me design it,” she said.

“It meant a lot to me and my family to design the guernsey, and to run out in it will be something that I won’t forget.”

The design includes the story of her journey from Darwin to Adelaide as a child, her totem (the Willie Wagtail), the Norwood Football Club and the other SANFL clubs.

“My totem dreaming is the Willie Wagtail,” she said.

“I come from a long line of cultural knowledge that was passed down from my grandmother’s country – Ntaria (Hermannsburg). When we are born we are assigned an animal that depicts our spiritual knowledge to the country (Pmarra).

“As a child I showed and still do show significant resemblance to the Willie Wagtail, its movements and traits.  Showing these traits shows how powerful my culture is.

“My totem is known to travel a lot and is a highly spiritual bird that has strong connections to Uluru, where my great great grandmother Auguste was born.  I have been told many stories from my grandmothers, that I would show up to their houses and tap on their windows to let them know I was outside.”