Palman Qui Meruit Ferat
East Kimberley team runs out in Fitzroy jumpers
The Warmun Eagles are a tight and talented team from the Aboriginal community of Warmun (Turkey Creek), on the Great Northern Highway, 200kms south of Kununurra.
Warmun is the site of the Eagle Dreaming and the boys wear their traditional jumper, with the Eagle flying high, proudly. After a great year in 2008, The Warmun Eagles lost the Grand Final to Halls Creek and in the commiserations after the game some of the team jumpers were lost as well.
When it came to getting ready for the start of this season, there was a bit of a panic over jumpers. One had been seen on a kid in Broome, some had been exchanged with the Halls Creek Hawks after the Final and others had been souvenired by relatives and gone bush.
In remote Australia you don’t expect to get deliveries quickly and the boys were told that it would be six weeks at least before a new set could be made. The proud Warmun Eagles were not keen on asking the East Kimberley Football League if they could play in an odd mix of jumpers until the new set arrived. The situation was mulled over on the phone with Sam Buckley (coach of Fitzroy Reserves) whose parents live and work in Warmun Community. Sam ran the problem past the FFC’s Bill Atherton, a fix-it man with a big heart, and within 24 hours a spare set of FFC training jumpers was on its way to the Kimberley by truck.
There were some anxious moments as the jumpers made their trip 5000 kms north, with Easter in between the freight pick up and the start of the season.
Helped by the Kimberley spirits the delivery arrived two hours before the first game and the boys ran on to the Kununurra ground for a night game against Warringari Crows, looking like serious contenders with the FFC colors lit up against the boab trees and the Kimberley night sky. They just lost that first game (we was robbed) but won their second round game in Warmun last Saturday beating the Kununurra Demons by thirteen goals.
Warmun is a team of agile, fast young players led by William Ramsey, Billy Joshua and Michael Thomas with a bit of experience provided by John and Cecil, the Mosquito brothers and some serious talent in their nephew Timothy Mosquito (watch this name).
The boys, and their footy-mad supporters from Warmun Community, are well aware of the FFC legacy and its fine traditions and they have embraced the chance to carry a bit of that passion and never-say-die attitude into their first few games. Coach Jimbo Johnson and Club President Richard Thomas expressed their strong appreciation to the FFC.
Richard Thomas said: "Up here we remember players from the past like Bernie ‘Superboot’ Quinlan , Mighty Mick Conlan, Big John Ironmonger from the West, Matt Rendell and many more whos names I have forgotten because of living in the bush and TV coming in lately up here. I was glad to wear the FFC jumper even if it was only for the team photo. As President of the Warmun Eagles Football Club I’d like to thank Bill Atherton and Sam Buckley and the rest of the Fitzroy Football Club and players for the loan of the jerseys and on behalf of the Warmun Eagles I would like to say “Go Fitzroy”!
