The James Hird Academy has spread its wings in 2018 by getting boots on the ground in the Tiwi Islands.

During a March trip to the Tiwi Islands, which are located 80 kilometres off the coast of Darwin where the Arafura Sea meets the Timor Sea, JHA coach Heath Hocking helped to coordinate sessions at Xavier College and Tiwi College focusing on football skills and aspects of off-field professionalism.

“We ran kids at Xavier Catholic College and Tiwi College through some skill sessions and football talks based around life style, diet and training for two nights,” Hocking said.

“We also got the chance to eat dinner with the kids in their home environment.”

While broadening the Academy’s scope for potential Next Generation Academy (NGA) recruits, the move into the Tiwi Islands also presents the opportunity for promising young footballers to undergo education around the elite behaviours required at AFL level.

“The kids are really keen to learn and get better. They engage in the sessions and I see so much improvement in them, which is exciting.”

The Tiwi Islands have long been a stronghold for fervent worship of Australian Rules with an estimated sixth of the population of 2,300 people playing football competitively.

The mark that Tiwi Island players have left on the sport (and Essendon in particular) is significant by any measure: legendary Bombers of yesteryear Michael Long and Dean Rioli and current fan favourite Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti were born in the Tiwi Islands, as were Ronnie Burns and Maurice, Cyril and Daniel Rioli.

Building Essendon’s pre-existing engagement with the Tiwi Islands (the club’s NGA was established in 2016 and has paved the way for the JHA with its junior development programs based out of West Arnhem as well as the Tiwi Islands), Hocking says that the Academy’s development of cadets from the football heartland is “an extension of Essendon’s commitment to inclusivity and multiculturalism”.