AN iconic Australian monument recognising one of Australian Rules’ most famous footballing families, and a youth boys championship designed to identify and develop Indigenous and Multicultural talent are among the big announcements in the new NSW/ACT weekly wrap.

‘Big Sherrin’ joins list of iconic Australian monuments:

AUSTRALIA has its fair share of iconic Australian monuments including various fruits and animals, but now it will pay tribute to its most iconic national sport. In the central New South Wales town of Ungarie, a ‘Big Sherrin’ monument will be unveiled on the weekend, recognising the contribution to Australian football by the town’s most famous footballing family, the Danihers.

The five-metre football, weighing almost a ton will be unveiled at a local park paying tribute to the four brothers who played a combined 752 games for Essendon and Sydney. In talking to AFL NSW/ACT, Terry Daniher said the family was honoured to be recognised in this way.

“She’s a bloody great thing for the town,” he said. “Obviously we’re pretty honoured to have a monument like that put up. “What it really does is recognise the work my old man (Jim, now 90 years-old) and his mates did to grow footy in the town. “It’s great to have something for the town to hang its hat on, and it might slow the traffic down a bit.”

The unveiling will include a barbecue, and a legends match between a ‘Danihers’ team, and a local All-Stars side. The match will also raise funds for Neale Daniher‘s FightMND organisation, which aims to fund research for motor neurone disease. To donate to the Foundation, head to the Fight MND website.

A host of former AFL players will attend the day, including Billy Brownless who will roam the boundary during the legends match and cover the event for Triple M radio.

Male Diversity Championships:

WESTERN Sydney will host the Male Diversity Championships for the second consecutive year, with the five-day tournament to take place in April. Held at Blacktown International Sportspark, the 2018 Male Diversity Championships sees more than 300 footballers aged 14 and 15, play a minimum of six matches in a round-robin format. Each Australian state and territory is represented at the championships.

Following the round-robin, there are two grand finals – Kickstart and All Nations – and following these grand finals, the squads for the ‘Boomerangs’ (Indigenous) and ‘World Team’ (Multicultural) are selected. During the championships, all the players, coaches and umpires will attend educational seminars led by key leaders in their community.

The tournament will run from April 14-19 and includes an Opening Ceremony. The tournament is designed to provide a player pathway to the National Under 16 Championships, and exposing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander, and Multicultural players, coaches, umpires, doctors and trainers to an elite AFL environment.

The AFL NSW/ACT Kickstart and All Nations squads will be announced in the coming weeks so keep an eye on on AFL NSW/ACT’s Facebook page for more information.

Auskick launches:

WITH football season fast approaching, the AFL is encouraging families to attend the official season launch at Birchgrove Park next week. Held next Thursday, March 15, the launch includes a skills session and a meet-and-greet with AFL stars. The event runs from 4.30pm until 7.30pm with entry free. For more information, head to the AFL NSW/ACT Facebook page or register for the event here.