Katherine's ugly football grand final (revised)

On the weekend, Katherine's regional AFL competition reached its peak with the A Grade grand final between the Katherine Camels and the Ngukurr Bulldogs. The Camels are a predominantly non-Indigenous team from town (Katherine). The Bulldogs are 100% Indigenous, from a remote community four hours drive east of Katherine. These differences shouldn't be worth noting but the game was dramatic and the post-match analyses on what happened bring up differing opinions depending on who you talk to.

The grand final is a big deal. About 200 Bulldogs supporters had made the trip from Ngukurr into Katherine to cheer on their team. They were a diverse bunch: kids, teenagers, adults and community leaders/elders. They are the children, parents, uncles, aunts, nieces, nephews and grandparents of the men on the team and they were rapt watching their relatives take to the field.

Non-Indigenous football clubs have a different raison d'être to community sides. For teams like the Camels, it's more of a bloke thing where players often play to get away from work and domesticated life. Community sides like Ngukurr play not to escape but to represent their families, their people and their community.

Scattered around the ground were probably an equal number of Camels and Bulldogs supporters, and a smattering of reasonably impartial fans - black and white - who were there just to watch the big final. The game started in high spirits. The first quarter was close with both teams going goal for goal. In the second quarter the Camels built a 3-goal lead. It wasn't until the third quarter that the game started to turn sour. Sitting in the grandstand, I, along with many other spectators there started to notice something wasn't right: repeated bad umpiring decisions that were consistently in favour of the Camels. "That's not right", "What was that?", was starting to be heard from various sections of the grandstand, from many who had no reason to be partial to either team. At the same time, the Camels were playing better than the Bulldogs and were pulling further ahead. Things weren't going well for the Bulldogs players and supporters. Having the game slipping out of your reach is one thing but having poor decisions repeatedly go against you exacerbates the frustration.

Then, it started to get ugly. A Camels player kicked a goal, then turned to the Bulldogs supporters - kids of all ages, parents and grandparents - and didn't just give them the finger but gave the finger with both hands, gesturing wildly for quite a period of time. It was an extraordinarily antagonistic gesture and did not produce a response from the umpires. By the time the third quarter ended, the situation was unravelling. Most Aboriginal people in the ground, as well as more than a few non-Aboriginal people, felt that they were watching an Aboriginal team being unfairly treated by umpires and had seen a non-Indigenous player seriously antagonising Indigenous spectators, without reproach. Some of the Ngukurr supporters and coaches approached umpires and officials to complain. Tempers were starting to flare and composure was fraying. The feeling that things weren't right was palpable. 

The 4th quarter started in a very tense atmosphere. The play was getting rougher and the umpiring was not improving. A rough tackle drew a yellow card for one of the Bulldogs and things were only going to get worse. Having seen enough, the Bulldogs coaches recalled all their players, who dutifully left the field. The Camels supporters booed. The Bulldogs' coaches retaliated with the same double-finger gesture that had been delivered to them and their families not long before. One coach marched over the Camels' camp, ready for confrontation but his son - one of the Bulldogs players - drew him back. We were not far away from a violent situation but to their credit, the Bulldogs and all their supporters left quickly, peacefully and relatively quietly.  It was a sad end - sport and Katherine divided, seemingly along racial lines.

There will be no objectivity as to how the event will be perceived. There are two quite distinct points of view. The Camels and most non-Indigenous spectators will probably see what happened as the Bulldogs being bad sports - not following the values of 'finishing the game at all costs' and the Bulldogs' inability to handle 'a few bad umpiring decisions' (they're inevitable in sport after all). Most Indigenous people on the ground (and more than a few others) saw: biased umpiring decisions made by non-Indigenous umpires in favour of non-Indigenous players; grievances ignored; a non-Indigenous person be extremely disrespectful to Aboriginal families and apparently supported by officials, teammates and team supporters. Spectators who don't have much to do with Aboriginal people saw an angry mob ready blow their top. Others perceived what they saw as a large crowd of very upset and angry people from Ngukurr responsibly diffuse a extremely volatile situation by withdrawing themselves from it altogether.

As emotions started to settle, the debriefing and post-match analyses commenced. I spoke to a few Aboriginal people who had played football in Katherine twenty years ago. They felt like what they witnessed was reminiscent of twenty years ago, when societal-level racism in Katherine was more acceptable and overt - not fond memories for Aboriginal people and not memories that should be revisited in this era. A quick scan of Facebook commentary shows Aboriginal people from different communities - dedicated supporters of Ngukurr's rival teams - condemning the umpiring and seeing the racial lines that the umpiring decisions drew.

How can the two perspectives on the game be reconciled into something approaching "the truth". Maybe it's impossible. The Bulldogs and other Aboriginal spectators saw what they saw. The Camels saw what they saw. The Camels will talk to their mates who share the same opinions and have those opinions confirmed. Those with differing points of view will talk to others who share that point of view and similarly consolidate those viewpoints. Unfortunately, with AFL administration and umpiring being Katherine-based and predominantly non-Indigenous, they are perhaps more likely to speak to and be spoken to by other non-Indigenous town-based people whose views are likely to be in support of the Camels. Indigenous people can be forgiven for thinking that being understood and fairly treated (let alone supported!) will be an uphill battle.

After the game, the Camels' players and supporters stayed in the ground drinking and celebrating long into the night (see e.g. here, here and here). Maybe the varying perspectives on the game itself each have validity but there can be little doubt that if the Bulldogs had won, they would not have been allowed to stay in the grounds, drinking and celebrating. It's a nice reminder that, in fact, equality does not yet exist in Katherine. [Edit: it's also seems apparent that no liquor license was obtained to allow for the consumption of alcohol at the venue]. Let's see if AFL officials demonstrate an understanding of this fact and try to see all sides of the debate with an open mind and with a sense of fairness.

[Author's note: This blogpost touches on sensitive issues. It is not my intention to cause offence or inflame issues covered in the post. I expect people making comments to do the same. I reserve every right to remove comments that I feel are inflammatory or don't contribute to the discussion in a positive way. 

Also note that this is my personal blog where I express my own opinions and perspectives. This post isn't purporting to be journalism or news reporting, but nevertheless, I have taken care to present multiple perspectives on the issues which I am not obligated to do.]