An early flight and late finish greeted Collingwood’s travelling party as a four-day community camp in the Barkly region of the Northern Territory kicked off.

James Aish, Brodie Grundy, Darcy Moore and Jackson Ramsay waited patiently at Melbourne Airport.

Their coach, Nathan Buckley joined them, alongside recruiter Adam Shepard, Community Engagement manager Harmit Singh and Indigenous Programs manager Debby Lovett.

In the air, the grassy paddocks surrounding Melbourne were quickly replaced with scrubs and harsh red dirt upon descent into Alice Springs.

For Buckley it was a rekindling of childhood memories, while Grundy had spent time in Darwin before embarking on a second Northern Territory trip.

Yet others were witnessing Australia’s centre for the first time.

“This is my first time,” Aish admitted. He joined Buckley in making a late but essential purchase of sunglasses at Alice Springs airport.

“I put my hand up to come on this trip. I knew it’d be pretty different.

“It’s just a massive learning experience for me personally.”



From Alice Springs, a four and a half hour drive took the group of ten to Ali Curung, a small community off the Stuart Highway.

School had finished an hour ago, but it didn’t stop kids and adults alike appearing from all areas to meet their favourite Magpies.

“In Ali Curung footy starts around April and it’s all anyone talks about until October or November,” Grade 5/6 teacher at Ali Curung School Ben Foran told Collingwood Media.

“Footy is the lifeblood of this community so to have players coming through and sharing their expertise and meet the community is really quite a special experience.”

Ali Curung translates to ‘Country of the Dogs’ in local dialect. It’s easy to see why. As the kids of the school showed off their skills on the oval, at least a dozen wild canines join them on the field.



All the attention is on the ball however as it flies over the patchy grass that covers the oval.

“That kid in the red t-shirt kicked four (of five) goals,” Aish observed.

“A couple of the girls were really good as well.

“Naturally, they seem to be really talented up here.”

Autographs are signed, photos are taken before the players said goodbye and once again took to the road. This time the destination was set to Tennant Creek. The distance – another 173 kilometres.

More meet and greets awaited, with an opportunity to pass on knowledge to not only upcoming players, but also local coaches, was too good to pass up.

Moore and Ramsay discussed everything from their pathways to the AFL, to their favourite subjects at school on one table, while Buckley and Aish paired up to talk to more experienced heads at another.



Before returning home for the night, talk amongst the players turns tactical. What time to rise in the morning? Breakfast is at 8am, but a suggestion by Moore to hit the local gym for weights and a run beforehand is met with enthusiastic nods.

Six o’clock alarms are agreed on.

While long, the day proved just an introduction for the Magpies on life in the Barkly region. Camp will continue on Wednesday and Thursday in Tennant Creek before concluding from Friday.

GALLERY: CLICK HERE for more photos from day one of Collingwood’s Tennant Creek community camp.