Werribee has unveiled its 2025 Indigenous guernsey, which will be worn in round 11 in its home Victorian Football League clash with North Melbourne.
This is the second Indigenous guernsey in the club’s history. O
The past two seasons, the club has worn the design created by Noongar woman and Indigenous artist Kirby Bentley.
This year’s guernsey was designed by renowned local artist John Lambley and his children Kyle, Jy, Giselle, Kain and Mason, who are proud Wadawurrung people living on Wadawurrung Country.
John and the Lambley family have explained the meaning behind the design.
The family have done other pieces across Wyndham including for WynActive.
“The top of the guernsey features gold symbols representing man, woman and child in the night sky, symbolising the dreamtime,” they said.
This reflects our respect for ancestors who have passed and are now watching over us in the dreamtime.
It also acknowledges the past players and family members of the Werribee Football Club who have passed on.
In this story, the yellow W represents the Werribee team and its players.
They are shown as the warrior, connected by footprints to represent their journey through the season.
Below the W are landmarks of the Werribee region that connect the Werribee Football Club with the Indigenous peoples of the area.
These places of importance hold deep significance for the Wadawurrung and Bunurong mobs, who have lived side by side for tens of thousands of years.
The You Yangs represent our journeys and meeting places.
The Werribee Yallock, or river, shows Bunjil’s Hole and its path down to the sea.
The Yallock and the sea are marked with symbols of flowing water, representing the life-giving properties of water to Indigenous people.
The design also features some of the wildlife our ancestors hunted and lived on.
It shows meeting places along the river and beaches where people gathered and lived.
The blue gum, which is native to the area, is also included.
And of course, it shows Bunjil, the Creator, watching over and protecting us as he flies across the entire area.
The bottom third of the guernsey tells the story of football.
It shows five meeting places – four on the outside and one in the middle.
The central meeting place represents the team, shown as the warrior symbol.
The outer four represent the quarters of a football game.
The team is connected to each quarter by songlines or journeys, and the quarters themselves are linked by roo prints.
The team moves from quarter to quarter as Goim Gulliwan, the roo—fast, strong and agile.
After each quarter, the players return to the team’s central gathering place for physical and spiritual healing and strength from one another.
They then continue their journey to the next quarter, hunting for victory.
They cannot move forward without returning to the team; the team is everything.
On the back of the guernsey are two meeting places.
The one on the left represents Werribee’s journey throughout the season, including the games and gathering places along the way.
The one on the right represents the club’s support staff and fans, and their journey alongside the team.
Symbols for the sun and rain reflect their support regardless of the weather.
At the very bottom of the guernsey are symbols of water and land, representing my family’s and ancestors’ connection to Country,” they said.
Werribee will face North Melbourne on Saturday at Avalon Airport Oval from 1.05pm.
John Lambley will speak about the design at the pre-game president’s function.
Before then, Werribee, which had a bye on the weekend, will face Port Melbourne on Saturday at ETU Stadium from 2.05pm.
