That’s the word from Michael Anderson, unpaid CEO of the ANSL and elected spokesman for the Gumilaroi nations.
Anderson says contracts for the affiliations and sanctions for the ANSL will be signed off on 26 March at the Sydney headquarters of NSW Country Rugby League.
Anderson, now in his 50s, who earned his keep playing the game professionally as a law student, sees the project mainly as a way to engage rural Aboriginal youngsters to keep them out of trouble and give them hope.
He says Elders across the vast area the ANSL will cover have welcomed the project enthusiastically and gratefully.
“This is a great period in Aboriginal Rugby League as we are and will be able to stand in a league of our own,” he writes in a media release.
“Never before have Aboriginal people stood up to the likes of the power brokers of Rugby League, and now to have gained formal recognition and soon to be affiliated is a major step for the game of Rugby League and Aboriginal people.”
The start of the ANSL season is set down for April 7 with games to be played in Armidale and Moree.
“This competition will cross a number of existing Rugby League competitions run by the CRL, but the ANSL will only add to the flavour and offer new options in the years to come.”
Anderson says he now hopes that all now begin to set the wheels in motion properly “without the sharp edge of politics and protectionism clouding the reality of people wanting to just play Rugby League”.
The ANSL has growth plans. “We will be expanding next year to permit other Aboriginal and possibly other non-Aboriginal clubs to be included in this competition.
“Already we have non-Aboriginal players lining up to play with their Aboriginal mates and this is a good thing for race relations and the game of Rugby League.”
Trial games, which Anderson says have attracted huge interest and gone off without misbehaviour by anyone, continue this weekend at Brewarrina.
“We are playing this weekend in Brewarrina as we want to show to our people out west here that this is real and not just a political struggle - it is here and real and that’s what Aboriginal people respond to.”

Anderson says finance is extremely hard to come by out in the bush and the little seed funding that was sought from the Aboriginal affairs budget “is falling on deaf eyes”.

“We have made it very clear that we are not seeking welfare handouts, but seed funding to establish some of the teams’ clubs.

“Our objective is to stand alone financially in the coming years. There can be no room for welfare, this competition is a business and our Aboriginal clubs have been advised in very strong terms that they must become economically viable in a short period or lose their participation.”

Anderson says putting the ANSL project together has shown him how deeply rooted racism is in the bush and on the edges.

“On the surface it appears very different to what truly lies below. An example of this is in Armidale. The Aboriginal football club Narwan Eels have been applying for sponsorship from within the business sector but continue to come up empty, but as Mr Colin Ahoy outs it, ‘Our people through our building projects have spent millions of dollars in Armidale, in particular with building suppliers, and we cannot get sponsorship from them of a lousy $3,000 or so.”

“It takes a while to stand up and fight back but when you get a one way street happening it has to change direction,” Anderson says.

“Despite this we will have the Narwan Eels playing Rugby League in a competition that they can feel assured of being welcomed in as a partner.”

Contact Michael Anderson at
Landline: 02 68 29 63 55
Mobile: 04 27 29 24 92
Fax: 02 68 29 63 75
Email:  ngurampaa@bigpond.com.au

Anderson’s full media release below:
The Aboriginal Nations Super League is about to be sanctioned by the NSW CRL and the NSW Rugby League. This is a great period in Aboriginal Rugby League as we are and will be able to stand in a league of our own. Never before have Aboriginal people stood up to the likes of the power brokers of Rugby League, and now to have gained formal recognition and soon to be affiliated is a major step for the game of Rugby League and Aboriginal people.
Contracts for the affiliations and sanctions for the ANSL will be signed off the 26th March at CRL headquarters in Sydney. In the meantime the season for the ANSL is set down for April 7 with games to be played in Armidale and Moree.

I hope that we can now all begin to set the wheels in motion properly without the sharp edge of politics and protectionism clouding the reality of people wanting to just play Rugby League. This competition will cross a number of existing Rugby League competitions that are run by the CRL, but the way I see it, the ANSL will only add to the flavour and offer new options in the years to come.

We will be expanding next year to permit other Aboriginal and possibly other non-Aboriginal clubs to be included in this competition. Already we have non-Aboriginal players lining up to play with their Aboriginal mates and this is a good thing for race relations and the game of Rugby League.

We are playing more trials this weekend in Brewarrina as we want to show our people out west here that this is real and not just a political struggle; it is here and real and that’s what Aboriginal people respond to.

Finance is extremely hard to come by out here in the bush and the little seed funding that was sought from the Aboriginal affairs budget is falling on deaf eyes. We have made it very clear that we are not seeking welfare handouts but seed funding to establish some of the teams’ clubs. Our objective is to stand alone financially in the coming years. There can be no room for welfare, this competition is a business and our Aboriginal clubs have been advised in very strong terms that they must become economically viable in a short period or lose their participation.

All of this has taught me just how deeply rooted and extensive racism in the bush and on the edges is. On the surface it appears very different to what truly lies below. An example of this is in Armidale. The Aboriginal football club Narwan Eels have been applying for sponsorship from within the business sector but continue to come up empty. As Mr Colin Ahoy puts it, ‘Our people through our building projects have spent millions of dollars in Armidale, in particular with building suppliers, and we cannot get sponsorship from them of a lousy $3,000 or so.’ It takes a while to stand up and fight back but when you get a one-way street happening it has to change directions.

Despite this we will have the Narwan Eels playing Rugby League in a competition that they can feel assured of being welcome in as a partner.