The AFL Blind community are preparing for an exciting few weeks with the announcement of this year's All Stars Match.
The Victoria vs Allies matches will be hosted at Action Indoor Sports Stadium in Tullamarine across two dates.
Hawthorn is proud and excited to announce that six of its AFL Blind players have been selected to be a part of the squads for these matches.
In some additional exciting news, Ned Brewer-Maiga captain of Hawthorn's AFL Blind team, has been selected to captain the Victorian squad, along with Stephen Palmer selected as vice captain of the Allies league.
Alongside Brewer-Maiga and Palmer the other players involved include Cebby Johnson (Victorian squad), Ollie Oglethorpe (Victorian squad), Michael Leigh (Allies squad) Matthew McCarthy (Allies squad).
Brewer-Maiga expressed his gratitude for his selection and role.
“It’s a privilege to be named captain of Victoria for the All Star match. I'm an extremely proud Victorian so to be able to pull on the big V and represent my state is such an honour and something I thought would never be possible," he said.
"It’s a fantastic opportunity to showcase the talent of the league and highlights how far we have come. It also shows the appetite for blind footy across the country and these games can really boost the promotion and involvement of the sport throughout Australia.”
The first AFL All Stars game will be played on the August 6 at 3.15pm after an exciting showcase round for the AFL Blind team.
The second game will be played on the August 20 commencing at 1.00pm, this game will be played after the two semi-finals games.
Make sure to get down to the Action Indoor Sports Stadium at 2/10-12 Carrick Dr in Tullamarine to cheer on our brown and gold representatives.
Learn more about our players:
Ned Brewer-Maiga
Hawthorn's AFL Blind Captain Ned Brewer-Maiga has been a part of the club's blind team since the commencement of the league in 2019. Brewer-Maiga most recently played for Australia in the Blind Cricket Ashes held in June 2022. Brewer-Maiga will captain the 2022 Victorian Blind AFL squad in matches played on August 6 and 20.
Cebby Johnson
Cebby Johnson is well known to the Hawthorn family, being the first ever inaugural blind Hawthorn player back in 2019. Since, Cebby has grown to be a well-known figure in the Blind AFL community for his skills in the full forward.
Ollie Oglethorpe
Premiership player Ollie Oglethorpe has been a crucial player for the Hawthorn Blind squad in 2022, playing his role in the mid field and forward line. His continued high match performance has seen Ollie be selected to represent Victoria in the upcoming weeks.
Stephen Palmer
Stephen Palmer has been selected to be the vice-captain of the Allies squad for the 2022 All Stars match. Stephen is an interstate player living in New South Wales, travelling for games. It is Stephen’s first season of AFL Blind with a C classification in Blind AFL, he continues to play a vital role in the Hawthorn squad.
Michael Leigh
Michael Leigh drafted to the Hawks via the 2022 Mid-season draft has bolstered the Allies squad for the clash. Making trips from NSW to play for the Hawks, he will play a crucial role with his C classification.
Matthew McCarthy
Matthew McCarthy also drafted to the Hawks via the 2022 mid-season draft has been selected for the Allies squad. Matt most recently was selected to lead Cricket Australia’s National Blind Squad against New Zealand in the International Cricket Inclusion Series in June of 2022.
To learn more about Hawthorn’s Social Inclusion Programs, visit https://www.community.hawthornfc.com.au/social-inclusion.
All of Hawthorn’s inclusion programs are made possible by the wonderful support of Afford.
