To see just what our 'Bruses' get up to on their journey to Alice Springs, Port Adelaide chief executive Keith Thomas joined the EnergyAustralia Aboriginal AFL Academy on what Eugene Warrior and his playing group have christened the 'Brus Bus' as they continue their journey north to play Clontarf in Alice Springs...

Alice Springs

Arrived in Alice at around 8.30pm last night, and made our way to a local college, where we will be based for the next two nights, pleased to find sleeping facilities are a step up from the gym floor at Coober Pedy, but more confined.

Five to six actual beds have been provided in each room, which should mean a more comfortable sleep, but as the boys were very quick to point out, it also brings into play the villain of all footy trips… the snorer!

In the close quarters of a dorm, snorers such as ‘Chainsaw Choppy’ Pickett assume almost legendary status for their ability to disrupt the sleep of everyone else in the vicinity.

20 minutes after lights out, it’s clear that 'Chainsaw' wasn’t going damage his reputation tonight. He and 'Postie', our hard working bus driver, were like two singing kookaburras all night… loud and in perfect harmony!

Friday morning, and the coach Eugene Warrior is up before dawn to get the boys going. Today is going to be full on.

The entire touring party is on the bus at 6.30am. We arrive at a beautiful suburban oval nestled under the spiritually significant and spectacular MacDonnell Ranges, which is already alive with the noise of footballs being kicked, breakfast tables being set up and music blaring from a radio van despite the fact the sun is not even up yet!

Football training like this happens virtually every morning, and is organised by the outstanding Clontarf Academy program. This morning is a super clinic, and our Aboriginal AFL Academy boys and their opponents for tomorrow will train together and then share company over breakfast. Three of the boys have their first taste of the AFL media circus when they are interviewed by the 'G Man', a local radio personality, who is broadcasting live from the training session to an audience of 640,000 Centralians (or so he says!)

Training over, and the boys hit the local pool for a recovery session.

It’s time for me to take off my Academy polo and put on the Power equivalent, the AFL boys are about to land. The annual trip to the Northern Territory for AFL Indigenous Round always creates a lot of interest, and opportunities to strengthen our ties in the region.

My first official meeting of the day is with Rob Clarke, founder of the local Redtails Football Club.

We have been speaking on and off for the last three years, looking for ways to help each other. The Redtails provide support, guidance and the opportunity to play representative footy for young men in Central Australia. Their ambition is to compete regularly as the side representing Central Australia in the NTFL, but the funding required to travel away from Alice every second week is proving difficult to find. Despite the constant struggle for funds, Rob and his team of volunteers continue to provide the Redtails players and families with support through their Right Tracks program which is designed to support them to get work, apprenticeships, education or simply provide friendly guidance.

We like the work they are doing and as a club have committed to organising an opportunity for the Redtails to play a trial game against the Magpies over summer, training scholarships for two Redtails players with the Magpies in 2016, and we will explore the possibility of employing a Redtails player to assist us in the delivery of our remote community education programs in the APY Lands and Barkley region up here in Central Australia. Not a bad meeting!

Quick bite to eat at a luncheon held by the Australian Institute of Company Directors, where the guest speakers are Port Adelaide directors Richard Ryan and Kevin Osborn. Both represent the club with aplomb, further enhancing our growing reputation as an AFL club like no other, where commitment to community is pursued and savoured every bit as passionately as premiership points.

Lunch over, it’s over to Traeger Park to meet up with Kenny and the team, who have arrived for a light run. And this is where the magic happens.

The Aboriginal AFL Academy lads have had a refreshing swim, a bite to eat and have also arrived at Traeger to watch their idols train.

We’ve just delivered the news that they won’t be allowed to play on Traeger tomorrow for fear of disrupting the watering requirements of the cricket pitch, which is at risk of being too hard as a result of the hot weather. I can sense their disappointment.

We explain that they will be playing on the picturesque Albrecht Oval in the morning and will then come to Traeger Park to watch the game, but the message is falling a little short. A short kick and catch session after AFL training has been completed today is the best we can do.

To their great surprise, at the end of training every member of our Power playing and coaching team came over to the boys to have a chat, a kick and a catch and a team photo. For nearly 30 minutes, these young boys were in footy heaven. No fuss, no dragging the team over… just a group of fantastic ambassadors for the Port Adelaide Football Club embracing a young group of Aboriginal lads living their dreams through footy.

It was another one of those special moments I have seen time and time again at Port Adelaide. And it wasn’t lost on the impressive touring party from Port Pirie, who were afforded prime seats on the boundary line having endured the 18-hour bus trip to get to the game. They too were simply amazed at the attitude and inclusiveness of our group. I was very proud indeed.

Following a cultural dinner tonight, the Aboriginal AFL Academy boys will prepare for their big game against a very focussed Clontarf Academy outfit tomorrow. One of them will be selected to carry a symbolic gift to mark Indigenous Round onto Traeger Park tomorrow, and present it to our captain who in turn will present it to the Melbourne Football Club. Another special moment, before they load themselves back on to the bus for the long journey home. Hopefully with two victories in our pocket to celebrate!

I would like to thank our wonderful partners EnergyAustralia for providing us with the opportunity to bring the SAASTA Academy team to Alice Springs for AFL Indigenous Round. It has been everything we hoped it would be, and I am certain they will grow as a result of the experiences they have had. I would like to think that this is just the first of many opportunities these terrific young men will have to positively influence the community that they live in.