Yartapuulti forward Sam Powell-Pepper has a huge sense of pride as he prepares to represent his culture on field during Sir Doug Nicholls Round. 

As a role model to First Nations kids everywhere, Powell-Pepper appeared at the club’s Santos Aboriginal Power Cup event on Thursday, where more than 700 kids from South Australia and the Northern Territory came together. 

Speaking with the Adelaide media, Powell-Pepper spoke on the importance of the program, his teammate Willie Rioli’s resilience, and the beauty of Sir Doug Nicholls Round. 

Powell-Pepper on the Santos Aboriginal Power Cup 
“Ever since my first year at the club, I’ve always found it exciting to come down and get around all the young people, and they get so much out of it as well, seeing all the boys and all the Indigenous boys coming down and getting involved. And yeah, it's such a special day, not just for them, but also for the club as well. We’ve got such a rich culture with Indigenous communities and whatnot. So it's an exciting day, and it's good to see everyone come down.” 

Powell-Pepper on being a role model 
“It does so much, especially for myself when I was young like them. When an AFL player came up to my school one time, I still remember everything they said to me, and it still sticks in my head to this day. So for these guys to be at an AFL club, and to have the AFL players around and learn so much stuff that they can take on later in life. I think it's unreal, and it's such a good thing that club’s doing. 

“I do get quite a few (kids) coming up to me, telling how much I'm an inspiration and role model to him, so that does give me quite a bit of pride. They get so much happiness and so much joy out of just a little interaction, saying g’day and just having a kick with them. So yeah, I do remember from when I was their age and how much it does stick in your mind. I take the time out of my day to make sure it's worth their while.” 

Powell-Pepper on having players visit his school when he was young 
“It was Nic Nat, Pat McGinnity and Mark LeCras. Mark LeCras, I remember him saying, he always had a footy in his hand everywhere he went. So that stuck with me, and I just did that ever since.” 

Powell-Pepper on how Yartapuulti is leading the way 
“Yeah, I'm very proud of the club and how much effort and time they put into Indigenous communities, and you can see how much it's grown since, I guess, 18 years ago. It's still going now, and I think they've had the most the most students to date, so it's still going strong. And I believe that they're getting a lot out of it too, which is the main thing.” 

“Yeah, I did get a lot of pride from (how the club has been speaking about cultural sensitivity recently). And, you know, I looked at Chris Davies standing there, and showing the way, that just really filled me with sense of pride. And for it to be Port Adelaide and Chris Davies, who I'm really close with, yeah, I thought that was amazing from him. And hopefully the rest of the competition can do the same as well. That'd be amazing.” 

Powell-Pepper on Willie Rioli 
“Willie is probably one of the most resilient people that I've met. He's been through so much in his life, and I classify him as one of my close brothers. So yeah, he's actually done pretty well this week. He's been around the club, and, you know, all the boys in the club have gotten around him, and that's one thing I love about Port Adelaide is that we rally around our players and we really take care of each other. So yeah, I think we missed him last week (in the game). I think he might have been the difference, but yeah, we can’t wait to have him back out there.” 

Powell-Pepper on looking out for his teammates 
“Yeah, definitely we always have Willie's back. It's not just Willie though. We all, as a forward line and as a team, we’ve all got each other's back. So, yeah, more so Willie this week, but I don't think there'll be too much going out there after what's been happening. So hopefully we can all just let our footy do the talking. We know trash talk is a part of the game, but there's a fine line. And hopefully we can all just let our footy do the talking.” 

Powell-Pepper on how words can hurt 
“Me, personally, no (I haven’t received racial abuse) but I have obviously seen it happen before, and you know even before footy, being brought up around all that sort of stuff, so I know how much it hurts my family and also my close brothers. So yeah, I've witnessed it.” 

Powell-Pepper on Sir Doug Nicholls Round 
“I think it's, I'm not sure how long it's been around now, over 10 years now, so it's been such a big part of the competition. We can put our amazing culture on show and show how many talented, Aboriginal players we do have in the competition. And for all my family back home, they get a sense of pride out of it as well. And it's definitely a round that I look forward to every year.” 

Powell-Pepper on the Showdown 
“I think it shows for all the years gone by, whether you're first on the ladder, last on the ladder, when it's a Showdown, it's always going to be a cracking game. So you don't want to lose two (Showdowns) in a row. That's for sure.” 

Powell-Pepper on Geelong 
“We know Geelong, they're such a such a quality side, and they have been every year, so I think we need to get one back after the final. That was pretty disappointing. But for myself, I didn't play in any pf (the Geelong) games last year, so I'm just keen to get back out there and have a have a good game against them, and hopefully we can get the win as well. That'd be nice.”