WATCH Gavin Wanganeen talk about what Indigenous Round means to him on PTV above. Can't view the video? Watch on YouTube here.
YOUNG Port Adelaide player Chad Wingard doesn't think North Melbourne's Daniel Wells will remember him if he lines up on the Kangaroos star on Saturday, but Wells certainly left an impression on the future gun years ago at AAMI Stadium.
Wingard, like many other fans that day, had attempted to get Wells' autograph before the Kangaroos' match against the Power, but didn't have a pen or paper.
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After the match though, Wells made the effort to sign a poster for Wingard, who admitted he didn't even follow football at the time, and it's safe to say last year's No.6 NAB AFL Draft pick hasn't forgotten the act of kindness.
"To show that someone would go out of their way just for a supporter who really doesn't follow football, he didn't know me and it just shows how much he cares about everyone who supports him," Wingard said.
"I've met him a couple of times, but he wouldn't remember, it was just through the AIS casually and I knew Majak Daw…I kind of just went up to him and asked for a photo - I've got photos on Facebook and stuff like that of him.
"He's just been an inspiration for me."
Wingard said it was his idol's ability to play both inside and out of the contest that appealed to him, as well as his knack of changing the course of a game off his own boot.
"The stuff that he can do can just break games and change it, so that's one thing that I've been trying to do is learn to have that ability," Wingard said.
"I mean, that's the most important thing in a game these days...if you kick one goal or do something spectacular to try and shift the momentum to your side it can be the difference between about 20 points in the end."
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After impressing early this season, Wingard has missed the last two games with an injured shoulder - sustained in round five's Showdown with the Crows.
He said he would have to undergo a fitness test this week in order to be selected for Saturday's Indigenous Round game against North Melbourne and his football idol.
Given his own indigenous heritage, Wingard said the match would hold extra significance.
"Indigenous Round shows and respects the great indigenous heritage that we have and the players that have left the footprints for the future indigenous payers to step into," said Wingard, who has an Irish mother and an indigenous father.
"It's good that AFL's gotten to a stage where indigenous players are treated equally and we're respected by everyone.
"It makes it a lot easier when you've got Gavin Wanganeen and guys who have played before to, I suppose, pave the path in the way we play our game and make it equal for everyone."
Harry Thring covers Port Adelaide news for AFL.com.au. Follow him on Twitter: @AFL_Harry.
