Melbourne United 26/27 Indigenous Jersey - Cole Anthony

Artists: Alex Kerr, Steve Ulula Parker, Troy Firebrace, Iluka Sax-Williams, Yalanda Edwards

For this season’s Indigenous Round, Melbourne United will wear a uniform that has been created in a way that has never been done before in Australian sport. For the first time, one uniform brings together all five groups of the Kulin Nation: the Wurundjeri, Boonwurrung, Dja Dja Wurrung, Taungurung and Wadawurrung peoples. Their Country covers much of central Victoria, including Narrm (Melbourne).
In Australian sport, an Indigenous Round uniform usually comes from one club working with one artist on one design. Rather than asking one artist to represent a whole Nation, Melbourne United invited five, one from each Kulin group, to tell their own story of Country. Each artist was invited to create their own unique piece of work, with elements from each design then brought together on a single uniform, united under the KULIN wordmark, seen across the front of the jersey.

Each of the five artworks tells the story of its artist’s own Country.

Lead artist Alex Kerr’s Wurundjeri design traces journeys through the lands and waterways to where we are today. In it, large meeting places represent Melbourne United and the Kulin Nation sitting together. Steve Ulula Parker maps Boonwurrung Country from the Werribee River, around Port Phillip Bay and down to Wilsons Promontory. Betayla, the whale, swims back through those coastal waters, and five shields around a campfire mark the meeting place of the Kulin Nations. Troy Firebrace’s Dja Dja Wurrung work, Djandak, is about the knowledge held in the landscape and guided by cultural law. The flooding and drying of streams shows when it is right to access that knowledge. Iluka Sax-Williams draws on the mountains and rivers of Taungurung Country, with Balayang, the bat, moving across a glowing night sky beneath the Seven Sisters. Yalanda Edwards traces Geelong Bay and the Barwon River to Wurdi Youang (the You Yangs), with a black swan in the bay. Her piece pays tribute to the Wadawurrung women who have cared for Country across generations.
An Advisory Committee of Elders, artists and community leaders has guided the project. It includes Uncle Ricky Baldwin, Travis Lovett and Alex Kerr, with Senior Elder Aunty Joy Murphy of the Wurundjeri providing oversight. The project comes from the club’s purpose of using the power of basketball to enrich our community, and is driven by the club’s value of inclusion.

Champion brings its signature quality to the court with the . Engineered for elite performance, this jersey is built to match the intensity of the game. Constructed from premium 220GSM fabric, it delivers durability and comfort whether you're hitting the hardwood or showing your support from the stands. Featuring team wordmarks, player names and numbers in premium fabric appliqués, sublimated NBL and Optus logos, and authentic detailing throughout, this jersey is designed to help you represent your team with pride.

- 220GSM fabric
- Sublimated NBL and Optus logos
- Team wordmarks, player names and numbers made of fabric appliques
- Arm and neck bands made of fabric ribbing
- Champion branded woven jock tag
- Side panel with split at front
- Fits true to size, size up for a looser fit