Former Walyalup AFLW player Tiah Toth and her sister Breeanna Haynes have reflected on Tiah's football journey and paid respect to their family in the Club's 2024 AFLW Indigenous Jumper.
This year's AFLW Indigenous jumper will be worn in the Club's week nine clash with the GWS Giants and week 10 clash with the Western Bulldogs.
The Club will once again be known as the Walyalup Football Club for games played during the 2024 AFLW Indigenous Rounds.
The jumper tells the journey of Toth's footballing career, playing 24 games for Walyalup between 2017 and 2022, dealing with multiple injury setbacks along the way.
"The story for me is more about my journey through the Football Club, obviously being able to come back twice with the luck of being drafted again after a couple of injuries," Toth explained.
"I was lucky enough to ask Breeanna to help me do the design and she's managed to do a really good job and nail down every little piece of my story and be able to put it into the artwork."
"I'm quite thankful that Tiah chose me to do the design work with her as I've been alongside her throughout the whole journey," Haynes said.
"It was quite easy doing the design, but it really mattered to me what Tiah thought about it.”
The Design
The Chevrons & Stolen Generation Flower
The Chevrons features three significant lines. The top line, made of Boomerangs, symbolises Toth’s resilience in the face of adversity, representing those who have overcome injuries, family illnesses or other hardships. The second line illustrates the unity of various AFL communities, not just for Walyalup but for all teams. The third line incorporates the traditional border of the Walyalup logo.
At the top of the jumper is a hibiscus flower, which is known as both the Stolen Generation and also the National Sorry Day Flower. It’s a symbol of strength, healing and resilience.
The Kimberley Stolen Generation Aboriginal Corporation have given Walyalup permission to use the flower in the Indigenous jumpers across Walyalup’s men’s and women’s teams. Visit kimberleystolengeneration.com.au to purchase your own flower and learn more about the important work they are undertaking in our community.
The Journey Circle
At the heart of the design is Toth. A circle represents her entirety, while five small V-shaped birds signify her milestones, five additional circles represent the injuries she's endured throughout her career. The seven circles surrounding Toth symbolise all the clubs Tiah has played for in her lifetime.
The flowers around the jumper
The lines with flowers represent the family and friends who come to support Tiah. The footprints symbolise her individual journey.
Woylie and the fan journey to the stadium
In the corners of the design the Woylie, a small kangaroo rat once common in Walyalup , is represented as the top line. The corner section depicts Optus Stadium, Walyalup’s home ground in Perth, with the dots representing the friends and family attending Walyalup games.
This corner design extends to represent the team's travels to eastern state stadiums in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and beyond, with a depiction of the water they cross during these journeys.
Willie Wagtail birds
Included are the figures of the Willie Wagtails, a representation of Tiah and Breeanna’s family totem. The Willie WagTail also importantly symbolise Nanny Dixon to the girls, and although her recent passing at 98 years of age, she is represented by the Willie WagTail and her continued journey alongside Tiah wherever she goes.
Walyalup's 2024 AFLW Indigenous Jumper will be available for purchase in the The Dock team store.
