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Jack Wighton Isn't Happy With The Canberra Raiders' Indigenous Jersey

Jack Wighton Isn't Happy With The Canberra Raiders' Indigenous Jersey

Wighton, a proud Indigenous athlete himself, has slammed his team's 'lazy' efforts with the design.

Max Sherry

Max Sherry

Canberra Raiders star Jack Wighton is fuming with his team's jersey design for the NRL's Indigenous Round.

Every season, the Indigenous Round celebrates the involvement of Indigenous players, officials and fans in rugby league across Australia and New Zealand.

The round sees each NRL team release a newly-designed Indigenous jersey, with each kit telling different stories through their incredible imagery.

Kangaroos and Raiders centre Wighton, a proud Indigenous athlete, has slammed his team's 'lazy' efforts.

"I'm very, very proud but I'm a little bit disappointed how the club went about the jersey and that. I feel like we just ticked a box, no one got any input," Wighton told The Sydney Morning Herald.

"We've got a lot of First Nations people of all different types - Samoans and Maoris and that, you know - and no one really had any say about the jersey.

"I think you can tell. We had a whole canvas and they just put a little design on the sleeve. We didn't hear nothing about it until this week. No one came to us for any ideas.

"In previous years we've had a lot to do with it and the club has run things past us but I felt like they got lazy this year."

Jack Wighton of the Canberra Raiders.
Twitter/Canberra Raiders

The Raiders are the only team in the competition not to have an Indigenous symbol on the front of their jerseys, they've instead opted for the designs to be located on the sleeves.

And while Canberra did work closely alongside Lynnice Church - an Aboriginal woman from the Ngunnawal, Wiradjuri and Kamilaroi tribes - to design their playing strip, Wighton insists his side haven't gone to the same measures that other NRL clubs have - such as South Sydney.

The Rabbitohs' powerful shirt was designed by Cody Walker's uncle and is a nod to the club's eight Indigenous players.

Moreover, in comparison to other NRL teams such as the Melbourne Storm or Parramatta Eels, Canberra's Indigenous design only makes up a tiny portion of their overall jersey.

Wighton said: "They've got the best stories and put a bit of effort in. I just feel like we ticked a box this year.

"It's terrible. I'm filthy. It's the one round to share culture, you know what I mean, to get our artwork and stories out there, and I feel like we've put a pretty poor effort in if I'm honest."



Featured Image Credit: Twitter/Canberra Raiders

Topics: Canberra Raiders, Sports, Rugby League, nrl, Australia

Max Sherry is a journalist for SPORTbible Australia. After migrating Down Under from London as a teenager, he instantly fell in love with Aussie sport and its culture. From NRL to AFL, cricket to rugby — you name it, Max watches it (with a beer in hand, of course). During his time at Fox Sports, he worked in the football department covering the Premier League, A-League, Socceroos and Matildas. Born a stone's throw away from West Ham's training ground, Max is obviously a die-hard Liverpool fan.

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