The 2023 Queensland Maroons Indigenous jersey is a special one.
Designed by former rugby league player and artist Sid Domic, in collaboration with FOG #152 Greg Inglis, it weaves together two of the oldest cultures in the world.
Domic said he hoped wearing the training jersey would help players feel proud of being a Queenslander and proud of the diversity of cultures across the state.
"I'm very excited," Domic said.
"Being a Queenslander, and a Kalkadoon man, culture is important to me. I want the players to connect with the art."
Inglis' famous goanna totem sits front and centre on the jersey, while the artwork reflects the connections the Maroons have, including a reliance and understanding of each other on the field, and representing people individually and as a whole across the state.
Inglis and Domic unite for Indigenous training jersey
Domic said the goanna, a calm creature that swerved across the desert, was also represented through its footsteps and tracks across the background of the artwork. This calmness was reflected during Inglis’ time on the rugby league field.
He added as peaceful a creature as the goanna was, when under threat it could turn ferocious - a trait embodied by the Inglis every time he took the State of Origin field.
The goanna now lives on through Inglis’ Goanna Academy, the first accredited and Indigenous-owned mental health education provider in Australia.
Domic said the larger circles and conjoining lines in the background represented Aboriginal communities and people all over the land; and the Dhari, a symbol of Torres Strait Islanders used in cultural ceremony and dance, along with the turtle and crayfish, represented the people of the Torres Strait Islands.
He added the circles on the jersey were also a tribute to the communities, schools and industry partners touched by the Goanna Academy in improving mental health, while the three lines connecting them represented the need to acknowledge the past and present to create a better future.
Inglis said "it's vitally important" to have an Indigenous training jersey as part of the Maroons kit.
"We love to celebrate all cultures up here, bringing everyone together," Inglis said.
"We know Queensland is diverse, but rugby league and State of Origin brings everyone together. It's special. I love Queensland."
To purchase the training jersey, click here.
