WA MADE
BRADEN QUARTERMAINE
Liam Henry’s AFL journey started in Fitzroy Crossing before stops at Tammin and Christ Church Grammar. The Weekend West travelled to a remote Kimberley community with the hot draft prospect. Standing on the side of a dusty dirt road in the Kimberley outback, the impossibly picturesque sunset scene couldn’t be further from the structured and frenetic AFL bubble Liam Henry is about to step into. After a day of spreading the football gospel to some of the most remote communities in Australia, we’ve stopped on the way back to Fitzroy Crossing for an impromptu roadside photo shoot with the gifted forward. On one side of the road is the setting sun, a gradually retreating menace that leaves the boab trees to cast their silhouettes. A hint of relief at last on a day the mercury soared well into the 40s. On the other side of the road, a full moon is rising from behind another striking boab. Giggles from Liam, 18, and his elder brother Lewis, 19, are the only sound to pierce the silence. They came after Henry was labelled a “city boy” , a light-hearted jibe given the media attention his talent is garnering even before he will likely become a first-round draftee later this month. In reality, the beautifully balanced footballer has always adapted. The sense of isolation and simplicity here sits at odds with professional football and all it entails, with complex talk of bid-matching and live pick trading the dominant storyline that surrounds Henry’s anticipated drafting by Fremantle. Up here all that matters is the dream being realised and the teenager is about to make it happen. Henry says his path to the AFL was lit in a practical sense over the past two or three years, with important mentors helping him work towards setting and reaching a series of goals. Before then, the dream burned inside him as a boy living in Tammin, a tiny agricultural centre 180km east of Perth. As a 12-year-old , Henry used his graduating speech at Tammin Primary School to announce his ambition to play in the AFL. Henry’s young life has been neatly divided into thirds. His early years were spent in Fitzroy Crossing, the home town of his mum Myra. When he was in early primary school, the Henry family — which has grown to include four children — moved to Tammin, where his dad Lewis Sr is from. After he finished primary school, Henry’s parents moved back up north to Derby and he went to Perth to board at Christ Church Grammar School. Henry’s heritage combines the Walmatjarri people of his mother with the Wajuk people of his father. His maternal grandmother is well-known Kimberley leader Marmingee Hand. So where in our vast State does he feel most at home? “Definitely Tammin. Tammin’s the place that I remember growing up. Where all my memories are,” Henry replies as we chat in the back of a 4WD in the remote community of Noonkanbah. “I still feel a connection to Fitzroy, because obviously my mum’s family is from there and knowing a bit about the country and culture as well. “But Tammin is probably closest to home. “I’ve been lucky to have the best of both worlds, the Kimberley and then the countryside.” Beginning at Christ Church in Year 7, he was the only Aboriginal face in his year group. Having his brother there in Year 9 helped ease his anxiety, as did the exciting prospect of playing two games of football every week, combining school games with club matches. “Going into a school that was probably bigger than my population as a whole in Tammin was daunting at the time,” Henry said. “The first two years I was the only indigenous boy in my year. I guess that brought the maturity out in myself to actually go out and find new friends and discover new culture. “When you get indigenous boys, I guess you connect well with them straight away. “It was definitely hard at the start but I also had my brother there who taught me the ropes. “Footy and sport was how I met a lot of people. Not just in my school, club footy as well. “A few of my best mates are from other schools. “You’d be playing against a bloke on a Friday and then playing with him on a Sunday.” Henry is a speedy and silky right-footer but kicks off his left side so well you would barely know it. At Noonkanbah, on the red-dirt oval, he picks up a ball and slots a left-footed drop punt from about 35m out. It was his first shot and the angle was so acute that if a boundary line had been drawn he would have been outside of it. Like most of the increasingly small number of AFL players who can kick well off both feet, Henry has his dad to thank. “Growing up, I guess my dad drilled it into my head. Every time I go out on the footy field I normally kick on my left first kick. I don’t know, it just comes natural,” he said. “Whichever side the defender pushes me on, then I would choose that foot. Having both of those helps.” Maybe Henry’s prowess on his left side was also helped by an obsession with his idol Cyril Rioli. Henry was fixated on the former Hawthorn star from the time he entered the AFL and Rioli is the reason he followed the Hawks. “I just try to base my game around him whenever I play. I loved watching him when I grew up,” he said. Henry rolls into a catalogue of his favourite magic moments and interestingly it is Rioli’s famous tackles he begins to list before any mention of goals. When that gets pointed out, Henry starts describing some goals as well. Henry might be on the cusp of making the big time but it would be a mistake to think it’s footy or bust. He intends studying part-time at university next year, with sports science and becoming a PE teacher his two areas of interest. Henry also has a successful online side business selling indigenous-themed ties with two mates, operating as Tied To Culture. Launched just over a year ago, they have sold about 1300 ties after a school project developed into something more. “It’s been going good. A bit of pocket money in the bank, which is nice,” he said. Henry needed to achieve an A-grade in his English General subject this year to open the door to university without having an ATAR score. It was part of a considered strategy and he achieved it when he recently graduated with a score of 78 per cent in English. “I could have done ATAR but I knew the stress levels this year would have been a bit hard doing ATAR and footy,” he said. “So I invested into looking at how I could get into uni without an ATAR score.” He credits influential mentors like Christ Church indigenous co-ordinator Michael Ralph and Perth-based host parents Phil and Alex Collins for his ability to pursue goals across a range of areas. “Obviously footy can be a really short time or it can be a long-lasting 10 years. I’m pretty determined to have a long career, but as I said, I’m looking into a plan B,” Henry said. Back in Fitzroy Crossing after completing a 400km round trip to the remote communities of Ngalapita and Noonkanbah, the cold beers feel like they have been well earned for a couple of city visitors. Henry opts out, instead ordering a lemon, lime and bitters before dinner. Adrian Gonnella, the Fitzroy Valley active communities co-ordinator with Garnduwa, has little doubt he will make it. “He’s obviously been in Perth for quite a few years. So he’s used to not being home,” Gonnella said. “And he’s incredibly driven — you know doesn’t drink, doesn’t smoke. “He just wants to go out there and make the most of the opportunity.” Gonnella said the example of anyone from the Kimberley who moved away to further their education or employment opportunities was an important one but football had a unique resonance. “Everyone knows about every single boy, or girl in the AFLW, that’s from around here. Whether it’s Fitzroy, Derby, Halls Creek, Broome. Everyone is all supporting each other,” he said. “That’s what makes football so powerful up here. They’re not just doing it for themselves or their family. People are doing it for entire communities.” Henry understood he was already in a unique position. “I love footy so being able to have that as your job and get paid for what you love doing is very special,” he said. “Obviously home will always be there, but your dreams and your future and opportunities will go in the blink of an eye. “I know what it’s like to get given something. To be given the opportunity to go to Christ Church on an indigenous scholarship was very special, so giving back to my community and my people up here and in Tammin is something I’ll continue to do.”
BRADEN QUARTERMAINE
Liam Henry’s AFL journey started in Fitzroy Crossing before stops at Tammin and Christ Church Grammar. The Weekend West travelled to a remote Kimberley community with the hot draft prospect. Standing on the side of a dusty dirt road in the Kimberley outback, the impossibly picturesque sunset scene couldn’t be further from the structured and frenetic AFL bubble Liam Henry is about to step into. After a day of spreading the football gospel to some of the most remote communities in Australia, we’ve stopped on the way back to Fitzroy Crossing for an impromptu roadside photo shoot with the gifted forward. On one side of the road is the setting sun, a gradually retreating menace that leaves the boab trees to cast their silhouettes. A hint of relief at last on a day the mercury soared well into the 40s. On the other side of the road, a full moon is rising from behind another striking boab. Giggles from Liam, 18, and his elder brother Lewis, 19, are the only sound to pierce the silence. They came after Henry was labelled a “city boy” , a light-hearted jibe given the media attention his talent is garnering even before he will likely become a first-round draftee later this month. In reality, the beautifully balanced footballer has always adapted. The sense of isolation and simplicity here sits at odds with professional football and all it entails, with complex talk of bid-matching and live pick trading the dominant storyline that surrounds Henry’s anticipated drafting by Fremantle. Up here all that matters is the dream being realised and the teenager is about to make it happen. Henry says his path to the AFL was lit in a practical sense over the past two or three years, with important mentors helping him work towards setting and reaching a series of goals. Before then, the dream burned inside him as a boy living in Tammin, a tiny agricultural centre 180km east of Perth. As a 12-year-old , Henry used his graduating speech at Tammin Primary School to announce his ambition to play in the AFL. Henry’s young life has been neatly divided into thirds. His early years were spent in Fitzroy Crossing, the home town of his mum Myra. When he was in early primary school, the Henry family — which has grown to include four children — moved to Tammin, where his dad Lewis Sr is from. After he finished primary school, Henry’s parents moved back up north to Derby and he went to Perth to board at Christ Church Grammar School. Henry’s heritage combines the Walmatjarri people of his mother with the Wajuk people of his father. His maternal grandmother is well-known Kimberley leader Marmingee Hand. So where in our vast State does he feel most at home? “Definitely Tammin. Tammin’s the place that I remember growing up. Where all my memories are,” Henry replies as we chat in the back of a 4WD in the remote community of Noonkanbah. “I still feel a connection to Fitzroy, because obviously my mum’s family is from there and knowing a bit about the country and culture as well. “But Tammin is probably closest to home. “I’ve been lucky to have the best of both worlds, the Kimberley and then the countryside.” Beginning at Christ Church in Year 7, he was the only Aboriginal face in his year group. Having his brother there in Year 9 helped ease his anxiety, as did the exciting prospect of playing two games of football every week, combining school games with club matches. “Going into a school that was probably bigger than my population as a whole in Tammin was daunting at the time,” Henry said. “The first two years I was the only indigenous boy in my year. I guess that brought the maturity out in myself to actually go out and find new friends and discover new culture. “When you get indigenous boys, I guess you connect well with them straight away. “It was definitely hard at the start but I also had my brother there who taught me the ropes. “Footy and sport was how I met a lot of people. Not just in my school, club footy as well. “A few of my best mates are from other schools. “You’d be playing against a bloke on a Friday and then playing with him on a Sunday.” Henry is a speedy and silky right-footer but kicks off his left side so well you would barely know it. At Noonkanbah, on the red-dirt oval, he picks up a ball and slots a left-footed drop punt from about 35m out. It was his first shot and the angle was so acute that if a boundary line had been drawn he would have been outside of it. Like most of the increasingly small number of AFL players who can kick well off both feet, Henry has his dad to thank. “Growing up, I guess my dad drilled it into my head. Every time I go out on the footy field I normally kick on my left first kick. I don’t know, it just comes natural,” he said. “Whichever side the defender pushes me on, then I would choose that foot. Having both of those helps.” Maybe Henry’s prowess on his left side was also helped by an obsession with his idol Cyril Rioli. Henry was fixated on the former Hawthorn star from the time he entered the AFL and Rioli is the reason he followed the Hawks. “I just try to base my game around him whenever I play. I loved watching him when I grew up,” he said. Henry rolls into a catalogue of his favourite magic moments and interestingly it is Rioli’s famous tackles he begins to list before any mention of goals. When that gets pointed out, Henry starts describing some goals as well. Henry might be on the cusp of making the big time but it would be a mistake to think it’s footy or bust. He intends studying part-time at university next year, with sports science and becoming a PE teacher his two areas of interest. Henry also has a successful online side business selling indigenous-themed ties with two mates, operating as Tied To Culture. Launched just over a year ago, they have sold about 1300 ties after a school project developed into something more. “It’s been going good. A bit of pocket money in the bank, which is nice,” he said. Henry needed to achieve an A-grade in his English General subject this year to open the door to university without having an ATAR score. It was part of a considered strategy and he achieved it when he recently graduated with a score of 78 per cent in English. “I could have done ATAR but I knew the stress levels this year would have been a bit hard doing ATAR and footy,” he said. “So I invested into looking at how I could get into uni without an ATAR score.” He credits influential mentors like Christ Church indigenous co-ordinator Michael Ralph and Perth-based host parents Phil and Alex Collins for his ability to pursue goals across a range of areas. “Obviously footy can be a really short time or it can be a long-lasting 10 years. I’m pretty determined to have a long career, but as I said, I’m looking into a plan B,” Henry said. Back in Fitzroy Crossing after completing a 400km round trip to the remote communities of Ngalapita and Noonkanbah, the cold beers feel like they have been well earned for a couple of city visitors. Henry opts out, instead ordering a lemon, lime and bitters before dinner. Adrian Gonnella, the Fitzroy Valley active communities co-ordinator with Garnduwa, has little doubt he will make it. “He’s obviously been in Perth for quite a few years. So he’s used to not being home,” Gonnella said. “And he’s incredibly driven — you know doesn’t drink, doesn’t smoke. “He just wants to go out there and make the most of the opportunity.” Gonnella said the example of anyone from the Kimberley who moved away to further their education or employment opportunities was an important one but football had a unique resonance. “Everyone knows about every single boy, or girl in the AFLW, that’s from around here. Whether it’s Fitzroy, Derby, Halls Creek, Broome. Everyone is all supporting each other,” he said. “That’s what makes football so powerful up here. They’re not just doing it for themselves or their family. People are doing it for entire communities.” Henry understood he was already in a unique position. “I love footy so being able to have that as your job and get paid for what you love doing is very special,” he said. “Obviously home will always be there, but your dreams and your future and opportunities will go in the blink of an eye. “I know what it’s like to get given something. To be given the opportunity to go to Christ Church on an indigenous scholarship was very special, so giving back to my community and my people up here and in Tammin is something I’ll continue to do.”
