The 2025 Wests Tigers Indigenous jersey wouldn’t exist without the powerful stories and creative contributions of five young Aboriginal athletes from the South West Sydney Academy of Sport (SWSAS) Indigenous Athlete Program.
Each of these young people brought their own identity, heritage and dreams to the canvas.
Here’s what they shared:
Isabella Stephens
Symbols: Stars and Meeting Place
Story: “The stars represent my goals and things I would like to achieve, whether that’s in sport, my future, or day-to-day life. The meeting place symbol is my support network: people like family, friends, coaches, mentors and elders. They’re the people who remind me to always reach for the stars and to do my best.”
Max Brown
Symbols: Community Hands
Story: “This artwork that I’ve done represents community, such as your friends, your team, or your family, holding their hands up and supporting you, cheering you on, for anything that you do.”
Michael Psirakis
Symbols: Lyrebird, Whale and Meeting Place
Story: “My story is the lyrebird, which is one of the totems that belong to the Dharawal people, but also belongs to the Campbelltown area, moving towards a meeting place in the centre of Dharawal country. The whale, which is also part of Dharawal country, is heading towards the same meeting place as the lyrebird. This represents that no matter where you are from, we can still come together because we are all human.”
Tanisha Saba
Symbols: Stars and Moon
Story: “Everyone reaches their dreams in their own time. So aim for the moon, because even if you don’t make it, you’ll still find yourself among the stars.”
Zoey Saba
Symbols: Journey Lines and Team
Story: “My artwork is about the journey of different athletes from all over coming together to achieve the same dreams and becoming one team.”
