Wests Tigers is proud to today unveil its 2026 Indigenous Jersey ahead of the NRLW clash with the St George Dragons on Sunday, 9th August.
Designed around the theme of UNITY, the jersey reflects how the club and its Wests Tigers (Empower) programs come together to create meaningful change within our community.
The jersey will also be worn by the Wests Tigers NRL team against the St George-Illawarra Dragons at CommBank Stadium on Sunday, 16th August.
Order your Wests Tigers Indigenous jersey here
The jersey was designed by Melissa Barton, a contemporary Aboriginal artist living on Dharug Country, in the Macarthur region of Sydney.
A feature of the jersey design is the number ‘3’ highlighting three meeting spots:
- Empower Logo – three tiger heads representing Alumni (past player advocating for programs), Philanthropic Donors (who fund the programs), and the Community (children, families, schools that gain benefit).
- Flagship Programs – Healthy Relationships (DV prevention & respect messaging), Classroom to Careers (school-to-work transition), Stripes for Success (leadership & empowerment).
- Catchment Areas – Southwest (Liverpool-Campbelltown), Southern Highlands (Camden-Picton-Wollondilly), and Inner West (Balmain-Strathfield).
Design Intent
Bright, vibrant shades were used to symbolise the positive impact of our community work. The artist has incorporated her unique pallet/style of browns and dusty pinks & oranges to bring out depth in the art.
Three spots representing something unique, while still connecting to form one story – just like our diverse catchments and programs unite to form the Wests Tigers brand.
Symbols and characters at each meeting place represent family, service, and connection – aligning with Empower’s mission to create meaningful change in our community.
The sun is at the top of the design to represent RISE in 2026.
The bottom three mountains represent the earthy layers of each catchment area – in which past and present Indigenous heritage has formed.
The 2026 Wests Tigers Indigenous Jersey not only represents our Indigenous culture and connection to the land, but how the Wests Tigers Empower program unites people and places under one strong message of community impact.
The Artist
Melissa Barton is a proud Boorooberongal clan woman of the Dharug nation, with her connections to Aboriginal culture dating back thousands of years.
Her paternal grandparents are both of the lineage of Maria Locke, the first Aboriginal woman to marry an English convict.
Maria Locke is the daughter of Yarramundi, the chief of the Richmond tribes, located along the Hawksbury River in north-west Sydney.
