For five years BHP Billiton’s Desert challenge has given children from the remote desert areas of Newman a chance to stay in school, travel and play football.

Swans development manager Nicole Graves said the children have been given an opportunity to take back to their communities the experiences of travelling and being part of a team.

BHP Aboriginal Affairs Officer Alan Ewen said this is the first time some of the kids in the program had been to Perth, and for most of them the experience had been invaluable.

“The only thing these kids have known is life within the community,” Ewen said.

“It’s a 15 hour drive from Newman and once they reach Perth many kids show an enthusiasm to play footy but a lot of fear and confusion over their new surroundings”.

BHP Billiton Iron Ore runs the program, designed to help children concentrate on school, in conjunction with the Swans and the West Coast Eagles.

The Desert Challenge is comprised of two under 13 teams, Central and Western deserts, who both boast a complement of 18 players from various communities.

By Njabulo Mpabanga

For the second year in a row Nick Naitanui (Swan Districts) and Daniel Rich (Subiaco) have been named in the All Australian side following the NAB National 18s Championships.

And this year they were joined by WA teammates Clancee Pearce and Michael Walters (Swan Districts), Stephen Hill (West Perth) and Matt DeBoer( Claremont).

The six members of the WA team that finished second to Victoria Metro at this year’s Championships were named in the 22-man squad on Saturday and it is yet another positive indicator of the health of WA football.

“To have six players selected in the All Australian side following on from eight players in 2007 is testament to the quality of development programs that are in place within the WAFL environment and the WA State talent programs,, WAFC Talent and Coaching Manager Jon Haines said.

“It’s another tick for our focus on providing quality people and quality environments in which our talented players can develop.

“The boys selected can be rightfully proud of their achievement in becoming an All Australian player. To see the way these young men have developed as people and players over the course of the season is a credit to their coaches and families. They are outstanding young men and they thoroughly deserve the accolades that go with such an achievement”.

Selection in the All-Australian team honours those individuals who excelled for their respective states at the 2008 NAB AFL Under 18 Championships, played from May to July.

AFL Talent Manager Kevin Sheehan said the 2008 NAB AFL Under Championships had been an overwhelming success and  praised the performance of all those selected in the 2008 All-Australian team.

“With the challenge of extra matches and an increased travel load under the revised format, this year’s All-Australian group should be particularly proud of their achievements,” Mr Sheehan said.

“History tells us that many players selected in this team, along with others to graduate from the NAB AFL Under 18 Championships, will go on to become stars of the AFL competition.”

David Dickson was named All-Australian Coach in his final season with Vic Metro, with NSW/ACT’s Danny Stevens his assistant.