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Former Fremantle star Dale Kickett has praised Fremantle for changing their name to Walyalup across Sir Doug Nicholls Round.
The Dockers have changed their name to that of the Noongar country around Fremantle for the next two weeks and will use a new logo designed by life member and development coach Roger Hayden.
Kickett told Sports Breakfast he was proud of the club for taking a lead in the space.
“It means a lot,” Kickett said.
“The club has renamed itself, Walyalup has been there for [thousands of] years.
“It’s great to get recognition, even for small things like our language.
“Us as footballers, we’re obviously just going out there to get a kick, but every now and again, like this weekend, we become a bit more, which we think should be an everyday thing.”
Kickett is involved with the Waalitj (formerly Wirrpanda) Foundation, the community arm of West Coast, where he spent one year as a player in 1991.
“We have programs here for any issue that any of our clients might have, for employment, training,” he said.
“We help out in schools, the girls have a program.
“It’s great to have these programs, but it would be great not to have them as well, we’d know there wouldn’t be a problem if we didn’t have them.”
Kickett is back involved with WAFL club Claremont, where he won the Simpson Medal in the 1991 and 1993 premiership wins, as a specialist coach.
“Whilst it’s different, it seems like the personnel around the are still the same,” he said.
“Nothing much has changed. It looks a bit different, that’s about it.
“I played for five VFL/AFL clubs, one year at [the first four], and each time I needed to build myself back up to get back in the AFL, I was back at Claremont. I spent some good years there and we had some successful years as well.”
The Dockers will face off against two other clubs who have made similar moves over the next two weeks, playing Melbourne, who have changed their name to Naarm, and Port Adelaide, who have adopted the name Yartapuulti.
IMAGE: Fremantle FC