When Rocherlea and Longford's supporters converge on Archer Street for the top of the table clash on Saturday afternoon, they will be able to witness a special event.
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Michael Long OAM and the Long Walk foundation will bring the famous Long Walk to Launceston for the first time as part of the Rocherlea and Longford pre-match build-up.
The former Essendon captain will be attending and leading the walk that starts at Brooks High School at 1pm and makes its way to the Rocherlea Football Club in time for the match. The build-up to the Long Walk starts from 11:30am.
The event is designed to celebrate Aboriginal culture and people as well as start positive discussions are First Nations people and their vast history.
"This is an important thing to be coming to a local football club, they might not be the most high profile of football club but they want to bring the community together and bring this day," Long said.
"It's amazing what a football game can do, [in terms of] building strong relationships, community groups, this is what small towns are about, they're about people and bringing people together.
"It's the first time we've come here to Launceston and for us, we want to build on that, this is an opportunity for us where we can work with the community ... hopefully this might be the start of many things we can do together."
The event has been a joint effort spearheaded by Rocherlea, the Long Walk foundation and the NTFA with the league's Indigenous round still to come in the season.
The original Long Walk took place in 2004 when Long set off from his home in Melbourne to Parliament House in Canberra to generate further focus on issues that are impacting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders.
"I am really looking forward to the day because it's one where we show how proud we are to be a leader in the community," Rocherlea's president Graeme Gardner said.
"This is part of us learning to be good people in our community but also to use our drive, our aspirations and our influence to bring some positive influences into Northern Tasmania and especially the Northern suburbs of Launceston."
NTFA president Scott Rigby described the event as a major milestone.
"It's pretty significant ... we are about communities and it's about bringing stuff to communities that were worthwhile and make a difference in people's lives," he said.
"It's about bringing people together."
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