THE Peninsula Raiders have proudly launched their 2025 Indigenous training shirts. The shirts were designed by talented local First Nations artist Holly Ryan. Having painted murals for Hastings Primary School, St Macartan’s Primary and Red Hill Consolidated School, Holly has a special connection with football and her Indigenous heritage. Her great-grandfather, Joe Johnson, is recognized as the first-ever Indigenous Australian to play VFL football, representing Fitzroy and playing in back-to-back premierships in 1904 and 1905. Her grandfather, Percy Johnson, also played 52 games for North Melbourne from 1951 to 1955.
The Peninsula Raiders Football Club values community and family, themes Holly has thoughtfully incorporated into her design. On the front of the shirt, multiple symbols for a ‘person’ represent individual players within the club. Symbols for ‘family’ appear throughout the front and back of the shirt, signifying not only the families of players but also the wider club community, including those who support the club in other ways. The overall design aims to unite all members of the Peninsula Raiders, reinforcing the club’s identity as a place of family, happiness, and community.
Founded in 1996, the Raiders compete in the Vic Metro Masters competition their home ground being the newly renovated Alexandra Park on Main Street, Mornington. As the official AFL Masters representative team on the Mornington Peninsula, the club proudly fields both men’s and women’s teams for those over 35 years of age. Training sessions are held every Wednesday. For more information, search for “Peninsula Raiders”.
First published in the Mornington News – 18 February 2025