Addo-Carr wants to inspire more Indigenous League players

Kangaroos flyer Josh Addo-Carr has told NRL.com he hopes his journey back to the Australian side will inspire the next generation of Indigenous footballers.

The 30-year-old is one of six Indigenous players in the Kangaroos squad for the historic Ashes series against England which begins next weekend in London.

The Kangaroos will play a three-game series against the English with the first Test at Wembley Stadium on October 25, before moving north for two more games in Leeds and Liverpool.

Reece Walsh during a training run in London this week.

“Being Indigenous I’m very proud to get the chance to represent my country and represent First Nations peoples,” Addo-Carr told NRL.com. “Something I’m very proud of is that Indigenous kids can look up to us in the Australian team.

“They can look at me and know that no matter what you go through in life, as long as you stick to the path or change your ways if you need to, you can do anything.”

Newcastle Knights centre Bradman Best.

Reece Walsh, Kotoni Staggs, Bradman Best, Josh Addo-Carr, Reuben Cotter and Gehamat Shibasaki are the five other Indigenous men in the Kangaroos squad.

Gehamat Shibasaki had an outstanding season for Brisbane and Queensland.

Lionel Morgan was the first Aboriginal man to represent Australia in 1960 while Arthur Beetson was the first Indigenous person to captain a national sporting team in 1973.

“The NRL does a great job acknowledging Indigenous players and cultures,” Addo-Carr said.

North Queensland Cowboy Rueben Cotter.

“We have a multicultural country and we’re lucky the NRL puts so much effort into celebrating that. If we keep celebrating all our cultures the game will keep getting better.”

The record for the number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander players in an Australian team is seven back in 2015.

Greg Inglis, Will Chambers, Josh Dugan, Alex Johnston, Johnathan Thurston, Greg Bird and Sam Thaiday all featured in the Kangaroos’ 22-12 loss to New Zealand in Brisbane.

Brisbane Broncos Kotoni Staggs.