A couple of years ago Hawthorn's Kaitlyn Ashmore, a Dja Dja Wurrung woman, spent some time in Alice Springs.

She was immediately taken by the gift for footy so many kids had up there, but knew the pathways for development were limited.

"I've been out to the communities … the talent up there is incredible," Ashmore said on the eve of the AFLW's Indigenous Round.

"But it's just getting them down here, or getting them in a program, and then keeping them in there and making them feel culturally safe."

You can find coverage of Indigenous AFLW players at !sports@quokk.au .