Throughout the history of our great game, there have been so many incredible first nations players that it's almost impossible to rank them, so to make things easier, we're looking only at players from the AFL era.
Unfortunately, this rules out some heavy hitters, Sir Doug Nicholls being one, an incredible athlete who symbolised reconciliation and was knighted for his many exploits. The same goes for the great Syd Jackson, who won two flags with the Blues in the 70's.
Sadly, this also rules out Geelong legend Polly Farmer, who revolutionised the way Ruckman play today and also goes for the Krakouer brothers, Phil and Jim, who some say had a telepathic link that they used to dominate opposition teams and win games single-handedly.
Finally, Maurice Rioli also misses out, despite being one of the best players of his era and inspiring a generation of Indigenous players to make it to the AFL.
So with all this in mind, here's our top 10 players from the AFL era:
6. Cyril Rioli
Not much more needs to be said about Cyril Rioli, he carried a famous surname with him into the AFL and left with one of the most highly decorated CV's you'll find in the game.
A four-time premiership player with the Hawks who won the Norm Smith in 2015 and was All-Australian three times during a period of dominance for Hawthorn. A Goal of the Year winner in 2009, Rioli was capable of the sublime but what was perhaps not as highly discussed was his tackling ability.
A ferocious tackler who prided himself on his forward pressure, Cyril was the prototype of the modern day small forward and his early retirement from the game was felt by all footy lovers.
