Paul Ahern and Tom Murphy made their debuts and Shaun Higgins had a career-best game but Sunday was a day of firsts for more than just this trio of Kangaroos.

With more than 22-thousand people at Etihad Stadium witnessing North Melbourne’s impressive win over Brisbane, one small section of the crowd was also experiencing something completely new.

To be precise, 150 AFL new-comers were in attendance for their first AFL match thanks to The Huddle’s ‘Welcome to AFL’ program. 

“You think the ball is going one way, when all of a sudden it skips off the opposite direction,” one attendee told North Media. 

“It’s a very fast and exciting game.”

The program, rolled out a decade ago, was designed to welcome people from non-AFL backgrounds to Australia’s national sport. 

Before the opening bounce the group, mainly from the Indian Community in Melbourne’s west, visited Arden Street for an introductory clinic and AFL ‘crash course’. 

Split into four groups, the participants rotated through an AFL history session, a Huddle information session, and two separate skills sessions.

Though the handballing and kicking went relatively smoothly, one skill in particular was just too difficult to master for most; bouncing the ball. 

When the clinic concluded, the group headed over to the stadium and was able to fully enjoy the game and appreciate just how hard it is to play. 

Our next ‘Welcome to AFL’ is ahead of Round 16 and Round 17.

Go to The Huddle website to learn more.