Jarrod Harbrow
Last week, I struggled to hide my inner fan boy as I had the privilege of interviewing Jarrod Harbrow – a Gold Coast Suns legend, life member but most importantly, a mentor for many young Indigenous individuals. After a 262-game legendary career, Jarrod currently works as the Indigenous Programs Coordinator at the Suns and Co-Founder of Harbrow Mentoring.
When Jarrod was 13, his brother Marc got diagnosed with leukemia. Tragically, Marc was an up-and-coming footy player himself on the verge of moving to Victoria to pursue a career. A stem cell transplant from Jarrod helped save his life and Marc saw this second chance as an opportunity to give back and deliver sporting programs to young people in Cape York. This was the origin of Harbrow Mentoring. Since then, the business has expanded its reach and services, now providing three pillars of support across all of Queensland: Mentoring, Leadership and Sports Development.
Looking to his day-to-day life, Jarrod works hard at the Gold Coast Suns to make the club a culturally safe space for all Indigenous players – regardless of the team they play for. After moving from his home community in Cairns to Victoria when he was 16, Jarrod personally understands the difficulties associated with this transition so feels an obligation to provide young Indigenous footy players with the support he wishes he had received. Creating such an inclusive environment at the club naturally depends on all staff and players, so Jarrod and his team work tirelessly to educate and share Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture with them. A key part of this education happens during the team’s annual two-week trip to Darwin - or ‘the fortress’ as I like to call it.
One of the highlights of Jarrod’s work across both roles is that he gets to travel to different Indigenous communities and become the listener, not the leader. These trips allow him to sit down with a community’s elders and young individuals and learn about their bespoke traditions, characteristics and way of life.
Upon reflecting on his journey so far, he acknowledged that there have been challenges such as institutional inertia and cultural resistance, but during difficult times he always reminds himself to control what he can and support those close to him. Right now, the number of Indigenous players in the league is dropping significantly. But Jarrod, the Suns, and I’m sure all 17 other clubs are working hard to create more pathways and opportunities for Indigenous players to be drafted and build careers in the industry. One positive change came in 2022, when the AFL made it mandatory that each club have at least one Indigenous Liaison Officer. However, thus far, Jarrod sees the annual Darwin trip, his 3 All-Star games and the two Shanghai AFL tours as the highlights of his career.
I asked Jarrod where he sees himself in 5-10 years, and he answered that he would only leave the Suns once he felt that it was a culturally safe space for all Indigenous players. These players “must have all the support they need to develop into the best person and player possible”. Accordingly, and naturally with my support, Jarrod also aims for the Suns to be “everyone’s second favourite team”.
I like to finish my ‘one percenter’ chats by asking the person to recommend someone for me to interview next. Jarrod chose Eddie Betts, but specifically requested not to mention the Goal of the Year that he kicked on him in 2019. Accordingly, I’ve attached the link below…Sorry Jarrod, it had to be done!
