Darwin-raised AFL footballer Richard Tambling’s long-term career goal is to find himself a job in sports development.
As a teenager he studied Certificate I and II in Sport and Recreation at Charles Darwin University while a student at Dripstone High School.
And on leaving school he studied sports development further as an AFL development trainee in an AFLNT program linked to CDU.
But Tambling’s ambitions in sports development will have to wait for a number of years as the 20-year-old Richmond midfielder plays out his career in the AFL.
Tambling was picked up in the draft by Essendon in 2005, and has played 33 games since then – missing some matches only through injury.
This week he has been back home in Darwin as a member of the AFL Indigenous All-Stars team, which will play Essendon Football Club on Friday evening at TIO Stadium.
The week has been a busy one for the AFL stars from Darwin who are now playing in the national competition. They’ve been scheduled for appearances at schools, football grounds and other public promotions.
On Thursday, for instance, Tambling was among a quartet of players to volunteer their time for a series of NT Government-sponsored anti-domestic violence television commercials aimed at Indigenous men.
The young players, who are seen as role models for success, readily agreed to front the cameras while shooting the commercials took place in the grandstand of the Marara stadium.
‘I’m hoping to get involved in sports development in some way long after my football career is over, but it needn’t necessarily be football,’ says Tambling. ‘I’d love to come back to Darwin, but I guess it will depend on where the opportunities are.’
Tambling grew up in the Indigenous Village near Howard Springs and spent some of his schooling in Jabiru before moving to Dripstone High School.