Liam Jurrah
| Liam Jurrah | |||
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Jurrah in August 2009
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| Personal information | |||
| Full name | Liam Jungarrayi Jurrah | ||
| Nickname(s) | LJ, the Warlpiri Wizard, the Cougar | ||
| Date of birth | 22 September 1988 | ||
| Original team(s) | Yuendumu Magpies (CAFL) / Nightcliff (NTFL) | ||
| Draft | 1st overall, 2009 Pre-Season Draft Melbourne |
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| Height / weight | 188 cm / 84 kg | ||
| Position(s) | Forward | ||
| Playing career1 | |||
| Years | Club | Games (Goals) | |
| 2009–2012 | Melbourne | 36 (81) | |
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1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 2012.
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| Career highlights | |||
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| Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com | |||
Liam Jungarrayi Jurrah (born 22 September 1988) is an Australian rules footballer who formerly played with the Melbourne Football Club.
Jurrah is also known as "Jungarrayi", an initiated member of the Warlpiri people who are based in Yuendumu, a small and remote Indigenous Australian community 300 km north-west of Alice Springs in the Northern Territory.
He is the first indigenous person from a remote community in Central Australia to play senior football in the Australian Football League.
Since 2012 Jurrah has been charged with legal offences on several occasions.
Jurrah was born in Yuendumu to mother Corrina and father Leo Japaljarri Jurrah (a legend in Yuendumu football). Amongst many others, as per Warlpiri tradition, his Grandmother Cecily was also instrumental in his upbringing. During his childhood Jurrah grew up speaking four different indigenous Australian dialects as well as learning English and had never swum in the ocean. Jurrah began playing Australian rules football from a very young age, playing most of his football at the local red dirt Yuendumu oval and at Football carnivals throughout the Central Australian desert (Sports Weekends) against other remote communities such as Papunya, Lajamanu (home of his cousin Liam Patrick) and Hermannsburg. In his mid-teens he began following his father 600 kilometres each week to play for Yuendumu in the Alice Springs Central Australian Football League. Jurrah was involved in the 2005 Under 17, 2005,07,08 A Grade premiership seasons with the Yuendumu Magpies. Also during his mid-teens Jurrah began acting as a volunteer with the Mt Theo Program under its Jaru Pirrjirdi youth development program, which saw him helping to run youth activities such as sport, bush trips and discos for Yuendumu youth <http://www.mttheo.org>. His leadership and strength saw him rapidly progress through this program to begin acting as a youth mentor helping other Warlpiri young men in Yuendumu.
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