New era for Warriors

Warragul Warriors basketballers unveiled a new look for a new era as the club entered teams in the Victorian Junior Basketball League (VJBL) on Friday night.
Local indigenous artist Lionel Rose Jnr designed the new uniform which was rolled out at stadiums across the state as the Warriors joined the VJBL.
Warragul Warriors committee member Lara Parker said the new uniform had been well received and carried special meaning.
Having sought out Lionel for an original design, Lara said the collaboration was an opportunity to offer something special and different within Gippsland basketball.
"It's a homage to our past but leverages our sport into the future," she said. "It acknowledges our community as well."
All eight VJBL teams have been kitted out in the new uniform and the 25 teams in the club's squad program will soon follow suit.
Lara said increasing numbers of indigenous families were playing basketball locally and joining Warragul Warriors' representative teams, including Lionel's two young sons.
With the artwork depicting a narrative based on growth, Lionel said it would be special to see his children and his hometown team wear his indigenous design.
"I'm proud the Warriors wanted to incorporate the oldest living culture on earth's artwork on their jerseys," he said. "I'm honoured to be that local First Nations' artist to collaborate with them to achieving this."
"Both my sons play for the Warriors. They can be proud of their culture and the team they represent."
Collaborating with sporting clubs on indigenous uniform designs is not new to Lionel, having worked with Drouin, Hill End and Moe football clubs. However, he said these playing tops are worn once per season for special rounds. In this case, Warriors basketballers will wear the uniform each week.
"I hope for other teams to incorporate some of our rich culture on their jerseys as well one day," he added.
Lionel was faced with a short timeframe to create the design. He opted to maintain the Warriors' red and black colours. However, white was selected for the reverse top to make the artwork stand out.
The design includes circles, white lines, boomerangs and spears.
The circles, starting off small and getting bigger, represent growth. Each circle is also a meeting place, depicting the journey of each tournament.
Wavy lines are also incorporated to represent the ups and downs each group will have during a season.
White lines represent coaches guiding the groups, and boomerangs and spears represent the Warrior name.
The artworks appear down the side of each playing top and shorts.