Being a role model to young Indigenous and Torres Strait Islanders is a role two-time Crows AFLW Premiership star Danielle Ponter is still wrapping her head around.

But it’s also something the 25-year-old, originally from Darwin, is embracing.

Ponter’s influence in the community was formally recognised this month, when she was named as a finalist in the Sportsperson category for the 2025 National NAIDOC Awards.

Speaking to AFC Media, Ponter, a proud Marranunggu and Anmatjere woman, said it was an honour to help inspire the next generation.

“When I was younger you had your role models and they were great people - my uncle Michael (Long), Cathy Freeman, they’re the names that come up in the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander space,” Ponter said.

“To hear that I am a role model to others is crazy to me because I am just this 25-year-old girl from Darwin who just loved her footy and is lucky enough to be playing it at the highest level.

“There are a lot of times where I am surprised that I am a role model, but I need to come around to that and I think in the past few years I have and it’s a space that I’m really passionate about.

“Mentoring and leading that next generation and the next wave of players and Indigenous girls and boys is important - to show them they are welcome in every space - whether that’s on a football field or in an office.”

Ponter, who works within the Club’s community team, said it wasn’t until the finalists were announced publicly that she realised the importance of the nomination.

“I got a call a couple of weeks ago now from the NAIDOC Committee, who reached out and told me I was a finalist,” Ponter said.

“It was weird, I was sitting at my desk at work and I couldn’t really tell anyone at the time as well, they were waiting to officially announce it.

“I just shared it with my partner, but I don’t think I quite understood the level of significance behind it.

“Once they announced it and everyone started messaging me, that was when it hit. I am very honoured and very grateful.”

Since being drafted to Adelaide ahead of the 2019 AFLW season, Ponter has become one of the key cogs in the Crows’ forward line.

She helped the side to Premierships in 2019 and Season Six (2022), made the All-Australian team in 2023, before ending the 2024 campaign as the team’s second leading goal kicker, booting 16 majors from 14 games.

But Ponter, who is the niece of former Essendon great Michael Long and the cousin of former Hawthorn star Cyril Rioli, doesn’t look back on her achievements so far.

“I am not one to reflect on my own accolades or individual awards,” Ponter said.

“There’s moments when you do look back and this is probably one of those moments where I’ve sat back and gone ‘I am deserving of this’, I have put a lot of hard work in.

“Footy takes up so much time and you can get stuck in the cycle of training, expectations, standards and things like that, so I am grateful to be given this opportunity to be a finalist and also to reflect back on my career so far.”

The NAIDOC announcement follows Ponter and Crows teammate Stevie-Lee Thompson travelling to Melbourne this month to mentor the next generation of players at the Indigenous v Multicultural girls camp.

“Footy has been a massive part of my life, not just footy, but sport,” Ponter said.

“To be recognised in this category is a reflection of not only what I’ve achieved, but the impact footy and sport has had on my life and the impact it can have on other Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander boys and girls.

“It’s about making it visible for others to ensure they can see they can achieve this as well.

“A lot of people say you can’t be what you can’t see, so it is important for me to be on the field for as long as I can to show these girls it is possible. If a young girl from Darwin can do it, then there’s no reason why anyone else can’t.”

The 2025 National NAIDOC Award winners will be announced at a ceremony at Boorloo, Perth, on Saturday, July 5.