Grand Final Day - Tiwi Islands Style

In the well-oiled perpetual motion machine which is the AFL, it's easy to forget the beauty of the grassroots version of our national game. Sitting in the stands of a packed MCG is a special feeling, but so is leaning over the boundary of a suburban oval, close enough to the action to hear the idiosyncratic thud/slap of two Australian footballers colliding at full speed. Community football is the spirit of football, where everyday people—for a few hours each weekend—become the champions of their small place in the world.

Last month Darwin-based photographer Isabella Moore chartered a plane to Bathurst, part of the Tiwi Islands which lie 100 kilometres to the north of mainland Australia. Her trip coincided with the Tiwi Islands Football League grand final, which this year saw the Tuyu Buffaloes face off against the Muluwurri Magpies. Not an avid football fan herself, one of the things that struck Isabella was how deeply the sport gripped the community.

"It's clear that football is a way of life for the Tiwi Islanders," she wrote for VICE.COM. "Many of the supporters I spoke with were either ex-coaches, ex-players, supporters since they were babies, budding players, children or close relatives of the players; everyone has a semi-spiritual connection."

It's a connection that has yielded the community more than its fair share of pro league stars. Hawthorn match-winner Cyril Rioli is a Tiwi Islander, as is Essendon champion Michael Long and current Bomber Jake Long.

By the final siren, the Magpies had defied the heat and humidity to edge out the Buffaloes by two goals. As for Isabella, she was made somewhat of a convert, writing "All I need now is my own team to worship."

You can see the full photo gallery over at VICE.COM. Here are some highlights.

Go here for the rest of the images.

See more of Isabella's work here.