Andrew Lovett took time out before the Essendon v Geelong to meet with a group of indigenous students from Tirkandi Inaburra, NSW, who were in Melbourne for a brief four-day visit. As part of the visit, Essendon provided tickets for the group to experience the excitement of an AFL match and the opportunity to meet one of their role models in Andrew Lovett.

Tikkandi Inaburra Cultural & Development Centre is an early intervention program for 12-15 year old indigenous males and works in partnership with local indigenous communities to provide culturally based programs offering new pathways for indigenous youth at risk of contact with the criminal justice system.

Tikkandi Inaburra's objectives are to empower indigenous youth to develop and draw on their own resilience to take responsibility for their own lives and to develop strategies to deal with their problems. The program aims to promote cultural pride, identity and self-confidence in indigenous youth while strengthening education and training to improve the employment potential of indigenous youth.