Born and raised in Wee Waa, Cronulla Sharks five-eighth and proud Gomeroi-Muruwai man, Braydon Trindall, knows a thing or two about the unique challenges facing First Nations kids.

Brayon moved to Queensland when he was 12-years-old where he began playing rugby league with the Caboolture Snakes, before being signed to the Melbourne Storm.

He told Dubbo Photo News it was really tough at the beginning to move away from his community, but he persevered through the challenges.

“It’s really tough, I moved away at a very young age and moved to Brisbane, I moved in with a Samoan family and it was a hell of a different change for myself,” he said.

Braydon said that it is a shared experience of First Nations people when they move away from mob, and often realise how important it is to be surrounded by family and friends.

“It got really tough and at one point I wanted to move back home for sure, and that’s like all of us Indigenous people, I’ve got heaps of cousins that moved away and got very homesick and couldn’t deal with it, so yeah it’s very tough,” he explained.

“You realise when you are back home, how important it is to be around your family, and what they can bring into your life, with your emotions and how you feel as a person, I think that is really important.”

He was lucky enough to get support from his family and friends that lived in Queensland and his advice for young First Nations aspiring athletes is to “give it a crack”.

“If it's important enough, give it a crack, but make sure you have a good support base around you for when the times do get tough, make sure you have someone to call and talk to at all times,” he said.

Braydon said it is important for First Nations people to make sure when they are moving away from country and their community to have a strong support system.

“Give it a crack but make sure you’ve got a strong support network around you,” he said.