IT’S not often the head of one of the nation’s largest sporting clubs drops by Heywood for an afternoon’s footy, but Collingwood Football Club president Jeff Browne literally went the extra mile to do so on Saturday.

The main reason was the Magpies partnering with Winda-Mara Aboriginal Corporation in the Deadly Choices program – the first time Collingwood has taken the program outside Melbourne.

It was the middle of a big weekend for Mr Browne, who flew back to Melbourne from Sydney at midnight on Saturday, drove to Heywood for the launch, then got back to the MCG for the Pies game against Gold Coast on Sunday.

But he said it was all worth it, as he reflected on the launch at the Heywood Football Netball Club, the home of the likes of Wally Lovett, Nathan Lovett-Murray and Billy Picken, who all went to Collingwood from Heywood (and whose relatives were at the launch).

“What I want to demonstrate is the club is serious about this,” Mr Browne said.

“We are right behind the program and I want them (Winda-Mara) to feel supported – we’ve got the resources and if they run short, they can give us a hoy.”

Deadly Choices, which focuses on encouraging Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders to take control of their health by making healthy choices for themselves and their families, has largely been an initiative in the northern states since its inception in 2010, but with Collingwood getting on board it is hoped to expand its reach in Victoria.

Among the aims are for Indigenous people to stop smoking, to eat good food and exercise daily, while encouraging annual health checks at an Aboriginal health service such as Winda-Mara (anyone who does the latter will also get a free Deadly Choices T-shirt like the ones pictured).

The Collingwood connection is also a strong Gunditjmara one – the three key drivers in the club were also at Heywood on Saturday in Magpies vice-president Jodie Sizer, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander programs manager Debby Lovett and Tony Lovett, now Reconciliation Action Plan advisory committee chairman at the Pies but previously community wellbeing and cultural service executive manager at Winda-Mara.

Ms Sizer acknowledged Winda-Mara’s work in the health sector.

“What stands out for me with Winda-Mara is the incredible leadership that’s shone through,” she said.

“Ever since I’ve been in Aboriginal Affairs, Winda-Mara has been in front of the show, showing everybody how it’s done.”

Debby Lovett said Deadly Choices was also “a really good fit” for Collingwood and something she had been pushing for at the club for some time after having seen its popularity in Queensland (where it originated and has been taken on board by rugby league clubs), only to be turned down by the previous chief executive.

“The new one (Mark Anderson) came on and pushed it with the board,” she said.

“It’s been a long process, working out what would be a good fit.

“The support for Deadly Choices was unanimous, it was something that we were happy to do.”

Winda-Mara has been seen as key to the success of the program and Ms Lovett said that Collingwood was keen to work with it, through Winda-Mara health services team leader Jess Lovett-Murray, to “do work in Melbourne and here”.

“Hopefully we can bring a lot to the table for everyone,” she said.

Tony Lovett said “it’s a fantastic initiative and I’m just glad to see it come to fruition”.

“It’s not just to close the gap but blow life expectancy out of the water,” he said.

“The link between the biggest club in the country promoting healthy choices for our community and providing support for Winda-Mara to get people to really take their health seriously… the only way we’re going to do it is if people start doing their regular health checks and start identifying issues before they get out of hand.

“Once we start doing that we will close the gap.”

Mr Browne agreed.

“If you don’t have that check and get that map of your health, you can’t deal with what’s ahead,” he said.

“We at Collingwood and in fact everybody has an obligation to close the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous health.

“We’re trying very hard to make our club better, coming out here to the community to get to know you better and getting to do something meaningful in your community makes us a much better club.”

Becoming a much better club is also the focus of the Do Better report, a document that laid bare systemic racism at Collingwood and which Ms Sizer oversaw the commissioning of.

“All of that that was confronting but we confronted it,” said Mr Browne, who took over from Mark Korda late last year after the latter was appointed following Eddie McGuire’s resignation shortly after the report was released.

“We’re doing something about it, we’re being accountable and the best way to deal with it is to deal with it straight up.”

Mr Browne said he also took the opportunity to make a start on some other related business – talking to Heywood playing coach and former Magpie Leon Davis, now working at Winda-Mara.

Mr Davis has been estranged from the club and recently, along with teammates Heritier Lumumba and Andrew Krakouer, announced they had ceased dealing with Collingwood as they did not believe the club was acting in good faith over the Do Better report.

“I had a very pleasant conversation with Leon,” Mr Browne said.

“He’s a 225-game player, a legend of our club.

“It was a great opportunity for us to meet him and say g’day.”