LEIGH SALES, PRESENTER: Now, the story of four boys from the desert in a quest for success on and off the footy field.

For six months on idyllic Kangaroo Island off South Australia, four young Aboriginal men have been working and playing football. They've left their homes behind to give it their all for a shot at breaking the poverty cycle and last Saturday was grand final day.

Alex Mann reports.

ALEX MANN, REPORTER: Kangaroo Island is a sleepy seaside getaway and, for Dudley United's newest football recruits, it's a world away from their home turf.

JOHN TURNBULL, COACH: Could have gone harder there, Jack Gurney. Get across.

Jack Walsh from Geraldton; Leroy is from Alice Springs and Nicholas Corbett and Nicholas Tracker are cousins from Tennant Creek.

ALEX MANN: Their coach is John Turnbull. He used to be a top-flight AFL recruiter and he's moved from Melbourne to mentor them.

JOHN TURNBULL: Ah, change to the bloke in the front. Away you go.

The four of them got together in the house with myself and they've been fantastic. They get along well and they enjoy each other's company.

ALEX MANN: What's it been like living with John?

LEROY TURNER, FOOTBALL RECRUIT: Oh, it's all right. He can be grumpy sometimes.

JOHN TURNBULL: Leroy, what's your problem? Are you right? No sooking.

ALEX MANN: For 21-year-old Leroy Turner from Alice Springs, it's a long way from the dysfunction of home.

LEROY TURNER: Yeah, 'cause most of my mates I grew up with: they started, like, going to parties every weekend and started doing drugs and that. And I kind of wanted to get away from that as well.

ALEX MANN: Off the field, Leroy and his mates have been gaining valuable skills by working in businesses and on farms across the island.

They're here as part of the Clontarf program, which pairs football with study and work to get young indigenous men into jobs.

This is Leroy Turner's second stint on Kangaroo Island. He's pruning vines for a local winemaker.

(To Leroy) How come you decided to come back?

LEROY TURNER: Oh, it was pretty good. Like, you know, the people are great down here and the community is too good.

ALEX MANN: So you got a lot of friends back home and, you know, when you talk to them, what they're doing doesn't sound that exciting?

LEROY TURNER: No. They're just like drinking and doing the same thing every weekend and, yeah.

ALEX MANN: And you'd rather be here?

LEROY TURNER: Yeah.

JEFF HOWARD, FARMER: Just to stiffen the fence up a bit so the cattle can't get their head through.

ALEX MANN: Jeff Howard is one of 19 locals who have pitched in $1,000 each to help pay the young men's bed and board. Like many others, he's also provided work. Now he's pinning his hopes on their prowess on the footy field.

JEFF HOWARD: Whether we win, lose or draw, the whole year has been a great success already.

ALEX MANN: Are you pumped up about it?

JEFF HOWARD: Pumped up and nervous for everyone.

ALEX MANN: And for these boys?

JEFF HOWARD: These boys will take it in their stride, I think. They get very nervous but they don't, they don't show it a lot. Once they get on the field, they do their own thing and they will be playing at their best. I'm very confident.

ALEX MANN: Their arrival on the island has transformed the Dudley Eagles from losers to winners. Last year they finished bottom of the ladder.

JOHN TURNBULL: Lovely kick, Corbey.

ALEX MANN: Now the team's preparing for the grand final.

JOHN TURNBULL: Hopefully it's all right on the night - or the afternoon. (To team) All right, blokes, now, goal square.

ALEX MANN: On Saturday afternoon almost half the island's 4,000 residents turned out for the grand final.

Dudley Eagles had their work cut out. The Parndana Roosters won the last six grand finals in a row.

By three-quarter time, Dudley United were four points down. John Turnbull steeled his players for one last crack.

JOHN TURNBULL: Adam, go for it. Leroy, go for it. It's in your hands. It's in your hands.

ALEX MANN: But the reigning champions weren't giving up without a fight.

COACH/CAPTAIN, PARNDANA ROOSTERS: That's the passion that we've got here. It's the work that we put in off the field, OK. We're a team. We're not individuals, we're a team. And that's how we have won six. And, I'll be (censored), that's how we will win seven.

ALEX MANN: In the final minutes of the game, a flurry of goals puts Dudley United in front to win the final.

(Cheers and applause from crowd)

For three of the star recruits, their time on the island is coming to an end. But Leroy Turner has decided to stay on.

And for these boys who have come such a long way to now be ending their stay on Kangaroo Island, what do you think this win means for them?

JEFF HOWARD: I think it mean a heap to them. I don't think they will go back. They're going to stay now, surely. (Laughs)

ALEX MANN: Have you got work for them?

JEFF HOWARD: We'll find work for them. They're well worth having here.

ALEX MANN: Are you going to stick around?

LEROY TURNER: Hell yeah, man.

(Dudley United Eagles team yell out war cry)

LEIGH SALES: Alex Mann reporting.