from amateur to professional sportsman. Wills travelled inland in November to gather the players from Edenhope and Harrow, where they worked as station hands. One of their employers, William Hayman, acted as the team's manager and "protector". Mostly Jardwadjali men, they shared common vocabulary with the neighbouring Djab wurrung people, which enabled Wills to coach them in the Aboriginal language he learnt as a child. From their training ground at Lake Wallace, Wills, in a "tactical strike", boasted to the Melbourne press of the Aboriginal players' skills, especially the batsmanship of Unamurriman, commonly known as Mullagh. Uneasy over Wills' claims, the MCC strengthened the ranks of its Boxing Day side with non-members, attracting widespread criticism in the process. Public sympathy was with the Aboriginal players when they arrived in Melbourne in late December, and over 10,000 spectators went to the MCG to see them play. Captained by Wills, they lost against the MCC's reinforced side, but won unanimous praise for their performance. Wills afterwards accused the MCC of "treachery". The team provoked much public discussion over past mistreatment of Aboriginal people and future relations between the races. It is unknown what Wills and his Aboriginal teammates made of these broader social and political dimensions of the enterprise. Some of Wills' contemporaries were shocked that he would associate with Aboriginal people in the shadow of his father's death. Others, such as this contributor to The Empire, addressed him as a hero: Wills' role took on a symbolic significance: supporters and critics alike used his status as a 'native' (Australian-born colonist) to identify him with his 'native' (Indigenous) teammates, and he was also noted for speaking in "their own lingo". Jellico (Murrumgunarriman), the "team jester", joked to the press: "[Wills] too much along of us. He speak nothing now but blackfellow talk". While Melburnians were enthralled by Wills and the Aboriginal team, the annual intercolonial between Victoria and New South Wales—usually the season highlight—failed to excite public interest, and Victoria's loss in Sydney was partly attributed to Wills' absence. The Aboriginal players improved as they toured Victoria under his captaincy in January. After an easy win in Geelong, Wills took the team to "Belle Vue" to meet his mother. Back in Melbourne, two members, Bullocky (Bullenchanach) and Cuzens (Yellana), joined Wills in representing Victoria against a Tasmanian XVI. In February 1867, they went to Sydney to begin an intercolonial and overseas tour.