- NRL were tight-lipped about plans in place
- Since revamped via a statement on Tuesday
- Magic Round begins in Brisbane on Friday
The NRL has revamped its stance on the staging of Welcome to Country ceremonies ahead of the women’s State of Origin series opener and Magic Round this weekend in Brisbane after first stating it was ‘not able to share’ details on the league’s plans.
An NRL spokesperson confirmed with Daily Mail Australia on Tuesday that plans are in place for the ceremonies to be performed at Suncorp Stadium in a marked departure from the league’s bizarre statement earlier in the day.
‘We will continue with our usual practices which includes a Welcome to Country for Women’s State of Origin and the beginning of Magic Round,’ a statement read.
‘The protocols are an important part of the NRL’s Reconciliation Action Plan.’
The first statement sparked questions about whether the ceremonies – which have been a huge source of debate with footy fans – would be overlooked after recent controversies.
On Anzac Day, Bunurong-Gunditjmara man Uncle Mark Brown was booed and jeered by hecklers, including self-described neo-Nazi Jacob Hersant, while performing the ceremony at a dawn service in Melbourne.
After initially stating they were ‘not able to share’ details, the NRL have revamped their stance on the staging of Welcome to Country ceremonies ahead of Magic Round this weekend in Brisbane (pictured, Indigenous star Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow)
An NRL spokesperson confirmed with Daily Mail Australia on Tuesday plans are in place for the ceremonies to be performed at Suncorp Stadium (pictured, Wurundjeri elder Aunty Joy Murphy Wandin)
On Anzac Day , Bunurong-Gunditjmara man Uncle Mark Brown was booed and jeered by hecklers when performing at a dawn service in Melbourne
Opposition leader Peter Dutton in recent days stated his belief that Welcome to Country ceremonies should only happen at very significant events – and feels they are ‘overdone.’
‘People have said to me, there is a sense across the community that it’s overdone,’ Mr Dutton said.
‘For the opening of parliament, fair enough, it’s respectful.
‘But for the start of every meeting at work or the start of a football game, I think a lot of Australians think it’s overdone and it cheapens the significance of what it was meant to do.’
Dutton’s Victorian counterpart Brad Battin echoed the sentiments, saying constant Welcome to Country ceremonies run the risk of them becoming disingenuous.
‘It gets so beyond a joke (and) people get sick of it,’ he said.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese described the ceremonies as a ‘mark of respect’ and said it was up to individual organisations to decide whether to include them at events.
Last Friday night, Wurundjeri elder Aunty Joy Murphy Wandin was left heartbroken after a Welcome to Country she had been set to deliver was cancelled at the Melbourne Storm NRL game against the Rabbitohs at AAMI Park following the earlier booing incident.
That decision was later reversed, but she said she was too upset to go on.
Aunty Joy, whose father fought in World War I, said on Monday she was told by Melbourne Storm CEO Justin Rodski that the ceremony had been cancelled because it would have been ‘inappropriate’ after the dawn service booing incident, and the club wanted to protect her from backlash.
Storm chairman Matt Tripp explained that the cancellation was due to a miscommunication by the club, which had not actually approved the ceremony for Anzac Day.
The women’s 2025 Origin opener will be staged at Suncorp Stadium on Thursday night, before eight NRL games across three days at the same venue, starting on Friday night when the Sharks tackle the Eels.
