THE AFL, together with the Melbourne Football Club, today announced the 2018 Toyota AFL Sir Doug Nicholls Round will kick off in Alice Springs when the Melbourne Football Club play against the Adelaide Crows in Round 10 of the Toyota AFL Premiership Season.

The match, to be played at TIO Traeger Park on Sunday May 27, will mark the beginning of the league’s week-long celebration of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and their contribution to Australian Football.

Speaking from Desert Park in Alice Springs, the AFL’s General Manager Inclusion and Social Policy Tanya Hosch said the Sir Doug Nicholls Round gives our football community the opportunity to formally celebrate and acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander players, communities and cultures within our great game.

“The AFL has celebrated Australia’s First People’s cultures through a dedicated round for twelve years, with this year being the third time we’ve celebrated under the banner highlighting former South Australian Governor and former footballer Sir Doug Nicholls. We look forward to celebrating Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures across a full week this year and at all levels of football, beginning in Alice Springs,” Ms. Hosch said.

“The role football continues to play in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities across the country is something we don’t take lightly, we are fully aware we have a responsibility to genuinely invest and support programs to ensure everyone has the same opportunities in football.



“Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders continue to be proudly represented in large in our game – even though Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians make up approximately three per cent of the population in Australia, they make up close to ten per cent of players in the men’s league – and there is a long history of Aboriginal people excelling on the football field, many of whom have hailed from Alice Springs.”

As part of the Round 10 match, the Central Australian Redtails, a representative football team which also seeks to achieve social engagement outcomes through providing health and education program for Aboriginal footballers in the Red Centre, will play in a curtain-raiser against the Top End Storm – a representative team from the Top End – with the match to be broadcast live by the Seven Network. The curtain-raiser match will be followed by a 15-minute Aboriginal cultural performance.

“I would like to thank the Seven Network and the Melbourne Football Club for their hard work and commitment to growing the Alice Springs match to become a marquee game alongside the ‘Dreamtime at the G’ in Melbourne and the Marn Grook game in Sydney,” Ms. Hosch said.

Melbourne Football Club Chief Executive Officer Peter Jackson said the Round 10 match is an outstanding opportunity to connect the game of AFL football to something that is quintessential to the history and character of Australia – the Red Centre.

“Playing football in the centre of Australia is a truly unique experience and it’s a privilege for Melbourne to launch the Toyota AFL Sir Doug Nicholls Round here in Alice Springs on May 27,” Mr. Jackson said.



“We have a genuine investment in the Northern Territory and have engaged with communities across the Territory for eight years now. This is our fourth year playing in Alice Springs and we are excited to grow this game into a truly unique experience and fixture on the AFL calendar, whilst at the same time, delivering genuine and meaningful programs that create opportunities and experiences for the local Alice Springs community. 

“The Club would also like to acknowledge the Seven Network, in particular Lewis Martin, who has shown incredible passion and commitment in bringing the Alice Springs showcase to life.

“We see this as a fantastic opportunity to grow the Alice Springs game, in partnership with the AFL and Channel Seven into the real dreamtime and a true celebration of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture, staged in the heart of our nation. 

“The Club is also incredibly proud of our partnership with Rob Clark and the Redtails Football Club. The Redtails have achieved significant results through the power of football and we look forward to growing our partnership to strengthen talent pathways so that the local talent of Alice Springs can be showcased on the national stage.”

The Round Ten match between the Melbourne Football Club and the Adelaide Crows will be broadcast live on the Seven Network throughout Australia as part of a six-hour broadcast that includes the curtain-raiser and cultural ceremony.

About the Sir Doug Nicholls Round
In 2007, following the success of the Dreamtime at the 'G match in 2005 and 2006, the AFL nominated a specific Indigenous Round which in 2016, was renamed in honour of Sir Doug Nicholls. The Round celebrates the relationship between the game and Indigenous Australia by connecting AFL fans to Indigenous culture. The Round also celebrates the incredible impact Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander players have made on our game. 

Sir Doug, who epitomised the spirit of reconciliation, played 54 games for Fitzroy and was a brilliant all-round athlete. The first Aboriginal person to be knighted, he also served as Governor of South Australia and was devoted to the wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

This year there are 80 male players who identify as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander which makes up approximately ten per cent of AFL lists, and ten female players who identify as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander in the NAB AFL Women’s Competition, making up five per cent of AFLW lists.

2018 Toyota AFL Sir Doug Nicholls Indigenous Round program of matches (all times are local):

Round Ten
Sunday May 27
Melbourne v Adelaide Crows at TIO Traeger Park, 2.50pm (Curtain Raiser – Central Australian Redtails vs Top End Storm, 11.45ACT)

Round Eleven
Friday June 1
Sydney Swans v Carlton at the SCG, 7.50pm

Saturday June 2
Western Bulldogs v Melbourne at Etihad Stadium, 1.45pm
Hawthorn v Port Adelaide at University of Tasmania Stadium, 2.10pm
Gold Coast SUNS v Geelong Cats at Metricon Stadium, 4.35pm
Essendon v Richmond at the MCG, 7.25pm (Curtain Raiser – Footy Means Business, 2.55pm)
West Coast Eagles v St Kilda at Perth Stadium, 6.10pm 

Sunday June 3
North Melbourne v Brisbane Lions at Etihad Stadium, 1.10pm
Collingwood v Fremantle at the MCG, 3.20pm
Adelaide Crows v GWS GIANTS at Adelaide Oval, 4.10pm