Sir Doug Nicholls Round

On Saturday 20th May our school had the opportunity to be the Guard of Honour for the Richmond players in the Dreamtime game. We stood 

there, waving our flags, yelling for our team. An opportunity to be able to be the Guard of Honour is just amazing, but I believe that some people underestimate it. The round is supposed to recognise the Indigenous players in AFL, recognise us as the Traditional Owners of this land and to respect us, because in the past this was not the case when they abused our people. When we watched them do their traditional dance, showing people that our culture is still alive after all these years, I can tell you that every Indigenous person watching was proud, happy and thought that their culture could come alive again. 

Some people may not even know this is why the Dreamtime round is held, all they know could be from just knowing it’s for Aboriginal people to understanding that it represents that our culture can stay strong and thrive. This game every year represents that no matter who you are, what you look like, what happened in your past or anything, you can turn into something big if you make the right choices. People came for footy and that is completely fine, but at the same time they were learning that our culture exists, it thrives and still survives and they go home holding that knowledge, but you can tell what type of person they are with what they do with that knowledge, keep it hidden in the dark or spread the word. By Allina

When we went to the Sir Doug Nicholls round I felt proud to see so many people representing the First Nations culture. I felt honoured to be doing the Guard of Honour when the players ran out.  By Dylena

During Sir Doug Nicholls round, I felt so proud to be Aboriginal because it made me feel so happy. I want to learn more about the people in my country. The game on the weekend made me feel happy to watch the Dreamtime Game at MCG. Me and the MITS mob did the Guard of Honour and there were so many people when I walked out to do it. It was an amazing experience and it was a heated game, eventually Essendon won the match by one point. By Marcus

I felt really proud when I saw so many people getting involved with the Sir Doug Nicholls round at the MCG on Saturday night during the Dreamtime game. When we were walking down to the MCG I saw so many people cheering and celebrating the game. I felt so happy and enjoyed the hype watching the game between Richmond vs Essendon. By Jacob