Darwin has kicked off this year’s Sir Doug Nicholls round with a bang, launching the annual round with a revamped performance of Welcome to the Country.
For the 18th year in a row, the AFL has held a special round to celebrate indigenous people, with a weekend of matches named after Nicholls nine years ago, the former 1930s VFL player who later became pastor and Aboriginal leader.
Traditionally, all 18 AFL teams wear jerseys designed by indigenous people and a welcome to country ceremony is held.
And on Thursday, before Geelong’s game against Gold Coast, a special ceremony was held, with Liam Stansfield and Edwin Fejo starting the ceremony before singing alongside the Youth Mill Performing Arts Company.
A choir, a didgeridoo and a quarter string also participated in the performance of a song called Mergence.
The football world reacted on Thursday to the renewed welcome ceremony to the country.
The traditional pre-match ceremony gave way to a more modern version.
Footy fans took to social media to share their thoughts on the ceremony, and there were mixed reactions.
Some of the positive comments included posts like “how good was that,” “what quality,” and “I loved it.”
Other publications were not as effusive with their praise.
“What a shame,” said one fan.
Another said: ‘What rubbish. Make it stop.’
A third fan joked: ‘Is this our Eurovision act…?’
Meanwhile, on the field, a brilliant Gold Coast defeated an understrength Geelong by 64 points to alert the AFL world and condemn the Cats to their third consecutive defeat.
An impressive second quarter, which included six unanswered goals, put the Suns on their way to a 26.8.164 to 15.10.100 victory at Darwin’s TIO Stadium.
The sublime Jack Lukosius had five goals and five assists and was well supported by Bailey Humphrey (five goals), Ben King (four) and Sam Day (three), among others.
Gold Coast’s highest-ever score lifts them to sixth place in the rankings, while second-place Geelong is in danger of falling out of the top four.
Geelong were without Jeremy Cameron (concussion), Patrick Dangerfield (hamstring) and rested trio Tom Hawkins, Mitch Duncan and Rhys Stanley.
Sam De Koning (hamstring tightness) retired late and was replaced by veteran Zach Tuohy.
Gold Coast rested Jarrod Witts, Jed Walter, Nick Holman and Jake Rogers.
But after a five-day break from their most impressive performance under Damien Hardwick, Gold Coast swept Geelong as they chased their first finals berth.
Noah Anderson (41 disposals and two goals), Matt Rowell (35 disposals), Touk Miller (32 and eight clearances) and Sam Flanders (37 touches) dominated the ball.
Geelong’s Tyson Stengle (three goals), Max Holmes (32 disposals), Ollie Dempsey (25 touches) and Gryan Myers (29 touches, two goals) battled hard on a dirty night.
Overall, the Suns handled the slippery conditions better and, while they enjoyed a favorable free throw count (25-14), they dominated the field.
Lukosius got the Suns’ night off to the perfect start when he intercepted a Toby Conway kick and ran into an open goal, the first of three in the quarter.
The first quarter was an up-and-down affair and the Cats took a three-point lead at the first change.
The Suns pulled away in the second period to take a 33-point lead at the main turn.
In terms of on-field issues, Gold Coast shocked Geelong by winning in Darwin.
Gold Coast’s night turned sour when young defender Mac Andrew suffered a leg injury in a collision with teammate Ben Ainsworth in the second quarter.
He was substituted out of the game by Alex Davies at half-time, while Cats veteran Cam Guthrie made way for Jhye Clark in the third quarter.
The Suns didn’t stop, scoring eight goals to Geelong’s one in the third period to extend their lead to an ominous 66 points at three-quarter time.
Geelong stabilized a little early in the final, but it was no consolation as the Suns enjoyed their victory.
