Geelong Cats welcomes Sir Doug Nicholls Round during Rounds 10 and 11 of the 2023 Toyota AFL Premiership Season, celebrating and recognising past and current Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander players.
To coincide with Sir Doug Nicholls Round and ahead of the upcoming referendum on the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice to Parliament, the Board and Executive of the Geelong Football Club have shared the following statement.
Club Statement
Towards the end of this year, the Australian people will vote in a referendum to enshrine in The Constitution an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice to Parliament.
As a humble custodian of Kardinia Park, the Geelong Football Club honours the contribution First Nations people have on our great game. We recognise the impact a Voice to Parliament could have on better outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, and the healing moment this would create for future generations of all Australians.
We encourage all members of our Club and community to be informed and to care for the expression of differing opinions. We respect how our players, employees, members and supporters will choose to vote in the upcoming referendum. We celebrate the differences that give our collective identity as a Club such strength.
The Board and Executive of the Geelong Football Club support the Yes position in the referendum in what we believe will be a unifying and inspiring moment for our Country.
Strength Through Unity
We were proud to last week unveil the 2023 First Nations guernsey, titled Strength Through Unity, which was designed and painted by proud Awabakal woman Michelle Searle.
The Club will wear the guernsey across its entire football program in 2023, starting with the AFL men’s, VFL men’s and VFL women’s teams wearing it across the next two rounds – Rounds 10 and 11 in the AFL and Rounds 9 and 10 in the VFL – before the guernsey is worn by our AFL Women’s team in AFLW Season 8.
The AFL men’s team will wear the predominately white guernsey when they take on Fremantle this Saturday 20 May at Optus Stadium, followed by wearing the predominately blue strip when they take on GWS Giants at GMHBA Stadium the following Saturday in Round 11.
Profits from this year’s First Nations guernsey, and other First Nations merchandise sold will go to the Geelong Cats Foundation to support First Nations programs and projects.
Geelong Cats’ 2023 First Nations guernsey is now on sale, available in-store and online at the Cats Shop and major sporting retailers.
Match Day Experience
The Club will host GWS in Round 11 at GMHBA Stadium with a range of matchday activations including:
- Pre-game and half-time performance from ARIA award-winning artist Budjerah, which is proudly sponsored by Larrakia Bilirra, an Indigenous Infrastructure Services Company owned by former Cat and proud Larrakia man Mathew Stokes.
- Guard of honour formed by 20 members of the Club’s Djilang Program.
- A bespoke banner design created by Djilang Program participants.
Geelong midfielder Brandan Parfitt said he is looking forward to wearing the First Nations guernsey and representing the Club over the next two weeks.
“The round is pretty special to me, to my family, all the past players and everybody that has gone before me,” Parfitt said.
“It means a lot and I love playing in these games. At the start of the year, it’s one of those games that you really want to be a part of.”
The Club’s matchday presenting partner for the Round 11 clash is Barwon Water. In 2023 Geelong celebrates 10 years of the Djilang Program, a First Nations cultural connection program developed in consultation with local community members and program facilitators, and proudly supported by Barwon Water.