THE AFL industry will celebrate the excellence and the contribution of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to the game of Australian Rules Football this week, with the return of its annual Sir Doug Nicholls Round.
Held across Rounds 10 and 11 in 2025, this season marks the 10th year the League will celebrate the occasion in honour of Pastor Sir Doug Nicholls, and the 19th year the AFL has held a dedicated Indigenous round.
The milestone also coincides with the 20th anniversary of the Indigenous Team of the Century and the 30th milestone of the establishment of the Peek Rule (formally known as Rule 30) that marked a significant step in combating racism in Australian sport.
This year's Sir Doug Nicholls Round theme 'Past Legacies, Future Legends' honours the significance of the three anniversaries in 2025, while celebrating the importance of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the game today and into the future.
Sir Doug Nicholls Round begins in Darwin this season with the Gold Coast SUNS and Hawthorn on Thursday 15 May, before the annual Marn Grook game on Friday 16 May between the Sydney Swans and Carlton at the SCG.
For the first time, the annual Dreamtime at the 'G match between Essendon and Richmond will be held on a Friday night and played during the second week of the dedicated rounds.
In celebration of the round, a third of clubs will change their names to translations in Traditional Owner’s language, all 18 clubs and AFL umpires will wear specially designed jumpers recognising First Nations culture and ground signage will feature traditional Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander symbols and flags. For the second consecutive year, the match day ball – designed by proud Torres Strait Islander man Ben Nabea Davis- will feature the word ‘Koethuka Kakur’, meaning ‘ball’ in traditional Saibai Island dialect.
In 2025 there are 61 current AFL and 21 AFLW players who identify as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander.
AFL CEO Andrew Dillon said this year's Sir Doug Nicholls Round was one that holds great significance for the industry and broader football community.
"Sir Doug Nicholls Round has been an important event on the Australian sporting calendar for more than a decade, recognising and celebrating the contributions of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to our game.
"This season is one of significance for the game, with the industry celebrating the 10th year of Sir Doug Nicholls Round, the 20th anniversary of the Indigenous Team of the Century, and 30th year of The Peek Rule which continues to play an important role in tackling racism and discrimination in our game.
"Sir Doug Nicholls Round provides another opportunity for the industry to celebrate Aboriginal and Torres Strait excellence, building on the momentum and success from the Indigenous All Stars match held earlier in the year.
"It is a round that everyone looks forward to and with a host of blockbuster matches and marquee games in Darwin, the annual Marn Grook game in Sydney and Dreamtime at the ‘G held on a Friday night for the first time, it’s sure to be one all fans can enjoy."
Each year with support of the Nicholls family, Sir Doug Nicholls Round pays tribute to an Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander person who has contributed to the game and community.
This year's Sir Doug Nicholls Round honouree is West Australian great, Australian Football Hall of Famer and Indigenous Team of the Century member, Stephen Michael.
A proud Noongar man, Stephen Michael had a decorated football career playing 243 matches for South Fremantle, claiming two Sandover Medals (80/81), the South Fremantle best and fairest award five times (77, 78, 79, 81 and 83) and represented Western Australia 17 times where he was captain on three occasions.
Off the field, Stephen is currently a patron of the Stephen Michael Foundation which delivers a range of school and community-based programs to at-risk and disengaged youth people across Western Australia.
Stephen Michael is the seventh person to be named as an honouree during Sir Doug Nicholls Round, joining Sonny Morey (2024), Glenn James OAM (2023), Bill Dempsey (2022), Syd Jackson (2021 & 2020), Michael Long OAM (2019) and Graham ‘Polly’ Farmer (2018).
"The AFL is proud to recognise Stephen Michael’s contribution to Australian Football as our 2025 Sir Doug Nicholls Round honouree," Dillon said.
"Stephen's legacy both on and off the field in Western Australia has had a huge impact on not only his peers, but the next generation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Like all our previous honourees, Stephen is a brilliant example for how footy can be a vehicle for leadership and community good.
"This year’s Sir Doug Nicholls Round theme of ‘Past Legacies, Future Legends’ reflects the incredible contribution First Nations peoples have had on our game for generations, and Stephen’s contribution – like so many other great Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander footballers – is a true reflection of this."
Celebrating the legacy of her father Sir Doug Nicholls for the tenth season, Aunty Pam Pedersen OAM said the round was a proud moment for her family.
"It's a proud moment for our family to have my father recognised for his contribution to Australian Football for the 10th year as part of Sir Doug Nicholls Round," Aunty Pam said.
"I know dad would have been extremely humbled by the honour, so we’re looking forward to joining the AFL industry over the next two weeks to celebrate his legacy to the game."
More information
Sir Doug Nicholls:
Sir Doug Nicholls was a Yorta Yorta man born on Cummeragunja mission in New South Wales in 1906. He played VFL for Fitzroy in the 1930s before becoming a Pastor and leader for Aboriginal reconciliation in Australia. He went on to become the first Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander person to be knighted and hold the position of Governor of South Australia. 2025 will be the 19th year the AFL has held a dedicated round to celebrate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and the tenth year it has been named in honour of Pastor Sir Doug Nicholls.\
Stephen Michael:
A Noongar man from the Kojonup area in the Great Southern region of WA, Stephen Michael played 243 games and scored 231 goals for the South Fremantle Football Club between 1975 and 1985. Michael holds the WAFL record for the most consecutive league games, with 217 and is widely regarded as the best player never to have played in the VFL/AFL. He is the patron of the Stephen Michael Foundation, which delivers a range of school and community-based programs to at-risk and disengaged youth people across Western Australia.
Michael's playing achievements include:
- Sandover Medal 1980/81
- South Fremantle F&B 77, 78, 79, 81, 83;
- Simpson Medal 1983;
- Tassie Medal 1983;
- All Australian Captain 1983;
- Australian Football Hall of Fame 1999;
- WAFL Hall of Fame 2004;
- Australian Football Indigenous team of the Century 2005.
Club name changes:
A third of all AFL clubs will change their names to translations in Traditional Owner’s language across Sir Doug Nicholls Round.
- The Adelaide Crows will be known as Kuwarna (pronounced goo-wun-na) which is the Kaurna translation for the word ‘crows’
- Fremantle will be known as Walyalup (pronounced wul-yul-up) which is the Noongar name for the Fremantle region.
- Melbourne will be known as Narrm (pronounced na-arm) which derives from the Woi Wurrung language meaning Melbourne.
- Port Adelaide will be Yartapuulti (pronounced Yarta–pole-tee) comes from the Kaurna language meaning the land surrounding the Port River.
- St Kilda will be known as Euro-Yroke (pronounced yoo-roe yoo-roe-ck) which is the Boon Wurrung translation for ‘St Kilda’.
- The West Coast Eagles will be known as Waalitj Marawar (pronounced wah-litch mara-wah) which means 'Eagle of the West' in the local Noongar language.
Pronunciations of the club name changes can be accessed here.
Sherrin design:
For the second consecutive year, the match ball for the 2025 Sir Doug Nicholls Round has been designed by Ben Nabea Davis – a proud Torres Strait Islander man from Saibai and Waiben Islands who grew up in Maroubra, Sydney. The word ‘Sherrin’ will be replaced on one panel with Koethuka Kakur which is the Kala Kawaw Ya (Saibai Island dialect) translation for ‘ball’. Davis is a former AFL and VFL player and previously designed the Adelaide Crows’ 2021 AFL Sir Doug Nicholls Round guernsey. Click here for more info.
Ground signage:
Four of the League's valued partners – Toyota, Telstra, AAMI and rebel will donate their on-field company logos and be swapped for traditional Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander symbols and flags. The 2025 theme for the round “Past Legacies, Future Legends” will feature in lieu of the Toyota and Footy. Oh What a Feeling tagline and in place of the Toyota 3D logo will be the GO Foundation logo – a foundation established by former AFL greats Adam Goodes and Michael O’Loughlin. In place of Telstra's logo on the 50m arcs will be a traditional representation of Aboriginal men in an art context, the AAMI logo in the centre circle will be replaced by an Aboriginal symbol representing a gathering/a meeting place, while rebel's goal square branding will be swapped out for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags in each square.
Club guernseys:
Once again, all 18 AFL clubs will wear their own specifically designed Indigenous guernseys across Sir Doug Nicholls Round. Each club has worked closely with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists to design guernseys that tell stories of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people’s culture, history, traditions, and resilience. Click here for more info.
Umpire uniform design:
All AFL Umpires will wear uniforms celebrating Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures that have been designed by Noongar Wandandi Boodja man and AFL umpire, Joshua James. The artwork on the uniform is called 'Moorditj Koondarm which means "Strong Dreams" in Noongar language. It also includes the dreamtime story of James and the ambitions of Aboriginal people. Visit indigenous.afl for more information.
