Within a week of the Melbourne Storm's interruption of ANZAC Day pre-match cultural protocols, the NRL has confirmed Welcome to Country ceremonies will remain on the Magic Round schedule in Meanjin this week.
Last Friday, the match between Melbourne and South Sydney went ahead without scheduled a Welcome to Country from senior Wurundjeri Elder Aunty Joy Murphy and traditional dance from Djirri Djirri after a decision to "boycott".
The change came after hecklers - allegedly led by a known neo-Nazi - shouted over Bunurong Elder Uncle Mark Brown's delivery of a Welcome to Country at a Naarm dawn service earlier in the day.
In a statement, the Storm said: "There was a miscommunication of expectations regarding the use of Welcome to Country at Melbourne Storm events throughout the year."
Aunty Joy and Djirri Djirri stated Storm chief executive Justin Rodski informed them the club board felt uncomfortable with the ceremonies taking place following day's earlier events.
"They were also "happy" for us to still dance to represent the "Welcome" but we were in shock and disbelief," they said in a co-released statement, adding a day of what would have been "pride" was turned to "pain".
"They came back after that discussion and apologised, but after reconsidering we all came to the decision to boycott. We strongly regard this as being totally tokenistic and goes completely against their journey of reconciliation and we feel very disrespected. We stand with and follow the directions of our staunch Elders," Aunty Joy and Djirri Djirri said.
"What we do isn't a performance, it's cultural ceremony and protocol. We strongly feel this action taken by Melbourne Storm was unnecessary and has caused us hurt and disbelief in what we thought was a good relationship."
It has been reported Storm co-owner Brett Ralph has contributed hundreds of thousands of dollars to vocal anti-Welcome to Country conservative political group Advance, former Advance Australia.
On Tuesday, the NRL confirmed: "We will continue with our usual practices which includes Welcome to Country for Women's State of Origin and the beginning of Magic Round"
"The protocols are an important part of the NRL's Reconciliation Action Plan," the league said, per reports.
More than half a dozen Indigenous players are included across the NSW and Queensland sides for Thursday's women's State of Origin series opener, including the two previous Dally M medallists Olivia Kernick and Tamika Upton.
A list of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander players will take the field across the NRL's Magic Round.
