An annual highlight on the AFL calendar, the Dreamtime at the ‘G has been a longstanding tradition since 2005, with the aim to recognise the contribution of all Indigenous players to Australian football.

Seven’s Dreamtime team will include three-time Brisbane Lions premiership player Chris Johnson and Indigenous games-record holder Shaun Burgoyne, alongside 10-time Dreamtime at the ‘G player, Jobe Watson, Luke Darcy and Jason Bennett.

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Fans can tune in to Seven’s coverage from 7.00pm AEST, for the pre-match ceremony which will include a Welcome to Country conducted by Wurundjeri Elder Uncle Colin Hunter Jnr, while the Essendon and Richmond Football Clubs each perform a Dreamtime ceremony dance.

The highly anticipated Dreamtime at the ‘G pre-match show will also feature a world-class lighting show that will celebrate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures through movement, sound, smoke and colour.
Proud Yorta Yorta/Wurundjeri man and Australian rapper, Briggs will narrate the cultural journey of the pre-match entertainment.

At half-time, Seven’s Chris Johnson will sit down with this year’s Sir Doug Nicholls Round honouree, Sonny Morey – a proud Eastern Arrernte man who played 213 games with Central District Football Club and was a 2023 inductee in the SANFL Hall of Fame.

Over an action-packed four days, football’s #1 commentary team will travel across the country to broadcast the following Round 11 matches live and free on Seven:

• Thursday, 23 May: Western Bulldogs v Sydney Swans at Marvel Stadium, 7.00pm AEST live on Channel 7 and 7mate
• Friday, 24 May: Walyalup (Fremantle) v Collingwood at Optus Stadium, 7.30pm AEST live on Channel 7 and 7mate
• Saturday, 25 May: Dreamtime at the ‘G Richmond v Essendon, 7.00pm AEST live on Channel 7 and 7mate
• Sunday, 26 May: Narrm (Melbourne) v Euro-Yroke (St Kilda) at the MCG, 2.30pm live on Channel 7

Fans in New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia can also watch every game involving teams from their home states live and free.

To mark the Round, fans can tune into the 7plus AFL hub for archival content celebrating the most iconic moments of previous Sir Doug Nicholls Rounds.

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Before the on-field action kicks off, everyone’s favourite footy show The Front Bar will return at 9.00pm tonight on Channel 7 and 7plus, where resident hosts Andy Maher, Mick Molloy and Sam Pang will be joined by a cavalcade of the game’s greatest Indigenous players including Michael Long, Leon Davis, Michael O’Loughlin and Derek Kickett.

Following The Front Bar, footy fans will be in for a treat, when West Coast livewire Harley Reid joins Talking Footy for a rare interview, following his unbelievable performance against Narrm in Round 10.

Hosts James Brayshaw, Trent Cotchin, Joel Selwood and Tim Watson will speak to the competition’s most exciting first-year player about his meteoric rise to fame, ongoing contract negotiations and his thoughts on the future success of Waalitj Marawar (West Coast Eagles) with the current crop of young stars.

7AFL commentator and three-time premiership player for the Brisbane Lions, Chris Johnson shared the personal significance of Sir Doug Nicholls Round:

“Sir Doug Nicholls Round means a lot to me,” he said. “It presents a perfect time to reflect on how far the entire industry has come in embracing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and encouraging players to be proud of their cultural background.

“When I was playing, we were only able to lead our teams out onto the field for Indigenous Round.”

“Now, we see the whole competition embracing our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander players when they share their entire cultural experience with their clubs, teammates, and fans. We’ve come a long way.”

“Being able to be part of Seven’s Dreamtime coverage again is an honour. As a player, I always looked on fondly from Brisbane and felt a bit jealous of those two teams having the big spectacle at the ‘G, so I never take the opportunity for granted, now that I can be involved from an off-field perspective.”

Six AFL clubs have swapped their club’s name for traditional in-language names across Sir Doug Nicholls Round, including:
• Melbourne: Narrm (pronounced na-arm)
• Fremantle: Walyalup (pronounced wul-yul-up)
• Port Adelaide: Yartapuulti (pronounced Yarta–pole-tee)
• St Kilda: Euro-Yroke (pronounced yoo-roe yoo-roe-ck)
• Adelaide: Kuwarna (pronounced goo-wun-na)
• West Coast Eagles: Waalitj Marawar (pronounced wah-litch mara-wah)

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Throughout Rounds 10 and 11, all 18 AFL clubs will wear specially designed SDNR jumpers, while all AFL Umpires will wear dedicated uniforms celebrating Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures.

The 2024 season marks the 18th year the AFL has held the dedicated round and the ninth year it has been named in honour of Sir Doug Nicholls.

Sir Doug Nicholls Round continues, check your local TV guide for broadcast times across Channel 7, 7Plus, and 7Mate

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