Former Geelong star Mathew Stokes’ shock Welcome to Country reaction

The former Geelong forward and proud Aboriginal man has very strong feelings about “overdone” Welcome to Country ceremonies.

Former Geelong star and proud Aboriginal man Mathew Stokes has offered a surprise take on the ongoing furore over Welcome to Country ceremonies.

The issue has reared its head once again following Brendan Kerin’s controversial Welcome prior to last weekend’s AFL clash between GWS and Brisbane.

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Public figures including Pauline Hanson and ex-Collingwood skipper Tony Shaw have expressed their feelings on the tradition this week, with Hanson calling for the Welcome to Country practice to be scrapped.

Typically held before sporting and other events, the Welcome to Country ceremony is intended to welcome all visitors to the land they have gathered on.

They are not welcoming people to Australia itself, as Kerin tried to explain and is constantly misunderstood, deliberately or otherwise.

Matthew Stokes won two flags in his time with the Cats. (AAP Image/Julian Smith)

Either way they have become a divisive issue, as two-time AFL premiership winner Stokes noted in a column for The Age.

“Welcome to Country should be a beautiful, respectful ceremony that unites us as we reflect on Australia’s extraordinary history which stretches long before white settlement,” the 39-year-old wrote.

“Instead, it’s becoming divisive and, to be honest, I can understand why many people are confused by its purpose, as the AFL finals coverage broadcasts the ceremonies to millions of football fans.

“Unfortunately, that confusion is being used by some people with agendas as a vehicle to denigrate Aboriginal people and its culture, which is bad.

“However, there are enough voices both within the Aboriginal and white community expressing misgivings about what the Welcome to Country has become that a genuine debate about the ceremony would be useful.

“That can only happen if people can offer their opinion about Welcome to Country without being labelled as racist.”

Brendan Kerin's controversial Welcome to Country.

Small forward Stoked played 200 AFL matches and kicked 209 goals with the Cats and Bombers, retiring in 2016.

He admitted he wasn’t interested in Welcome to Country ceremonies during his playing days, writing he was focused on the match ahead.

He also said he felt “uncomfortable” at times during the ceremony, as “every eyeball turns to the Aboriginal person in those moments”.

Stokes believes the tradition has been “overdone which dilutes its effect” and added people are at the stadium to watch footy.

James Kelly, Steve Johnson and Matthew Stokes are chaired off after their last games for the Cats. Picture: Colleen Petch.

“I feel the moment is, in some instances, being used by people who take the chance, when speaking to more than a million people watching on television, to push their own views rather than a chance for all present to show respect for the deep history attached to the land on which the game is being played,” he said.

“The reality is, whether you like it or not, people are not there to watch Welcome to Country, they are there to watch a game of football.”

During Kerin’s Welcome at Engie Stadium, he added unique aspects to his speech including the ceremony was not “invented to cater for white people” and Aboriginal people have been conducting the ceremony “for 250,000 years-plus”.

He declared that time frame was “BC and the BC stands for Before Cook”, referencing explorer Captain James Cook.

Senator Pauline Hanson expressed strong views over the issue. Picture: NewsWire / Martin Ollman

On Monday, polarising One Nation senator Hanson penned a long post on X calling the ceremonies “racially divisive” and declaring her belief Australians are “sick and tired of them”.

Collingwood great Shaw also offered his take on the situation, swiping the AFL over both the Welcome to Country and the decision to fine Port coach Ken Hinkley $20,000 following his verbal stoush with Hawthorn players on Friday night.

“What a weak politically correct organisation the AFL is,” Shaw wrote on X last Sunday night.

“$20k fine for verbal taunts same as actual physical contact. The political (divisiveness) of welcome to country last night was embarrassing but any public rebuke?”

His comment about “physical contact” has widely been interpreted as a reference to Giants football boss Jason McCartney bumping into Sydney player Tom Papley.

The Giants were also fined $20,000 over that incident.

However, it is the comment about the Welcome to Country that raised the most eyebrows with his post flooded with comments supporting his position.