AFL’s Demons announce name change for upcoming Sir Doug Nicholls Round

Melbourne has announced it will undergo a rebrand in honour of Sir Doug Nicholls Round and AFLW Indigenous Round.

The Melbourne Football Club will rebrand as the Narrm Football Club for Sir Doug Nicholls Round, the AFL’s annual round devoted to celebrating Indigenous history and culture.

The Demons have spent two years working on the rebrand and are hoping by changing their name to Narrm, the word for Melbourne in the local Woi Wurrung language, fans will be encouraged to have conversations about Indigenous history.

As part of the initiative, the Demons have introduced a new logo that will feature in broadcast, on merchandise and online in rounds 10 and 11 as well as in the next AFLW season.

Melbourne intends to continue playing as Narrm in future AFL seasons.

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All-Australian defender and Gunbalanya and Larrakia man Steven May threw his support behind the name change on Monday.

“It’s something I never really thought was going to happen,” the Premiership Demon said.

“Extremely proud, is probably the first word that comes to mind. Just to be recognised during those two rounds is always special for our friends and family back home.

“We get to wear the Indigenous guernsey and now to be called an Indigenous name like Narrm for a couple of weeks I think is really special. It’s a great initiative by the footy club.”

Some of Melbourne’s most popular players are Indigenous, including Steven May (pictured) and Kysaiah Pickett. (Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)

The Demons’ announcement coincides with the unveiling of the club’s 2022 Indigenous guernsey.

Indigenous artist Ky-ya Nicholson Ward took inspiration from Indigenous Dreamtime stories in designing the guernsey.

The design features Mindi, a devil snake in Wurundjeri culture, as a nod to Melbourne’s nickname of “The Demons”.

The back of the guernsey features the name of every Indigenous player to represent the Demons at either AFL or AFLW level.

“Extremely humbled to have designed (Melbourne’s) Indigenous Guernsey for Sir Doug Nicholls Round,” Ward wrote on Instagram.

“Thank you to everyone for the support.”

The 2022 Indigenous guernsey looks special! pic.twitter.com/pxrS6v7Bbn

— Melbourne Footy (@MelbourneFooty) May 2, 2022

Melbourne chief executive Gary Pert said he was proud to introduce Narrm Football Club to the AFL community.

“Today is an exciting day as we announce Narrm Football Club to our members, supporters and the wider football community,” he said.

“We have a rich Indigenous club history at Melbourne, from welcoming our first Indigenous player, Eddie Jackson, in 1947, to launching our second Innovate Reconciliation Action Plan earlier this year.

“It’s exciting to be building on this and taking a step further on our own journey, while bringing our fans along with us.

“Our vision for reconciliation is, through AFL, to unite Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples with non-Indigenous people, to understand and embrace history, culture and community.

“We hope with the Narrm Football Club initiative, we can continue to do just that and work towards a fully reconciled Australia.”

The Demons’ premiership defence is off to a brilliant start. Picture: Dylan Burns/AFL Photos via Getty Images

The Demons sit a game clear atop the AFL ladder after seven rounds and are the undisputed heavyweights of the season so far.

They face St Kilda, one of the surprise improvers of 2022, for the chance to stretch their unbeaten run to eight on Sunday.

Originally published as AFL’s Demons announce name change for upcoming Sir Doug Nicholls Round