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The Australian Indigenous and New Zealand Maori All-Stars teams have performed traditional war dances before their match on the Gold Coast on Saturday.
Both Advance Australia Fair and God Defend New Zealand were conspicuously absent from the lead-up to the game after protests from players.
A didgeridoo was played by Preston Campbell, founder of the All-Stars game, and a minute of silence held in honour of the stolen generation.
The Maori team then performed the traditional haka — which was followed by an Indigenous Australian war dance.
Indigenous All-Stars player Latrell Mitchell leads the Australian team’s traditional war dance ahead of Saturday’s game
Joel Thompson the Indigenous All-Stars captain leads the team onto the field with nine-year-old Quaden Bayles at CBUS stadium on The Gold Coast
Traditional Moari dancers performed alongside the team before the game on Saturday night on the Gold Coast
The Indigenous All-Stars team stood shoulder to shoulder as the Maori team performed their traditional war dance at the opposite end of the field
Adam Blair of the Maori All-Stars performs a Haka during the NRL match between the Indigenous All-Stars and the New Zealand Maori All-Stars at Cbus Super Stadium on February 22, 2020
The pair of impressive ceremonial dances lit up social media with many commenting on the performances.
‘Absolute chills,’ said one person.
‘The emotion was absolutely spectacular,’ another said.
‘This beats any anthems hands down,’ a third added.
The Indigenous All-Stars were defeated by the Maori All-Stars 30-16 in front of more than 20,000 fans.
NRL star Latrell Mitchell is among a group of players to have reportedly forced the national anthem to be scrapped from the game.
Mitchell has become one of the main driving forces behind the push to stop Advance Australia Fair being played and refused to sing it at last year’s event.
The 22-year-old’s South Sydney Rabbitohs teammate Cody Walker said at the time the anthem ‘doesn’t represent me and my family’.
The ARL Commission scrapped the anthem under advice from the indigenous advisory council ahead of the annual celebration of the league’s Aboriginal and Maori players on the Gold Coast.
Mitchell himself is hoping to be in peak fitness for the game, having started his NRL pre-season late after signing with the Rabbitohs.
At least six indigenous players also refused to sing the national anthem during last year’s State of Origin series.
There is reportedly no desire though for the anthem to be removed from the 2020 State of Origin pregames, with the issue confined to the indigenous-centered All Stars game.
Maori All Stars forward Adam Blair said while he was always proud to sing New Zealand’s anthem, he understood the concerns of Indigenous players.
‘They’ve made a stance to go through the right process to take the anthem away from the game,’ Blair told AAP.
Both Advance Australia Fair and God Defend New Zealand were conspicuously absent from the lead-up to the game after protests from players
Maori All Stars forward Adam Blair said while he was always proud to sing New Zealand’s anthem, he understood the concerns of Indigenous players
‘If that’s what they truly believe in, then that’s up to them.’
Earlier this month Mitchell posted a tribute to his Aboriginal heritage on his Instagram page.
In a powerful photograph accompanying the message, gamepkv Mitchell was pictured stood in front of a darkened sky wearing a T-shirt bearing the Aboriginal flag.
‘Being Aboriginal is not the colour of your skin or how broad your nose is,’ Mitchell wrote in the Instagram post shared on Wednesday afternoon.
Josh Addo-Carr of the Indigenous All-Stars before the NRL match between the Indigenous All-Stars and the New Zealand Maori Kiwis All-Stars at Cbus Super Stadium on February 22, 2020
Mitchell shared an impassioned tribute to his Aboriginal culture alongside a photo (pictured) of him wearing a T-shirt bearing the indigenous flag.A day later, the ARL Commission is expected to scrap Advance Australia Fair from the All Stars game on February 22
‘It is a spiritual feeling — an identity you know in your heart. It is a unique feeling that is difficult for non-Aboriginals to fully understand.’
Last year, Mitchell suffered abuse at the hands of a troll who called him a racial slur on Facebook.
Mitchell called the troll out, saying racism had no place in Australia.
He officially left the Sydney Roosters and signed with bitter rivals Souths on January 13.
It’s understood the dual premiership winner has penned a deal for $600,000 this year and $800,000 for 2021, should the Rabbitohs exercise an option to renew his contract.
Social media was flooded with positive comments about the traditional dances before the All-Stars NRL match
NRL star Latrell Mitchell is among a group of players to have reportedly forced the national anthem to be scrapped from the game