Alternative national anthem planned for NRL's Indigenous round

Players from each NRL club pose for a group photograph wearing their specially designed Indigenous jerseys ahead of the NRL’s Indigenous round. Photograph: David Moir/AAP

NRL’s 2017 NRL Indigenous round will open with the recital of an alternative national anthem following the singing of Advance Australia Fair at ANZ Stadium.

The NRL has pushed to introduce Judith Durham’s re-worked national anthem during each game of the round, which begins on Thursday with the Canterbury Bulldogs taking on the North Queensland Cowboys in Sydney.

Durham, the lead singer of the Seekers, penned her lyrics in 2009, changing certain lines to make the song more inclusive and relevant to Indigenous Australians.

Australia's alternative national anthem

The words “young and free” are replaced by “peace and harmony” while “our land abounds in nature’s gifts of beauty rich and rare” is changed to “our land abounds in nature’s gifts to love, respect and share”.

In the second verse, reference is made to “this sacred land” and the new lyrics call to “combine our ancient history and cultures everywhere”.

The new version will be presented in verse form, spoken by Durham in a one-minute pre-recorded clip which will be shown on the stadium’s big screens. The crowd will be invited to recite the lines with Durham.

Chris Sarra, a proud Aboriginal man and an Australian Rugby League Commissioner, worked with the NRL on the initiative and said it was important to raise issues of national identity in this way.

“We wanted to gently give the country a little nudge,” Sarra told Guardian Australia. “We want to show there is an alternative future with an anthem that is more inclusive than the current one.

“The NRL takes pride in its inclusivity and we take that seriously. We want to reach out Indigenous Australians and new Australians and unite all of us so that we can stand together.

“We’re not out to upset people. We just want to start a conversation.”

The idea has received the backing of Johnathan Thurston, the game’s most high-profile Indigenous player. While the Cowboys star will not be on the ANZ Stadium pitch on Thursday night due to injury, his team-mates, along with – for the first time – every other player during round 10, will wear Indigenous-inspired commemorative jerseys.