The Melbourne Storm have issued an official apology for the cancellation of the Welcome to Country that was set to be held before the club's Anzac Day clash earlier in the year.
Wurundjeri elder Aunty Joy Murphy was scheduled to perform the ceremony at the club's home venue on April 25, but it didn't end up going ahead with the Storm stating at the time that the "board had not approved for it to be held on Anzac Day".
“We were all just dumbfounded. We would dearly love to be out there, but they've broken our hearts,” Aunty Joy told The Age at the time.
“We want to rebuild our relationship. We want to make them (realise) that this was wrong, hurtful, deceitful and tokenistic.”
Ahead of the first week of the NRL's Indigenous Round, the Storm issued a statement formally apologising to the Wurundjeri community.
They also confirmed that an Acknowledgement of Country would take place before their match against the Brisbane Broncos on Thursday evening.
"Melbourne Storm has been in ongoing communication with members of the Wurundjeri community following the events on Anzac Day and has apologised to the individuals, groups, and communities involved," a statement from the Storm read.
"The club extends that apology to First Nations and Maori and Pasifika communities impacted."
