Adelaide Crows and West Coast announce name change for upcoming Sir Doug Nicholls Round 

Adelaide Crows and West Coast Eagles have joined the ranks of teams changing their names for the upcoming Sir Doug Nicholls Indigenous Round. In recent years, teams including Fremantle, Port Adelaide, and Melbourne have changed their names for the round, and in 2024, the tradition continues, with West Coast Eagles and Adelaide Crows also deciding to change their names for the round.

The Crows have announced they will be renaming their team to Kuwarna, while the Eagles' new name will be Waalitj Marawar, which means "Eagle of West" in Noongar language. It is important to note that the teams will be called by their new names in Rounds 10 and 11 of the 2024 AFL Season.

Before this, Fremantle changed their name to Walyalup, Port Adelaide to Yartapuulti, and Melbourne to Naarm for the Sir Doug Nicholls Round in the last few years.

Meanwhile, in Round 9, West Coast Eagles will face Collingwood on May 12, while Crows will compete against Brisbane Lions on the same day. In Round 8, the Crows played against Port Adelaide and emerged victorious, but the West Coast Eagles had a disappointing outing. They suffered a loss by six points in a match against Essendon.

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Adelaide Crows star player praises the name change

The Adelaide Crows defender Wayne Milera celebrated the decision to change the name of the team for a round. He appreciated the team's decision and praised it for promoting indigenous culture.

The Crows' star player said it was a big moment for them. Speaking about the name change of his team for the Sir Doug Nicholls Round, Milera said (via AFL):

“It shows the Club is on board with celebrating Indigenous culture and us as people, so it’s a pretty big and proud moment and continues what is already a broader celebration of Sir Doug Nicholls Round."

Adelaide Crows have been struggling with their game so far in the 2024 AFL Season. They started the season with a defeat against Gold Coast and then again lost a match against Geelong in the second round.

Adelaide lost their first four matches in a row before winning a match against Carlton in Round 5. However, in the next round, Essendon Bombers defeated them by three points. However, Adelaide Crows bounced back strongly in Round 8 when they defeated Port Adelaide by 78-48.