Sir Doug Nicholls Round is a special occasion for all involved, not least the Indigenous players that form an integral part of not only North Melbourne Football Club, but the AFL.

This year the Kangaroos will run out wearing the 'Marram' jumper, designed by Ky-ya Nicholson Ward - a proud Wurundjeri and Dja Dja Wurrung woman.

Ahead of North Melbourne's clash with Narrm (Melbourne), North Media sat down with each of the AFL team's seven Indigenous players to discuss their culture and what Sir Doug Nicholls Round means to them.

3. Jed Anderson

... on his Indigenous heritage
"My grandfather, Jimmy Anderson, is from the Warramunga tribe outside of Tanner Creek. It was Phillips Creek where he was taken as a young child and moved up to Darwin. That's my family background from my grandfather and that's been passed onto my father and then to myself now. My dad passed our culture onto me and took me out to do all the things I grew up doing, things like fishing, hunting, just teaching me the skills to live off the land. It's special to be able to do those things with my kids and just incorporate what it means to me to pass it onto them, and what their culture and heritage is and how strongly I can build that into them. Being able to pass that down is very special to me."

... on Sir Doug Nicholls Round
"It's very special to be able to play in this round. It's emotional but it's a small part in a bigger community. It's not just special for me and my family, but for all the families of the boys playing. We really pick this round out early on in the season, it's something we really look forward to."

... on North Melbourne's 2022 Indigenous jumper - 'Marram'
"We were all involved pretty heavily with the jumper just about the whole way through. Ky-ya has done an amazing job with the input we've given her. The design has a lot to do with connection, the kangaroo and what it means to us and everyone at the footy club and the supporters. To put that in a jumper we can wear feels really special and we want all the boys to feel like it's their jumper, not just us Indigenous boys. The whole club together, it's their jumper."

6. Jason Horne-Francis

... on his heritage
"I've been pretty late to know I'm from an Indigenous background. Having my step-dad around I've been following his Indigenous background and his heritage. He's a Torres Strait Islander and he's Indigenous as well. I'm still learning a lot of things but I'm keen to begin that process and learn more about myself and that culture."

... on Sir Doug Nicholls Round
"It's really exciting. I think all of us Indigenous boys are really excited for the occasion and to be able to pull on the jumper. Ky-ya has made a really good jumper for us and the whole group is really excited to run out in it. All the other boys have really embraced the jumper and the occasion which has been great."

... on North Melbourne's 2022 Indigenous jumper - 'Marram'
"The jumper looks amazing on the eye and I can't wait to run out in it. It's a special game for us all that's been marked by a special jumper. Like I said, I can't wait to run out wearing it."

12. Jy Simpkin

... on his heritage
"I grew up in Mooroopna, that's Yorta Yorta country. Growing up my culture was always a massive part of my life, my nan being Indigenous and growing up there she passed that through to my mum who's passed it down to me. It's always been pushed as a really strong part of my life, so my heritage is a massive part of who I am."

... on Sir Doug Nicholls Round
"It's always a very special round to play in. You get a chance to represent your family, your culture, where you're from, and it also helps start that conversation for young non-Indigenous kids and families. Having Sir Doug Nicholls Round really helps to spark those questions about what it actually means and what Indigenous culture is. Hopefully the wider community can learn and help grow our culture because it is one of the oldest living cultures in the world."

... on North Melbourne's 2022 Indigenous jumper - 'Marram'
"Obviously Ky-ya has done an awesome job this year. I love the way she's put the whole club, all the people, players, staff, female players, just everyone involved in the club on the jumper. The kangaroo symbolising moving forward into the future and, as she described when she went through the jumper, the kangaroo physically can't move backwards, so it's a great symbol of us moving forward and looking towards the future."

26. Tarryn Thomas

... on his heritage
"When I was a teenager Dad sat me down and took me through where he's from in Tassie, Burnie on Lumarantana land. We spoke through our heritage there which was amazing to know. My mum's side is out west of Sydney, out Doonside way on Kamilaroi land, out near the bush there. It means so much to me and my family to know what my ancestors went through and everything around that. It just means so much more to be able to represent my family and my ancestors."

... on Sir Doug Nicholls Round
"I'm super proud to wear a piece that several of the boys helped to build. I'm very proud to wear that this year and I'm excited to run out with all my brothers and represent my family and everything they've been through. It'll be a proud moment that I'll cherish forever."

... on North Melbourne's 2022 Indigenous jumper - 'Marram'
"I think this year's jumper is one of my favourites. Ky-ya has done an amazing job designing it and full credit to our boys for embedding their background and lineage into the jumper. I really love it."

36. Phoenix Spicer

... on his heritage
"I'm originally from the Northern Territory, east of Arnhem Land. I used to live in a community called Numbulwar and the language we speak up there is Nunggubuyu. I wasn't really old enough to really do much cultural stuff when I was up there because when I was at that age I moved to Darwin and then Adelaide, so I wasn't able to do much of that when I was younger. I've lost a bit of connection in terms of I used to speak my language and I didn't speak much English, but English sort of took over a little bit more. This off-season I'm looking to go back there. When I was in Adelaide I was struggling to go back home and see family and stay connected with them. Financially it was a difficult thing to do. Being in the AFL gives me an opportunity to go home and reconnect with my family and culture. I'm lucky because my culture is still around. Not everybody can go back to their cultures and learn about it but I can which is something I'm really grateful for."

... on Sir Doug Nicholls Round
"It can have a lot of impact on a lot of people. People think all Aboriginal cultures are the same but they're all so different, not everyone knows that. When it comes to Indigenous Round there's always new stories about the different jumpers, no story is ever the same. We all come from different backgrounds. Just because we're all Aboriginal doesn't mean we're all the same. It's good to remind people we're all pretty different."

... on North Melbourne's 2022 Indigenous jumper - 'Marram'
"I think it's a really good story. The thing that stood out to me is how different a lot of the art is. A lot of the boys learnt about that too because people think Indigenous art is a lot of dot painting, so that's a bit different. It'll be great for the Indigenous boys to go out and represent the jumper and the club, but the non-Indigenous boys too."

37. Kyron Hayden

... on his heritage
"I'm a Whadjok Balardong Noonga man, my nan is from a couple of hours south-west of Perth and my pop is from a couple of hours north-east of Perth. For me, I grew up living off the land, going camping, catching freshwater crayfish and hunting kangaroos. I speak a little bit of the language, but not too much. Just learning how to live off the land and experiencing my culture through stories is how I learnt about it. When I moved to Melbourne it was a pretty big change. Aboriginal culture isn't so prevalent here and you have to go searching for it a little bit more, so I felt a little bit lost sometimes but the club's been really great at including us and our culture. We've still got opportunities to share and express our culture which is something I really enjoy doing."

... on Sir Doug Nicholls Round
"This is actually my first Indigenous Round. I'm really, really pumped. I get to represent my culture, I get to represent my family and I get to represent my community back home. It's a really special round, it's a round dedicated just to our culture and it's something I'm really proud of and it's something I've always wanted to do. It's probably my favourite round of the year so I'm really keen to go out and put my best foot forward. We had the dance today, we've had guest speakers coming in to share their stories, even us boys have been sharing our stories with the wider playing group and the coaching staff, it's been a brilliant week."

... on North Melbourne's 2022 Indigenous jumper - 'Marram'
"It looks amazing. Ky-ya has done a great job. I love the symbolism of the kangaroo and the emu prints as they can only move forward. I think she did a really great job and I love how she's included both the male and the female playing groups."

41. Matt McGuinness

... on his heritage
"I didn't actually find out about my Indigenous background until I was in my early high school years, from memory I think I was in year eight, I was around 14 or 15 years old. I remember speaking to my mum about it and she told me we go back a long way in our family, I think it's my fourth great nan who's a pretty well known Tasmanian Aboriginal woman named Fanny Cochrane Smith. I'm from north-eastern Tasmania and I originate from the tribe named Pinterrairer. Guys like Jed have a lot more knowledge of the culture and his background compared to someone like me or Jason (Horne-Francis) who are still learning and don't have a whole lot of knowledge. It's very interesting to find out more and I'm excited to look more into my background in the future."

... on Sir Doug Nicholls Round
"It means a lot. It was good to have Ky-ya come in the other day and let everyone know what it means. Her explaining it means a lot because not everyone at the club would have known what the jumper is about and what it means. It was great to hear her tell everyone and tell our stories, and it's great to bring the Indigenous community together in this round and celebrate everyone's stories around all 18 clubs guernseys, it's pretty special."

... on North Melbourne's 2022 Indigenous jumper - 'Marram'
"It's amazing. Back in the off-season we were putting in a fair bit of work into it to come up with the idea. We worked with the AFLW team to put together a bit of a concept around coming together as one and the club coming together as one. On the jumper you can see the women and men coming together and I think that's important. It looks amazing and it's a pretty cool jumper. She's done a really good job and it means a lot."