Proud chairperson David Sinclair made the well received announcement at Wednesday night's season launch.

"It's something that needed to happen in the O and M," he suggested.

"There's not too many football leagues around now that don't have an Indigenous Round.

"Some of our clubs have been dabbling in it and it won't be encumbered on every club to wear an Indigenous designed jumper, but we're hoping that each club will be able to do that."

Sinclair added that a Welcome to Country will be performed prior to the start of the five matches in round 12 on July 9.

That will coincide with NAIDOC Week, which celebrates the history and culture of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

One of the league's Indigenous players was the catalyst for its introduction.

"We've been working with Dean Heta from the Albury Tigers on how we, as a community competition, can celebrate Indigenous players, supporters and club members," O and M general manager Craig Millar offered.

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"Dean's been a great person to navigate through these discussions, and we're proud that we're going to host an official round that will acknowledge the contribution that Indigenous Australians have made, not just to the game, but to our local communities."

Heta was the inspiration behind the Indigenous game between Albury and North Albury last season.

The pair will meet again, along with another local derby in Wodonga-Wodonga Raiders.

IN OTHER NEWS

The buzz ahead of the April 2 round is unrivalled, given the star signings and COVID 'bounce back' factor.

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