NRL rules out Pride round in 2023 as players boycott multicultural launch

The NRL will not introduce a Pride round this season after opting to stick with the same themed rounds as in the 2022 calendar.

NRL officials launched the first of their specialist rounds on Tuesday, with a multicultural event at Belmore attended by several schools and a number of Canterbury greats.

Themed rounds did not appear on the draw when it was announced last November, with ARL Commission chairman Peter V’landys reserving the right to add them before the start of the season.

The topic of a Pride round remains a difficult one for the league, after seven Manly players boycotted the club’s rainbow jersey during women in league round last year.

At the time, Manly owner Scott Penn called on the NRL to introduce a league-wide Pride round, with the club having since confirmed they will not go it alone with a rainbow strip this year.

The NRL has since weighed up the possibility of a Respect round, with an initiative that would be accepting of the views of all. But sources close to the situation have now confirmed the NRL will stick with the same themes as last year, and will not add any new ones to this year’s calendar.

When asked about the issue, the NRL chief executive, Andrew Abdo, said the league’s calendar was now set for 2023.

“We are dealing with the themed rounds as we go through the season. We’re not expecting to make any changes,” Abdo said. “Our focus now is on multicultural round, and you will see the other rounds unfold as we move through the season.”

It means the NRL will stick with a multicultural, Indigenous, women’s, Anzac and brain cancer round in 2023.

NRL players were notably absent from Tuesday’s Multicultural round launch, as part of their ongoing boycott of NRL events. Several items are still yet to