Jillaroos coach urges Indigenous pre-game ceremony

Fiji.

Australia's 30-14 semi-final win over Fiji set up a World Cup final against New Zealand's Kiwi Ferns, the fifth consecutive tournament in which the teams will contest the title.

Jillaroos coach Jess Skinner said the physical contest with Fiji would help prepare her side for Sunday's final.

"New Zealand will be physical just like the Fijian girls," Skinner said. "It definitely helps us prepare. There's a lot of learnings that we'll take from tonight and rebuild."

The Barkindji woman also wants Australian rugby league to introduce a pre-game ceremony honouring Indigenous culture, inspired by the heritage celebrations of Pacific teams.

"I'd love to be able to see it as a First Nations woman and as a proud Australian," she said.

"We have such beautiful, rich culture here, the longest living culture, but also really modern and diverse, so we're really proud of that."

Australia has seen Samoa perform its siva tau and Fiji sing a hymn, and will face New Zealand's haka in the final.

Skinner praised Fiji's storytelling and cultural expression throughout the tournament, while captain Isabelle Kelly called the Fijian hymn "beautiful".

"It was a strange feeling knowing you're about to come up against them as you're admiring everything that they're doing," Kelly said.

The Jillaroos display the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags beside the Australian flag during the national anthem, and sing a Torres Strait hymn privately on important occasions, Skinner said.

At the 2022 World Cup, Wiradjuri and Gunggandji man Josh Addo-Carr also backed a pre-game ceremony to honour Indigenous culture.

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