When players run onto the field tonight for the first match of the Indigenous round of the National Rugby League season, they will sing the national anthem as usual.

What comes next is believed to be an Australian sporting first.

The audio recording of an alternative national anthem, written by Judith Durham of The Seekers fame in 2009, will be played to the crowd, who can recite the words which will be displayed on the screens at the grounds.

Judith Durham's lyrics Australians let us stand as one, upon this sacred land. A new day dawns, we're moving on to trust and understand. Combine our ancient history and cultures everywhere, To bond together for all time, advance Australia fair. With loving hearts then let us sing, advance Australia fair. Australians let us all be one, with peace and harmony. Our precious water, soil and sun, grant life for you and me. Our land abounds in nature's gifts to love, respect and share, And honouring the Dreaming, advance Australia fair. With loving hearts then let us sing, advance Australia fair.

The initiative was months in the planning and pushed by Australian Rugby League Commissioner Chris Sarra, who is Indigenous.

"The lyrics reach out to Indigenous Australians and it reaches out to all Australians, old and new, in a way the current national anthem fails to do so," Mr Sarra said.

Gone are the words "we are young and free", replaced by "with peace and harmony".

"I don't feel particularly connected or included in what [the current anthem] speaks about," Mr Sarra said.

"I know as an Indigenous Australian, I am a descendant of the oldest continuing human existence on the planet. We are not young in that regard."

Alternative anthem gains support of Johnathan Thurston

Mr Sarra said the NRL was backing a push to start a conversation about an alternative anthem.

Johnathan Thurston said the alternative anthem was very multicultural. ( ABC News: Patrick Williams )

"We think as a game, we want to lead in this space and we have embraced diversity and want to give Australia a glimpse of what a positive, more inclusive future looks like," he said.

"Anyone who is content to leave people at the margins, they must be girt by ignorance and a lack of compassion."

But the NRL stopped short of having Judith Durham's version sung live this weekend and that has disappointed Mr Sarra.

"Personally I probably would have liked it sung. But I am wise enough to realise that this can be a tender issue for a lot of people," he said.

The alternative anthem has the support of the game's highest profile Indigenous star, Cowboys co-captain Johnathan Thurston.

The 2017 Indigenous round marks: The 50th anniversary of the 1967 referendum to enable the Commonwealth to make laws in support of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and to count them in the census

The 50th anniversary of the 1967 referendum to enable the Commonwealth to make laws in support of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and to count them in the census The 25th anniversary of the 1992 High Court Mabo decision that recognised native title for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples

"[It] acknowledges our history, the land, the Indigenous culture and also it acknowledges the Australia that we have today, which is very multicultural so I'm a fan of it."

Thurston said he had no problems with the current anthem.

"Obviously there are going to be a lot of people who are patriotic about the national anthem we have now but I think if people really read the lyrics and understand the lyrics then I think they'd be a fan of the new one as well," he said.

The artwork on the jerseys depicts some of the players family totems including turtles and sharks. ( Supplied: NRL )

Rugby League's role in the Indigenous community

Five Indigenous players have already made their debuts in the NRL this season.

At the elite level, their contribution is significant.

Indigenous players account for 21 per cent of State of Origin players and almost a quarter of the Kangaroos squad.

Thurston said the Indigenous round meant a lot to him.