The NRL has defended its decision to scrap and then reinstate the national anthem for Wednesday’s State of Origin opener in Adelaide after an intervention from Prime Minister Scott Morrison.
Barely two hours after the decision was announced to axe the anthem from the pre-match ceremony, the ARLC chairman Peter V’landys bowed to a backlash and reinstated it.
NRL chief executive Andrew Abdo said there had been discussions across various forums in the short time after the decision was made public, while pressure also came from Mr Morrison.
“There’s been numerous discussion forums across the…
