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Dally M award winner surprised with emotional haka from teammates

<p>The Dally M award ceremony has ended in tears after the coveted award winner was surprised with an impromptu haka from his teammates. </p> <p>Melbourne Storm player and New Zealand native Jahrome Hughes took home the 2024 Dally M award, and at the end of the broadcast, watched on as his teammate Will Warbrick approached the stage.</p> <p>Warbrick then began performing the haka with his Storm teammate Eliesa Katoa and Canberra Raiders player Joseph Tapine joining in. </p> <p>Hughes was left with a tear in his eye as his Kiwi friends honoured his win. </p> <blockquote class="instagram-media" style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/reel/DAnvbqxBgDW/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"> </div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"> <div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style="width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;"> </div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" href="https://www.instagram.com/reel/DAnvbqxBgDW/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by NRL (@nrl)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p>“That meant a lot,” Hughes said after the award ceremony. “To see that brought a tear to my eye. For them to do that is truly special. For myself, my culture and family, it just topped off an awesome night."</p> <p>“It’s such a surreal feeling. I was nervous, I didn’t come with too much expectations, but when it got down to the wire I was really nervous."</p> <p>“To win this award is massive for myself. You look at the quality of players were have in the game, to be up there is a real honour. I am very humbled.”</p> <p>Warbrick said he was inspired to perform the haka for Hughes after witnessing similar scenes at the 2018 Dally M awards and wanted to follow suit. </p> <p>“I was a bit nervous. I just wanted to show my respect to Jahrome and acknowledge him,” Warbrick said. “We both have Maori culture, that’s what it’s all about."</p> <p>“It was just off the cuff, I’m glad a couple of boys jumped in with me to make it look better. Jahrome is an integral part of the Kiwis team. It was rightful to acknowledge him by doing the haka for him.”</p> <p><em>Image credits: Instagram </em></p>

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Māori tribe tells anti-vax protestors to stop using the Ka Mate haka

<p dir="ltr">Anti-vaccine protestors in New Zealand have adopted the Ka Mate haka and begun performing it at their rallies, and one Māori tribe has now told them in no uncertain terms to stop.</p> <p dir="ltr">The Ka Mate is a Māori haka composed around 1820 by Te Rauparaha, war leader of the Ngāti Toa tribe, and is the haka performed by the All Blacks at international rugby test matches. In response to it being co-opted by anti-vax protestors, the Ngāti Toa tribe has released a statement telling them they do not have the tribe’s support or permission to perform the dance.</p> <p dir="ltr">"We do not support their position and we do not want our tupuna [ancestors] or our iwi [tribe] associated with their messages. Our message to protesters who wish to use Ka Mate is to use a different haka. We do not endorse the use of Ka Mate for this purpose."</p> <p dir="ltr">New Zealand has one of the lowest COVID-19 rates in the world, but has struggled to fight off the highly infectious Delta variant this year, forcing Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern to move from her previous strategy of elimination through lockdowns to living with the virus with higher vaccination rates. She has set a goal of vaccinating 90 per cent of those eligible before ending lockdowns entirely, and so far, about 81 per cent of the eligible population has received two doses of the vaccine.</p> <p dir="ltr">Anti-vaxxers and the far-right have responded negatively to newly introduced vaccine mandates, and took to the streets in several cities around New Zealand last week in protest. Protestors were seen marching through Christchurch and Wellington bearing pro-Trump flags, New Zealand flags, English flags, and signs featuring Nazi swastikas. Some protestors bore signs making reference to QAnon, while some scrawled threats onto tennis balls and lobbed them at members of the press.</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr">Lots of balls thrown into the forecourt with messages. Mood of the protest has changed a bit too - lot of people up in our face saying we will get what’s coming to us etc <a href="https://t.co/gPD4oRAMu5">pic.twitter.com/gPD4oRAMu5</a></p> — henry cooke (@henrycooke) <a href="https://twitter.com/henrycooke/status/1457861367810064387?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 9, 2021</a></blockquote> <p dir="ltr">Following the introduction of vaccine mandates, Monday was the deadline for all education, disability, and health sector workers in New Zealand to have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image: Sanka Vidanagama/AFP via Getty Images</em></p>

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Ban the Haka? Rugby World Cup writer explains why it "needs to stop"

<p>An Irish rugby writer has made a call to ban the Haka, claiming that it gives New Zealand an “unfair advantage”.</p> <p>In an article for<span> </span><em><a rel="noopener" href="https://punditarena.com/rugby/emackenna/mackenna-haka-new-zealand-stop/" target="_blank">Pundit Arena</a></em>, Ewan MacKenna asked why officials are still “pandering to the dance”.</p> <p>“That’s unfortunate as New Zealand are justifiably big-headed enough without a massaging of their already massive egos,” MacKenna wrote.</p> <p>“Yet even World Rugby have it in their rules that to not stand on your own 10-metre line and watch a bunch stick out their tongues and slap their thighs is worthy of a fine and a telling off.”</p> <p>MacKenna continued explaining his reasoning, as it is an “attempt at opponent intimidation”.</p> <p>“There’s a practical reason why the Haka shouldn’t happen as, while it provides a psychological edge through self-inspiration and via an attempt at opponent intimidation, it also provides a small physical edge as others are forced to stand still and go briefly cold,” he wrote.</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en-gb"> <p dir="ltr">The first <a href="https://twitter.com/AllBlacks?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@AllBlacks</a> haka of <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/RWC2019?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#RWC2019</a>. <br /><br />New Zealand lay down the challenge to South Africa with intimidating haka <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NZLvRSA?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NZLvRSA</a> <a href="https://t.co/leGlK5NFSk">pic.twitter.com/leGlK5NFSk</a></p> — Rugby World Cup (@rugbyworldcup) <a href="https://twitter.com/rugbyworldcup/status/1175346576753143808?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">21 September 2019</a></blockquote> <p>“There’s another reason too though as there is a huge lack of self-awareness about this. Again there are those who’ll say it’s native and it is to some, but the majority of New Zealand players haven’t been Maori. Instead, they descend from forefathers who were actually ruthless oppressors of natives.”</p> <p>Brian Moore, a former England international, agreed that the Haka has grown tired.</p> <p>“I’m getting bored of the Haka now,” he wrote on Twitter.</p> <p>“It’s a part of wider Kiwi culture and very important in many different ways. Perform it if you want, but opposing sides and fans should be allowed to do what they want in response.”</p> <p>Scroll through the gallery to see the Haka being performed at the World Rugby Cup over the years.</p>

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