The Indigenous All Stars' brilliant backline stole the show as they ran out 22-14 winners over the Māori All Stars on Friday night in Townsville.
Prolific Bulldogs wing Josh Addo-Carr struck twice inside the opening 20 minutes, before local fan favourite Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow added another just before the half-time break in Townsville, to set the Indigenous up for back-to-back NRL Harvey Norman All Stars victories for the first time since the concept changed to include the Māori in 2019.
A fourth try from Titans flyer Alofiana Khan-Pereira inside the final 10 minutes put the icing on the cake, in front of a crowd of 15,369 at Queensland Country Bank Stadium.
Five-eighth Braydon Trindall was awarded the Preston Campbell Medal for his performance, which included setting up two of his side's four tries and kicking for 226 metres, in what was a strong halves partnership with club teammate Nicho Hynes.
As is often the case in these games which are powered by cultural pride and emotion, both teams raced out of the gates, with Joseph Tapine opening the scoring and Josh Addo-Carr replying with one of his own, inside the opening seven minutes.
Joseph Tapine Try
But constant rain meant the execution often didn't match the enthusiasm in a first half which saw a combined 11 errors made.
While the Māori managed only to add further two points via a penalty, Addo-Carr's second – which came after he pressured Jesse Arthars into a spill while retrieving a grubber on his own line – and Tabuai-Fidow's effort after he glided past the chasers to a loose ball, gave the hosts a 16-8 lead at the break.
The 2024 Indigenous All Stars War Cry
After Jack Howarth came close to scoring a try on debut for the Māori minutes into the second quarter, but for the Bunker finding double movement, the visitors were guilty of wasting further chances to add points which included a clean drop from Matthew Timoko over the try-line on 54 minutes.
Following Khan-Pereira's try which put the result beyond doubt, Xavier Willison capped a fine performance with a consolation four-pointer on the full-time siren.
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Match Snapshot
- With the win the Indigenous become the first team to win back-to-back All Stars matches since the Māori were introduced to the concept in 2019. It comes after their 28-24 win in Rotorua in 2023.
- In his sixth All Stars match, Josh Kerr contributed a team-high 115 metres for the Indigenous, while for the Māori Joseph Tapine led the way with 121 metres.
The 2024 Māori All Stars Haka
- The Indigenous won despite having only 43 percent of the ball and making 12 errors to the Māori's nine.
- Māori co-captains Briton Nikora and Joseph Tapine each made 28 tackles.
Play of the Game
Sometimes there is just no answer for pure pace in rugby league. After Braydon Trindall drilled a grubber in behind the line, short of committing a professional foul the Māori chase could do little to stop the try after Hamiso Tabuai-Fidown blitzed past them to the ball.
Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow Try
What They Said
"Over the last two years we have totally reinvented this camp and what it means to be an All Star... from day one we spoke about how this program would be etched in history and I think moving forward that's something that we are going to do long term." – Indigenous All Stars coach Ronnie Griffiths.
Indigenous All Stars: 2024
"It's a bit of an introduction to coaching [for me], isn't it? Although I'm disappointed for us as a group, the winner on the day is rugby league and also the people and the culture. There were moments throughout that game that we had our opportunities, we built enough pressure, but you have got to give credit to the Indigenous boys, they scrambled well." – Māori All Stars Men's coach Adam Blair.
Maori All Stars: 2024