It’s been four-and-a-half months since any competitive rugby league has been played on Australian soil. The wait will be over this Saturday night.
The NRL All-Stars go head to head with the Indigenous All-Stars in the annual All Stars Match, a match which serves as the main prelude to the upcoming NRL season.
After three years on the Gold Coast, this year’s match has been transferred to Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium, where further damage was avoided despite the floods that have engulfed Brisbane recently.
After the Indigenous boys took out the inaugural match in 2010, the NRL All-Stars have had bragging rights as of recent, winning in 2011 and last year.
This will be the first official rugby league match played in Australia in the post-David Gallop era. And here’s hoping the new era of rugby league in Australia will be a relatively controversy-free one, after the salary cap controversies involving the Bulldogs and the Melbourne Storm in the last decade, the Brett Stewart saga in 2009 and Sonny Bill Williams dramatically leaving Belmore in 2008.
The NRL All-Stars backline is one of the strongest I have seen in recent years. The Morris brothers, a former Dally M Medallist and two dangerous back men in Akuila Uate and Shaun Kenny-Dowall, who shared the top try-scoring honours in 2010.
Benji Marshall and Adam Reynolds should form a dangerous halves pairing, though this will be Reynolds’ first representation in the All-Stars match and his first match since a hamstring injury destroyed the Rabbitohs’ dreams of advancing to the grand final last September.
Paul Gallen, one of the hardest workers in rugby league, locks a scrum behind a forward pack which features James Tamou, Ben Hannant and Ashley Harrison, all of whom have been represented in State of Origin.
Their interchange bench features key players, such as Robbie Farah, David Shilligton, Kieran Foran and Shaun Johnson. This is a very good side the fans have assembled.
The Indigenous All-Stars backline is headed by no other than last year’s Dally M Medallist, Ben Barba. He is being talked up for a possible State of Origin debut for Queensland this season, so this is his chance to prove that he can perform in big matches.
Greg Inglis won’t be out of position in the centres, where he learnt his trade at Melbourne before last year’s sensational switch to fullback sparked the Rabbitohs’ best season since 1989.
Johnathan Thurston and Scott Prince have proven to be a successful halves pairing before, as evidenced in the 2008 State of Origin series when they played two matches together for two wins.
However their forward pack isn’t as strong, even though Greg Bird is the key player in the second row. Travis Waddell, who is being pursued by the Newcastle Knights, will have a hard time marking All-Stars hooker Cameron Smith.
Timana Tahu will be an impact off the bench, so whenever Greg Inglis or Justin Hodges need to be rested during the match, Tahu can take their place and wreak some havoc on the field.
On paper, the All-Stars have the stronger team, but the Indigenous All-Stars should not be counted out, especially when you consider it features Greg Inglis, Johnathan Thurston and Justin Hodges, all of whom have featured prominently during Queensland’s endless State of Origin dominance.
Also this will be Ben Barba’s chance to prove that he can play with these three players in the same side, because he won’t get an opportunity to play in the same side as them unless he is picked for Queensland for this year’s Origin.
The two backlines are evenly matched, but I think the All-Stars forward pack is much stronger given it features both of the Origin captains (Smith and Gallen), as well as the most explosive prop in the game today (James Tamou). Also the All-Stars interchange features players that have played in the big time before, and will expect to do so in this match.
Prediction: All-Stars by 12 points.
NRL All-Stars (as voted by the public):
1. Jarryd Hayne (Parramatta)
2. Akuila Uate (Newcastle)
3. Shaun Kenny-Dowall (Sydney Roosters)
4. Josh Morris (Bulldogs)
5. Brett Morris (St. George Illawarra)
6. Benji Marshall (Wests Tigers, captain)
7. Adam Reynolds (South Sydney)
8. James Tamou (North Queensland)
9. Cameron Smith (Melbourne)
10. Ben Hannant (Brisbane)
11. Ashley Harrison (Gold Coast)
12. Feleti Mateo (Warriors)
13. Paul Gallen (Cronulla)
Interchange
14. Robbie Farah (Wests Tigers)
15. Tim Grant (Penrith)
16. David Shillington (Canberra)
17. Kieran Foran (Manly-Warringah)
18. Justin O’Neill (Melbourne)
19. Willie Mason (Newcastle)
20. Shaun Johnson (Warriors)
Coach: Wayne Bennett
Indigenous All-Stars:
1. Ben Barba (Bulldogs)
2. Reece Robinson (Canberra)
3. Justin Hodges (Brisbane)
4. Greg Inglis (South Sydney)
5. Blake Ferguson (Canberra)
6. Johnathan Thurston (North Queensland, captain)
7. Scott Prince (Brisbane)
8. George Rose (Manly-Warringah)
9. Travis Waddell (Souths Logan Magpies)
10. Andrew Fifita (Cronulla)
11. Joel Thompson (Canberra)
12. Greg Bird (Gold Coast)
13. Nathan Peats (South Sydney)
Interchange
14. Ryan James (Gold Coast)
15. Aiden Sezer (Gold Coast)
16. Joel Romelo (Bulldogs)
17. Jake Foster (Canberra)
18. Dane Nielsen (Warriors)
19. Timana Tahu (Newcastle)
20. Jack Wighton (Canberra)
Coach: Laurie Daley
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