Ben Barba and Reece Robinson voted with their feet on Saturday night, so did 41,209 spectators at Suncorp – the Indigenous-NRL All Stars game is here to stay.
And so it should, it has all the ingredients for the perfect start to a new season.
To think some tunnel-visioned rugby league administrators were toying with a nines tournament to replace the All Stars fixture is beyond belief.
Bulldog Barba dominated the first half with a hat-trick of tries in the 10th, 21st, and 31st minutes – as only Barba can do. He is Mr Electric.
Raider Robinson repeated the dose in the second half with a hat-trick of his own in the 46th, 71st, and 78th minutes for the Indigenous side to romp home 32-6 and square the annual series at two apiece.
Barba and Robinson share more than three tries. Both share a June 13 birthday, with Robinson born in 1987 and Barba in 1989.
Grand fare.
But Barba and Robinson were not the only standouts, the usual suspects shone -Johnathan Thurston, Greg Inglis, Cam Smith, and even Jarryd Hayne when he was given a sniff with a 70m try.
The downside? What will Queensland coach Mal Meninga, and Kangaroo coach Tim Sheens, do with the magnificent multi-talents of Ben Barba when both coaches have Billy Slater, arguably one of the greatest attacking players in rugby league history?
Having said that, Meninga can’t deny Barba an Origin berth, nor can Sheens deny him an international jumper.
On the other side of the coin NSW Origin coach Laurie Daley would have watched Thurston, Inglis, Smith, and Barba strut their stuff last night, knowing there’s still Slater and Cooper Cronk to return for Queensland Origin duties.
The talent just keeps coming.
In a bid to stem the maroon tide Daley could do a lot worse than give Willie Mason a return to Origin after five years in the wilderness.
Last night Mason was in the thick of the action. He’s a rejuvenated footballer under Wayne Bennett at the Knights and deserves another crack at the big time.
And a welcome relief talking about football form, and Origin, instead of drug-taking and match-fixing.
Long may that be the case.
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