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Barely four years after the inaugural match, the Indigenous All Stars versus the NRL All Stars has received a massive blow.
In 2014 there will be no All Stars match, instead there will be a Nines series held in Auckland. According to the NRL it is due to the World Cup which will have the NRL’s best players finish their actual season in late November.
Eight weeks after the World Cup is when the All Stars was scheduled to be played but it was deemed not practical to ask the NRL’s best players to back up during pre-season after a World Cup campaign.
The Nines series will have every NRL club represented with each guaranteed a minimum $90,000 in prize money.
The winner will take home $450,000.
There used to be a Sevens pre-season tournament which was last held in 2004 after it came under fire for exposing players to a higher chance of injury.
The NRL have refused to rule out the All Stars concept returning in 2015 but it would be safe to assume that the Nines tournament next year will be the litmus test.
If the crowds are up and it is well supported then expect the Nines tournament to be the annual pre-season event.
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