Opinion
The rugby league season kicks off on Saturday night with the now traditional All Stars fixture which in many ways is much more than a pre-season exhibition game.
Josh Addo-Carr will skipper the Indigenous team for the first time against an experienced Maori outfit led by co-captains Kodi Nikorima and Joseph Tapine.
The men’s clash will have significant ramifications for several players heading into the start of the NRL season.
Here are the burning questions for the CommBank Stadium clash.
How will the Hynes-Trindall halves combination go?
Sharks fans and new coach Craig Fitzgibbon will be keeping a close eye on Indigenous halves duo Nicho Hynes and Braydon Trindall. The two playmakers are likely to line up as a new-look pairing for Cronulla this year with Hynes set to beat injury-prone veteran Matt Moylan for the five-eighth’s role with Trindall remaining at halfback.
They’ve also got Sharks teammates Will Kennedy and Jesse Ramien getting some early game time with them at fullback and centre respectively as part of a free-flowing backline with plenty of firepower featuring Addo-Carr, former Panthers centre Brent Naden, who has joined “The Foxx” in heading to Canterbury, and Cowboys speedster Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow.
“He laid the footprint for what is now 45% Māori, Pacifika and Islander players in the NRL today”: Māori coach David Kidwell has paid tribute to Olsen Filipaina #NRLAllStars pic.twitter.com/58XWNBaSDO
— NRL (@NRL) February 11, 2022
Will CHT and Kodi be able to hold out Shaun Johnson?
Warriors duo Chanel Harris-Tavita and Kodi Nikorima are also facing a fight for their starting spots when they return to their club with veteran Shaun Johnson returning to the team where he made his name after three years at Cronulla.
CHT and Nikorima will be the chief playmakers for the Maori outfit and an impressive showing will help them keep Johnson on the bench for round one.
Can Ryan James add some steel to Broncos pack?
After injury-interrupted seasons for the past three years, James could be a more than handy pick-up for Brisbane in 2022. The Broncos have lacked a tough edge up front in their last two years when they’ve finished 16th and 14th. James who was a fringe Origin candidate for NSW just a few years ago before back-to-back ACL tears.
He struggled to make an impact after switching from the Titans to Canberra last season but could be one of the bargain basement buys of the year if he can help Brisbane’s young pack restore lost pride.
Is Shaquai Mitchell worth a gamble at the Bunnies?
The older brother of Latrell Mitchell was a late inclusion in the Indigenous All Stars squad and the talented forward will get some minutes off the bench. On a train-and-trial deal at the Rabbitohs, he has worked his way back to the cusp of the NRL after mental health and weight issues over the past few years have sidetracked what was once a promising career.
Shaq has lost more than 50kg in getting back into shape and could cap a remarkable rise to hs first NRL game if he can make an impact at the All Stars game.
How will the Fifita boys go?
This one won’t be settled on Saturday night but all eyes will be on David Fifita again this season – the Titans forward’s multimillion-dollar deal, the most lucrative in the NRL, means he will be constantly under the microscope.
His cousin, Andrew Fifita, is making a comeback after suffering a serious throat injury last August which threatened not only his career but his life. The Sharks veteran was placed in an induced coma for five days in a Brisbane hospital after copping a knock during a clash with Newcastle.
The 2016 premiership-winning prop is in the last year of his contract at Cronulla and the 32-year-old needs a big season, starting with the Indigenous All Stars game, to earn another deal in the NRL after being overlooked for first-grade selection several times last year.
Will Storm select Nikorima for round one?
Former Roosters halfback Jayden Nikorima has not played in the NRL since featuring in seven matches in 2016 but has been recruited by the Storm after a stint in the Intrust Super Cup. He avoided jail in 2019 despite being found guilty of bribing a teammate to sign a statutory declaration to say he had spiked Nikorima’s drink during Mad Monday celebrations so the playmaker could avoid a second strike and mandatory ban under the NRL’s illicit drugs policy.
With Cameron Munster, Harry Grant and Brandon Smith banned from round one, Nikorima is vying with Cooper Johns and Tyran Wishart for a place as five-eighth, hooker and possibly as a bench utility.
Joey is clearly still not over Dominic Young leaving the Knights. The Roosters winger scored the sealing try in a 40-18 win over Brisbane.
The Broncos skipper tried to stop Joseph Sua'ali'i with one good arm and did a decent job of diffusing the play with the pass…
Bad idea putting these two together! Paul Vautin and Andrew Johns had their Nine colleagues in hysterics with this post-game segment.
Jesse Arthars was in hospital receiving treatment for a broken jaw before Friday night’s game was over after a self-inflicted blow in the first…
Deine Mariner was sin binned for this high shot on James Tedesco. Does he have more to worry about?
Sam Walker wanted to challenge after Ashley Klein deemed his tackle on Reece Walsh was high. Unfortunately for the Roosters, they were out of…
