Indigenous winger Blake Ferguson has upped the intensity ahead of Saturday's clash with the Maoris All Stars with a friendly fire training hit on teammate Jack Wighton that sent shockwaves through the squad.
On a showpiece night for rugby league in Townsville on Saturday, David Kidwell s Maori All Stars will look to make it back-to-back wins over the Indigenous All Stars after emerging victorious 30-16 in Melbourne in 2020.
The star of the show in last year s game, Brandon Smith, is missing due to the lockdown in Melbourne, as are Jesse and Kenny Bromwich and Nelson Asofa-Solomona, but the Maori still boast a powerful line-up.
The Indigenous All Stars have lost try-scoring ace Josh Addo-Carr but their backline still oozes class and they ll be keen to get back to the free-flowing style which yielded them 34 points in 2017 and again in 2019.
The scoreboard stands at one win apiece after the Indigenous women s team got revenge on their Maori opponents in last year s Harvey Norman All Stars clash.
The 2021 fixture, the first of a double-header at Queensland Country Bank Stadium with the men s game, will contain a strong contingent of NRLW talent as well as providing a platform for promising players.
Twenty of the 36 players named in both squads have got NRLW experience, including international representatives like Corban McGregor, Botille Vette-Welsh, Zahara Temara and Tallisha Harden.
McGregor has been named captain of the Maori side with Harden set to lead the Indigenous team.
A collection of the game s most exciting players will get men s footy started for 2021 when the Indigenous and Maori teams meet for the Harvey Norman All Stars.
Cody Walker, Latrell Mitchell, Benji Marshall, Jack Wighton and Jarome Luai are only a handful of the big names who will proudly represent their cultures at Queensland Country Bank Stadium in Townsville on February 20.
Walker has been named as captain of the Indigenous All Stars team while Dallin Watene-Zelezniak and Joe Tapine will share the Maori leadership duties.
Wet weather has blanketed Townsville for most of the week and rain is predicted for game day.
Manu: Maori pride part of my DNA
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Pride runs through the bloodlines of Roosters centre Joseph Manu.
It is a pride in culture, family, and Maori heritage that is built into his DNA and passed down through a family that hails from the picturesque Northlands of New Zealand.
It is a pride that will fuel him when he takes to the field with some of the brightest names in the NRL in the 2021 All-Stars clash on February 20.
“They are a proud people up north,” Manu said.
“My grandmother is from the Nga Puhi tribe from the Waikare and Rawhiti region of north New Zealand, so I am really proud to represent her and the family there.”