Grand final week not the time for All Stars: players
Scott Bailey |
Indigenous All Stars players have pushed back on the prospect of moving the fixture to NRL grand final week, fearing it will deny the game’s best a chance to play.
The NRL’s preference to expand grand-final week has been headlined by debate around a potential third-placed playoff, with prizemoney on offer for the winners.
But part of the discussion also includes considering whether to move the All Stars match from its current date in February, where it has sat since 2010.
The scheduling of the fixture has been a talking point for several years, including whether to move the game to after the NRL season.
Senior Indigenous players have long maintained it should remain in February, and potentially be played before any trial matches to give it clear air.
The latest suggestion has also caught the eye of several Indigenous players, who are concerned putting the game in grand final week could deny some the chance to play.
“Let’s say South Sydney make the grand final, you look at their playing squad and how many Indigenous players they have in their team,” Manly half Jamal Fogarty told AAP.
“And they are probably the elite players. So really you’re taking the best players out because they’re in a grand final and not representing their people.
“The All Stars at the start of the year gets people excited for football. If the best players were able to play every year, it’s a great way to start the season. I think leaving it there is the right thing.”
Latrell Mitchell, Cody Walker, Kalyn Ponga, Nicho Hynes, Braydon Trindall, Casey McLean, James Fisher-Harris, Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow and Connor Watson headline a long list of Indigenous and Maori players still in the hunt to play in this year’s NRL decider.
“Whoever is in that grand final spot that are proud of where they come from and the game we do play, it’s a pretty hard one,” Tabuai-Fidow, whose Dolphins are in the top four, said.
“It’s why I like it at the start. You’re in pre-season getting your work done and it’s the first game of the year. You’re setting yourself up for it.
“The boys also don’t come in with injuries (in February) after playing the whole year. You get through your work and then you play the game.”
Tabuai-Fidow also argued the game served a greater purpose at the start of the season.
“It gets us together and we go into those camps to learn,” he said.
“It’s all about culture as well. It fills your cup up and sets up your year.
“Whatever they do about it, I’ll always put my hand up to play. But I do like it at the start, where it gets you up for the year and gets you going.”
AAP