Jaime Chapman has confirmed her status as a rugby league player of immense promise as her try double fired the Indigenous All Stars to an 18-8 victory over the Maori Ferns.
After being blown out 24-0 in last year's All Stars fixture, the Indigenous women struck first in the second quarter and were never headed at Parramatta's CommBank Stadium on Saturday.
Player-of-the-match Chapman, the 19-year-old St George Illawarra winger, showed blinding pace to open the scoring with a 90-metre runaway try after an error from Maori captain Corban Baxter.
Having made her NRLW debut in 2020, Chapman appears set for a leading role with the Dragons this year.
She clinched her second try in the third quarter courtesy of a terrific Tamika Upton cut-out pass.
Upton, who enjoyed a strong All Stars debut after a pre-booked holiday and injury kept her from playing for the past two years, traded moments of brilliance with rival fullback Botille Vette-Welsh.
Vette-Welsh showed why she is regarded among the best players in the women's game with two sensational try assists.
When the marquee Parramatta recruit put Autumn-Rain Stephens-Daly over for her brace in the third quarter, the Maori Ferns were within striking distance at 12-8.
But brute power from front-rower Tommaya Kelly-Sines for a try not long after the restart gave the Indigenous team a commanding lead, extended by five-eighth Kirra Dibb (three goals from three attempts).
Chapman nearly nabbed a hat-trick in awesome style after snaffling a Dibb chip at pace, but Baxter pulled off a crucial tackle to bring down the flyer.
A crowd of 10,066 watched as the Indigenous side squared the head-to-head All Stars ledger at two wins apiece, having begun their rivalry with the Maori Ferns in 2019.
