This weekend’s National Rugby League clash between the Indigenous All Stars and the New Zealand Māori men’s and women’s sides marks a decade-and-a-half of recognising a unique aspect of the trans-Tasman game.
First staged in 2010, the season-opening fixture was not conceived as a marketing stunt, but as a deliberate exercise in showcasing Indigenous excellence and its contribution to the competition.
The match centres Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander players, and their culture and leadership at the highest level of the game. The rationale was clear from the outset: Indigenous Australians were – and remain – significantly over-represented relative to their share of the national population.
