The Māori claimed an attritional and gutsy 10-6 men’s All Stars rugby league win over the Indigenous team.
In the lowest-scoring game since the inception of the All Stars match in 2010, tries from Jacob Laban and Jesse Arthars cancelled out Shaquai Mitchell’s four-pointer. Arthars was the winner of the Preston Campbell medal as the best player of Saturday’s game at Commbank Stadium.
Cronulla playmaker Niwhai Puru had the chance to win it for the Indigenous side at the death but he dropped the ball as he attempted to ground it. It meant the Māori were able to hang on and avoid a third-straight loss in the annual pre-season match.
The low-scoring affair was not aided by the absences of several key stars of both cultures, chief among them Latrell Mitchell and Jahrome Hughes. A slippery surface which led to several players falling to the turf in front of a 21,328-strong crowd did not help the coherence of either attack on a humid night in Sydney’s west.
The Indigenous team went closest to crossing in the first half. Māori full-back Kalyn Ponga made an incredible last-ditch tackle on Tyrone Munro to prevent him from touching down on the right wing. Josh Curran also had a try chalked off after Indigenous fullback Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow was deemed to have impeded Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad. It meant that the scoreline after 40 minutes read 0-0.
But any fears that the All Stars clash would end with a 1-0 scoreline as Super League’s season opener did two days earlier, quickly disappeared when Mitchell burst over. The front-rower was able to spin and bounce off the Māori defence before reaching out to dot the ball down right on the tryline in the 41st minute.
Puru added the conversion for the Indigenous side, who were unable to hammer home their advantage with Tabuai-Fidow having a try ruled out. Eventually the Māori hit back with Brisbane winger Arthars steaming down the right flank to go over but Mawene Hiroti could not tie the game up from the tee. Hiroti nearly made amends after scooping up a loose ball and racing 60m downfield but unfortunately for the Cronulla man, Brent Naden was in hot pursuit and was able to run him down.
Hiroti’s shortcomings were eventually cancelled out when a Zach Dockar-Clay bomb was picked off by Laban, who touched down to give the Māori a 10-6 lead with 12 minutes left. Naden and Puru both went close to snatching a win for the Indigenous team but the Māori defence was faultless at the death.
Earlier in the women’s All Stars match, the Indigenous team clinched a second-straight – and dramatic – win, scoring a last-minute penalty through Lailani Montgomery to defeat the Māori 20-18.
Montgomery was awarded a shot from right under the sticks after the playmaker’s legs were taken out while attempting a drop goal just a minute earlier. Māori standoff Ash Quinlan was the guilty party and replays showed she made glancing contact with Montgomery’s planted legs. Bunker official Matt Noyen awarded a penalty for the Indigenous team and Montgomery nudged the ball through the sticks to seal the win.
The loud Māori contingent, which formed part of the 14,279 crowd at CommBank Stadium on Saturday, made their feelings known as the Indigenous team celebrated. Their victory was the first time a team had won back-to-back games in the women’s All Stars since its inception in 2019.
“I don’t want to take anything away from our [Indigenous] sisters,” said Māori captain Shannon Mato. “Coming down to the final [minute] on the clock and not get the win, it’s going to be devastating for us because we’ve had so much support. It’s a funny feeling I have right now.”
The Indigenous side’s victory was all the more impressive given starting standoff Kirra Dibb failed to finish the match due to an ankle injury. Had Dibb been fit, Montgomery would have likely seen limited gametime.
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“My first word is ‘wow’,” said hooker Quincy Dodd. “[Montgomery] is an incredible human being and on that field there she took it with both hands. She executed it so well. Kirra is an amazing player and to step into her shoes, she did the best for us and got us those two points at the end there. She will always remember this game and this week.”
Concern lingered around Bobbi Law, who was the recepient of a Tiana Raftstrand-Smith hip-drop tackle that led to the Māori back-rower spending time in the sin-bin in the second half.
Dibb had helped get the Indigenous side off to a red-hot start when a well-weighted kick to the right flank was touched down by Monique Donovan. Jaime Chapman was next to breach the Māori line, the Gold Coast flyer chiming in from deep to push the Indigenous All Stars further ahead. Chapman’s try was her fifth at this level, making her the leading Indigenous tryscorer in the history of the women’s All Stars clash.
The Titans speedster’s effort seemed to spark the Māori into life and in the space of 10 minutes, they sliced through the Indigenous line on three separate occasions. Chante Temara got them going with a barge-over out of dummy half before Laikha Clarke bashed her way over next to the posts. Lilly-Ann White was next to find a gap in the Indigenous line when she cut back against the grain, with Raecene McGregor converting all three tries.
The Māori defence was impressive but they eventually wilted when they were reduced to 12 and Ella Koster finished in the corner. After missing her conversion, Montgomery kicked a penalty goal to make it 18-18.
McGregor shanked one drop goal attempt in pursuit of a winner. And Montgomery did likewise but she was given a second chance from the tee in the final minute to wrap up the win.
