THE great unknown about the inaugural All Stars match is whether the players will rip and tear or treat it as an exhibition match. Whatever you do, don't tell Manly teammates George Rose and Anthony Watmough it is nothing more than a trial game.

They're already conjuring images of Queensland great Arthur Beetson whacking Parramatta teammate Mick Cronin in the first State of Origin match in 1980.

"How do you whack Georgie? He's six foot high and six foot wide," Watmough said yesterday, tongue firmly planted in cheek. "He's a big teddy bear. He's been trying to put a few shots on me at training, telling me what I'm in for. I'm pretty sure that when we tangle it will be no different to playing any other team. If he's around I'll try and get him."

Rose will line up for the Indigenous All Stars, while Watmough was voted into the NRL All Stars for the match on the Gold Coast on Saturday.

Still, when the NRL All Stars went into camp yesterday, there was no talk of taking the fixture lightly.

For his part, NRL All Stars hooker Cameron Smith said the result would be inconsequential but it would certainly be played at high intensity.

"I don't think it matters who wins, but it matters to all the players," he said. "We're very competitive blokes. Once you pull a jersey on and get on the field you want to win. It's a great time for everyone, but as soon as we get on the field we won't be going easy on the Indigenous team.

"It's not the same build-up as a Test match or Origin, but I can't see us going out there and playing a game of touch football," he said.

"There's a game to be played and a game to be won. We want to win. It's the way we're built."

It is also the way that Bennett is built. He has won premierships with the Broncos, State of Origins for Queensland, Test matches for Australia and also helped out the Kiwis and was the invited coach of the All Golds.

Smith said the 60-year-old mentor was already having an effect on his side. "He's the type of guy who brings guys together quickly and will pass on some inspiration for the match," he said. "His passion will rub off on to us."

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DSM5 said the following on Sun Feb 7 20:17 2010

Des, just tell Choc and Big George that we need them in the real comp  uninjured from this 'show' game.  Take it easy and treat it like it is, fun.

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