Indigenous ALL STARS v NRL ALL STARS

[Berkeley_Eagle]

good start form the Indigenous boys

how bright are haynes boots

Great offload from Choc to Jennings who bloody drops it

and LOL at Georges haircut

 

[Rambo1987]

good start form the Indigenous boys

how bright are haynes boots

Great offload from Choc to Jennings who bloody drops it

and LOL at Georges haircut

My son has those boots - so sad.
Georgie is looking fit..
Choc seems to be in the middle of it so far.

 

[Berkeley_Eagle]

how good is Watmough goin

 

[SeaEagleRock8]

Watching on tv the occasion seems simply brilliant, quite emotional in the lead-up. The footy is pretty good as well, I expected the Indigenous team to play with pride and passion, but there is really not much of an exhibition feel at all so far. Might even be a punch-up before the end!
I think Bird will prove a big acqisition for the Titans.

 

[The Wheel]

Great game so far, just hoping no injuries to our boys.  Gidely might be gorne for season....

Benji is MIA, Hayne looks like having a huge year

 

[SeaEagleRock8]

Jennings also looks pretty hot, Burgess looks the part as well. Our guys are going very well too.

 

[Matabele]

Choc and Rose both amongst the best players on the paddock.  Whatmough was probably the best the All Stars had.

Gould on Hayne:  "we ran out of superlatives for him last year and he's picked up where he has left off".  This after Haynde made his second error with his second touch. grrrrrrr

Looks like Hayne's head has swolen even further in the off season.  I expect his ego is in for a knee capping this year.

 

[Rambo1987]

I was impressed with Burgess - I think Manly would have loved to get him. He will be injured alot the way plays - full on..

Choc played good but 2 big mistakes were costly. The All Stars did not have heart the Indiginous team had.

 

[lsz]

To be fair it was 3 tries a piece - only difference were conversions in the end (how good was the wall????)

 

[Matabele]

Post-match Wayne Bennett referred to the game as "a trial".  I don;t think it was a trial for the indigenous fellows.

 

[SeaEagleRock8]

No and that is what makes the concept attractive from a footy point of view. If one team (with comparable ability) is giving it everything then the other team has to also aim up, or get beaten every year. (Reminiscent of some other series?)
But it was also clear last night that the match is about a lot more than footy. This is where league is in a unique position, I doubt there is any other sport in Australia where an Indigenous team could take on and defeat the best of the rest. Having it on the anniversary of Rudd's apology ensures it has a lot of meaning as an event, and to have something so positive and fun as a footy game to mark the occasion is a very good idea. I was not sold on this but after last night I found myself quite impressed. It is likely to be an annual celebration and if so what a tremendous way to kick off a new season.

 

[Spuds Bodyguard]

Agreed that it would be a good annual fixture. Certainly a better spectacle than the Charity Shield, but the protracted voting system needs to be reviewed.

 

[Kiwi Eagle]

That extra try thing was a joke, should be shelved

Only home for the 2nd half, was good to see some footy back on even though I don't rate the importance of the game at all

 

[QldEagle01]

I found the whole thing quite offensive to any one non indigenous. If the reverse had of occured the whole world would have been down on Australia. The whole idea of Rudd pushing his own barrow and putting the rest of Australia up as a target on a huge stage is highly offensive to most people i have spoken to and i for one will not be watching again...........

 

[Jethro]

I found the whole thing quite offensive to any one non indigenous. If the reverse had of occured the whole world would have been down on Australia. The whole idea of Rudd pushing his own barrow and putting the rest of Australia up as a target on a huge stage is highly offensive to most people i have spoken to and i for one will not be watching again...........

Well I'm non-indigenous and I didn't find it offensive at all and I will definitely be watching it again next year if it is played again. The only part that I didn't like it was having Rudd's speech on at half time. It was like having a Howard clone sucking up again.

 

[Kiwi Eagle]

I thought all the talk about the Indigenous was OTT at times as well

 

[SeaEagleRock8]

. . . If the reverse had of occured the whole world would have been down on Australia. . .

In many ways for many years the reverse has occurred. Which is one reason much of the world is down on Australia (exceptions being chunks of the white populations in America Britain & South Africa).

 

[blitzkrieg]

I can understand the concept etc, but my concern was what if Watmough broke his leg or such like? It's not a "trial" as such because these boys don't play together every week for a club, just an exhibition game. I heard them call them rep jerseys - please!!!!!! So a major injury for us was/will be my main concern.

 

[ManlyBacker]

The TAB had the All Stars as favorites. Crazy. A team playing for something that truely means plenty to them will always outdo a team of champions. The same principle applies to the WCC or even the hype the Maroons have for SOO.

I was really impressed with the quality of the game considering it was almost every player's first hitout of the year. I hate to admit it but Cameron Smith kept the AS in the game, and Jennings was a standout. Preston Campbell must have been close to MOTM but JT did dominate the play area very convincingly.

I hadn't been thinking about it or looking forward to the game, but if they turn on another display like that I'll watch it every year.

 

[The Wheel]

Notice Choc had his usual couple of mistakes at the wrong time and wrong e4nd of field in the last 20 mins, he must  have read the script about the black fellas having to win