Indigenous All Stars (rugby league)

Indigenous All Stars

Governing body	Australian Rugby League Commission
Head coach	Laurie Daley
Captain	Greg Inglis
Most caps	Johnathan Thurston & George Rose

Indigenous All Stars

Governing body	Australian Rugby League Commission
Head coach	Laurie Daley
Captain	Jonathan Thurston
Most caps	George Rose
Top try-scorer	Ben Barba
Top point-scorer	Ben Barba
First international
Indigenous Beat Papua New Guinea
Biggest win
Indigenous All Stars 32-6 NRL All Stars
Biggest defeat
Indigenous All Stars 12-28 NRL All Stars
World Cup
Appearances	2008 Opening Ceremony Vs New Zealand Maori

The Indigenous Australian rugby league team (also known as the Indigenous All Stars^[1] or Indigenous Dreamtime^[2] team) is a rugby league football team that represents Aboriginal Australians and Torres Strait Islanders. The team was first formed in 1973 and currently plays in an annual All Stars Match against a National Rugby League NRL All Stars team.

History

An Aboriginal v white Australian rugby league game was held in Barcaldine in Western Queensland in 1963. These 'Blacks v Whites' games continued annually until 1984.^[3]

The first Australian Aboriginal rugby league team was assembled in 1973 The Aboriginal team managed to win seven of its nine matches in just 10 days, The team consisted of 34 players – 19 from NSW, 13 from Queensland and two from the Northern Territory. They went on to win games against Kiwi premiers Wellington Petone, the only all-Maori team & Auckland club & Te Atatu, which the Aboriginal side won 17–13.^[4]

The side competed in the Pacific Cup in 1990, 1992 and 1994. During this period the team contained New South Wales Rugby League first grade players such as Ricky Walford, Graham Lyons, Ron Gibbs, Darrell Trindall, Paul Davis, Wayne Alberts, George Longbottom and Will Robinson.

In the post-1999 NRL season an Aboriginal side managed by Arthur Beetson defeated the Papua New Guinea Kumuls and the future rugby league Immortal was pushing for an Australia Day match against the Australian national team.^[5]

In 2008 World Cup curtain raiser to the Australia vs. New Zealand match included an Indigenous Australian squad playing against New Zealand Māori which featured several prominent NRL players and rising stars, including Chris Sandow, Wairangi Koopu, Preston Campbell, Sam Thaiday, Shaun Kenny-Dowall and Carl Webb.

Preston Campbell, a highly respected aboriginal rugby league player, was a driving force behind the setup, in 2010, of a curtain raising match between the Indigenous All Stars, and the NRL All Stars. The Indigenous All Stars played what seems likely become an annual match against the National Rugby League All Stars on 13 February 2010.^[6] The squad was chosen in part by public vote. Aboriginal NRL player Sid Domic's artistic ability led him to be selected from a field of six artists to design the Indigenous side's jersey, as well as Johnathan Thurston's and Jamie Soward's custom headgear, for the annual All Stars matches.^[7]

Teams

First Australian Aboriginal Rugby League Team 1973 Tour

• Bill Widders
• Tom Briggs
• Marshall Brown
• Kenneth Brown

1990-92-1994 Australian Aboriginies Pacific Cup Team

• Ricky Walford
• Paul Davis
• George Longbottom
• Will Robinson
• Wayne Alberts
• Darrell Trindall
• Ron Gibbs
• Graham Lyons

2008 Indigenous Team of the Century (1908–2007)

2008 Indigenous Dreamtime

The Dreamtime Team playing the NZ Maori Team

Teams performing pre-game War Cry and Haka

2010 Indigenous All Stars

2011 Indigenous All Stars

2012 Indigenous All Stars

2013 Indigenous All Stars

2014 Festival of Indigenous Rugby League

The NRL launched a Festival of Indigenous Rugby League program to take the place of the prestigious pre-season Rugby League All Stars game following every World Cup year.The 2014 Festival of Indigenous Rugby League featured a trial match between the Knights and a non-elite Indigenous team, drawn from the immensely popular NSW Koori Rugby League Knockout and Murri Carnivals in Queensland, as well as the NRL Indigenous Player Cultural Camp, Murri vs Koori women’s and Under 16s representative games, a Murri v Koori match, a jobs expo and community visits.

2015 Indigenous All Stars

2016 Indigenous All Stars

Results

See also

• Australian national rugby league team
• List of Indigenous All Stars players

References

External links

• rleague.com

Rugby league in Australia
National Federation	Australian Rugby League Commission
National teams	Kangaroos Jillaroos Prime Minister's XIII Indigenous Junior Kangaroos Schoolboys
State Federations	New South Wales NSW Country Northern Territory Queensland South Australia Tasmania Victoria Western Australia
Other Federations	University Masters Police Women
Events	All Stars Auckland Nines City vs Country State of Origin World Club Challenge
Competitions	National Rugby League National Youth Competition State Championship Affiliated States Championship Schoolboy Cup
Honours	Clive Churchill Medal Dally M Medal Hall of Fame The Immortals
Media	Big League Rugby League Week The Footy Show Friday Night Football NRL video games
Lists	Clubs Stadiums Premiers Wooden spooners
Rugby league in Australian Capital Territory New South Wales Northern Territory Queensland South Australia Tasmania Victoria Western Australia

National sports teams of Australia
A1 GP Archery Athletics Australian rules football Badminton Baseball M MU-19 W Basketball M MU-19 MU-17 M 3x3 W WU-19 WU-17 W 3x3 Beach handball M W Beach soccer M W Cricket M Aus A MU-19 PM's XI W Cycling Field hockey M W Floorball Futsal M W Indoor Hockey W Goalball M W Golf Gridiron Gymnastics Handball M MU-21 MU-18 W WU-21 WU-18 Ice hockey M MU-20 MU-18 W WU-18 Inline hockey M W International rules M W Korfball Lacrosse M Indoor W Motorcycle Speedway Open U-21 Netball Quidditch Roller derby M W Roller hockey M W Rowing Rugby league M W PM's XIII Indigenous Junior Schoolboys Rugby union M Aus A MU-21 MU-20 MU-19 Schoolboys M7 W W7 Sailing Soccer M MU-23 MU-20 MU-17 P7 W WU-20 WU-17 Softball M W MU-17 WU-17 Squash M W Swimming Tennis Davis Cup Fed Cup Hopman Cup Volleyball M W Water polo M W Wheelchair basketball M W Wheelchair rugby
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