The NRL All-stars have won the second edition of the annual All-stars match over their Indigenous counterparts, 28-12, reversing last year's defeat.
The NRL All-Stars side pulled the win together through making less errors than their opposition and defending strongly on their own line throughout the match, in an entertaining show that promises much more to come in the 2011 season, beginning in under a month.
Accepting the trophy for the first time, captain Darren Lockyer credited the Indigenous side for their fightback in the second half. "We got away with an early lead... to their credit they hung in there."
His opposing leader, Jonathan Thurston, recognised that the error count was the difference in what was otherwise a close match. "We turned over too much ball, and they've got too many good players for us to do that," he said minutes after the loss.
With strong play from forwards on both sides, the experimental kicking rule introduced by the NRL for the match didn't have a chance to be utilised.
The Indigenous side had plenty of chances in the opening quarter, including a Nathan Merritt run getting his team to the NRL's 10 metre line, before the opposition defence stepped up.
The second quarter began with much the same, with any Indigenous chances snuffed out by strong NRL All-star defence. Strong tries from forwards Paul Gallen and Shaun Kenny-Dowall moved extended the margin to 16-0, before Newcastle winger Uate found his way through on the right wing.
The Indigenous side finally got on the board when a Thurston grubber inside of the opposition ten was recovered by Bulldogs talent Ben Barber on the stroke of Halftime. The Thurston conversion gave the Indigenous side renewed hope at 22-6.
The back half of the match was dominated by an increase in errors, but also a rise in the entertainment factor, with the ball being spread and thrown around more - albeit with no addition to the scorebaord for either side for a while.
Things got tougher for the NRL All-stars when the Indigenous All-stars put back-to-back sets of six deep in their own half, and a try looked imminent. But man-of-the-match Josh Dugan recovered a kick from the in goal to the thirty metre line, before drawing a penalty - wiping out the Indigenous momentum for the remainder of the quarter.
It was a crucial point in the match.
Even when Nathan Merritt crossed to reduce the margin to ten, the NRL All-stars responded with the Try of the night.
Feleti Mateo gave a superb offload to Dugan on the half-way line, before the Canberra fullback ran the remaining distance to put the match beyond doubt at 28-12.
The score hardly matters, though, in a match focused on the support of the indigenous community. In the weeks preceding the event, players from each side have contributed to supporting the community through clinics and fun community days.
The pre-match entertainment, including the entertaining war march, is the celebration of culture and traditions of the aboriginal people, and a reminder that sport will forever be greatest tool for bringing society together.
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The first matches of the NRL season will be the Roosters vs. Rabbitohs in Sydney, and the Broncos vs. Cowboys in Brisbane.
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