Two try assists from Sharks 5/8 Braydon Trindall have led the Indigenous All Stars to a 22-14 win over the Māori All Stars in a gritty defensive slugfest in Townsville to claim the double on All Stars night.
After an emotional pre match ceremony, the Māori side went to work early. A Jahrome Hughes bomb was spilled by Latrell Mitchell after strong contact from Dane Gagai. From the scrum win, Joe Tapine carried several defenders on his way to the line for the opening try. Kodi Nikorima added the extras and the Māori led 6-0.
Errors played a part early and just like at the other end, the Indigenous side fired straight back when Jesse Arthars made a meal of the kickoff. Mitchell atoned for his mistake by dragging several defenders across to find Josh Addo-Carr to hit back. Nicho Hynes' kick was unsuccessful and the Māori side had a slender lead. With a few minutes left in the first quarter, Braydon Trindall put a clever grubber kick into a contestable position, it was spilled by Arthars and the Fox crossed to complete an opening quarter double. Kotoni Staggs was pinned for tackling a player not in possession on quarter time, Nikorima took the two after a lengthy debate with his team-mates and it was 10-8 at the first break.
After a prolonged period of possession to kick start the second quarter, the Māori side couldn't come away with points and conceded a soft penalty immediately after losing possession. From there, Trindall kicked early in the tackle count with the fullback MIA and Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow slammed it down in a narrow corridor. Hynes converted to give the Indigenous side a two possession lead. It was a lead they held going into the sheds with both sides struggling in the slippery conditions with completion rates hovering around the low 70% mark.
The third quarter saw the Māori side dominate field position with more than 30 tackles worth of possession inside the Indigenous 20m zone more than their opponents. Their attack was non-existent and try scoring chances went begging. Xavier Willison was presented a gift but failed to pass to his support and was tackled metres from the line by a determined Bailey Biondi-Odo. Matt Timoko dropped the pass on the ensuing play and bombed what was a certain try for the Māori side.
The final term seemed much of the same with both sides competing fiercely throughout. The regular rust of pre-season football occurred but throw in torrential rain and Townsville humidity before we add fatigue and the second half was destined to be a defensive slug fest. With under 10 minutes to go, Nicho Hynes delivered a lovely pass to Alofiana Khan-Pereira who sprinted around the cover defence to score for the Indigenous side who secured back to back victories in this fixture. The Māori side finally got a reward for their possession when Willison crashed over from short range.