Maori Mens All Stars secure emotional victory in wet contest

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Indigenous Mens All Stars v Maori Mens All Stars

A wet and miserable day in Sydney (yet again) didn't stop a 26,000+ crowd from piling into Commbank Stadium to watch the Maori All Stars take a 16-10 victory in tough conditions at Parramatta.

The game started with the traditional war cries, which fiery in their own right, but that fire moved onto the field during the game and a few blow-ups ensued. The opening points came for the Indigenous All Stars when David Fifita took the ball down the touchline and looked like a grade above the rest of the players when he broke through three tackles and made strong metres along the eastern touchline before linking with Jesse Ramien who scored.

The try didn't come without drama for the Maori and in particular Canberra Raiders fans with Jordan Rapana penalised for a shoulder charge on Fifita well after he passed the ball. Rapana was put on report.

A few minutes later, the Maori All Stars thought they had their first of the night when Joseph Tapine looked to have managed to get the ball down on the line but after a bunker review, it was ruled that Tapine had grounded the ball on the hand of Will Kennedy.

Emotions were running high and yet again Jordan Rapana will have a nervous wait this week after he was put on report yet again and sent to the Sin Bin for a second shoulder charge. Rapana's sin bin came after Andrew Fifita was also given 10 minutes by Adam Gee for his role in the ensuing fracas.

The Indigenous side added a penalty goal on the stroke of quarter time to take a 6-0 lead.

From the starting point of the second quarter, the Maori took control of the game and they were able to score through Kodi Nikorima after Panthers forward James Fisher-Harris caused issues by dragging in defenders and finding Joseph Tapine who in turn found Nikorima to score.

The side from across the Tasman were able to continue their dominance in the second quarter when Esan Marsters was able to score in the corner after some good work from Kenny Bromwich and Patrick Herbert, which put the Cowboys winger over.

Joseph Tapine continued his strong form in the game as he was able to carry three defenders towards the line before slamming the ball down close to the posts that extended the lead for the Maori All-Stars after the conversion.

Wet conditions probably played a big part in the game becoming a bit of a wrestle and drag for the last 20 minutes, but the Indigenous team got on the board and made the game a contest with thirteen minutes to go when Tyrell Sloan was able to chase the ball down first, after the bouncing ball eluded the Maori defenders.

Despite desperate attack, the Maori All-Stars defence were able to hold on to the 16-10 victory despite a last second potential opportunity for the Indigenous All-Stars to take victory.