NZ Maori hold off Indigenous 10-6 in fierce NRL All Stars battle

The New Zealand Maori beat Australia’s Indigenous side in the NRL All Stars game on Saturday night, prevailing in a low-scoring affair at CommBank Stadium in Sydney.

With their female counterparts having gone down to a last-minute penalty earlier in the day, the Maori hung on for a gritty 10-6 win, their first in three years over the Indigenous.

Rugby league betting sites had the Kiwi team as slight favourites to prevail in the fixture with BetOnline paying $1.44 for the side to prevail.

However, they were made to work hard for their victory, denying two tries in the final 10 minutes of the exhibition clash.

The opening 40 minutes were physical but did not trouble the score keepers, with neither team getting on the board until the second half despite several near-misses.

It was Australia who drew first blood after the break, however, with Shaquai Mitchell crossing over in the opening minute to give the Indigenous All Stars a 6-0 lead.

A brilliant patch for the Maori wrested them the lead, however, as Jesse Arthars and then Jacob Laban both crossed over within 10 minutes of each other to make the score 10-6.

Arthars try came off the back of a scuffle sparked by Jacob Sykes lifting Dane Gagai in a tackle, one of many flares ups in the match.

The Indigenous dominated possession for the final period of the game with two disallowed tries, including a brilliant save by Gagai at the death where he knocked the ball out of Niwhai Puru’s hands over the tryline.

“I don’t know how they can ever talk about getting rid of this game,” Indigenous co-captain Josh Kerr said after the match.

“It’s so much more than just a game of footy.

“It reaches so many young kids.

“We spoke this week about how if we can change just one kid’s life, that’s generational change.

“Culture elevates culture.”

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