Over the past weekend, Rotorua played host for the first New Zealand based NRL All Stars double-header. 

Our Māori Men and Women gave it a fantastic effort, with the Wāhine winning 16-12. We had the honor to have a chat with Women's head coach Keith Hanley. Keith started his coaching in the Auckland Rugby League scene, so it’s great to see one of our coaches succeed on a professional level. 

“It wasn’t the prettiest performance with too many errors in contact with the ball and our set finishes often didn’t get the depth we were after. That being said, the ladies showed a lot of resilience when we were trailing.”

“They did not roll over, then we had a sin-binning and it just made us tighter again.”

 “I thought we scored some nice tries and played quality footy in parts. Overall, I’m really proud of the effort and happy for the players.”

Our Men’s Māori side just fell short losing 28-24. A Selwyn Cobbo hatrick proved a key difference maker. Preston Riki managed to score late in the game to give the Māori side a chance in taking out the game. Preston has previously played for the Mt Albert Lions and is currently signed with the Penrith Panthers. As well as a try Preston also made 2 line breaks, in his time on the field he made a big impact.

Auckland Referee, Rochelle Tamaura continued with her recent progress in the professional space, being in the middle on Saturday to referee the tight women’s contest. Viggo Rasmussen joined her as a touch judge and Joseph Green was on stand-by.

The 2023 Indigenous All Star games is perfect for men, women and our youth to reconnect with their culture as the game brings people together and starts many conversations. We also want to acknowledge all the players and staff who represented Tāmaki Makaurau at the game.

Women’s Māori All Star - Auckland Connections

Mya Hill-Moana, Waikato, Tainui (Auckland Under-18s competition-winning Taniwharau side in 2019)

Kahu Cassidy, Ngāpuhi (Richmond Roses, Akarana)

Capri Paekau, Tainui, Ngāti Maniapoto, Ngāti Raukawa (Pt Chevalier, Akarana)

Harata Butler, Waikato-Tainui (Papakura, Counties Manukau)

Tiana Raftstrand-Smith, Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Kahu, Te Arawa (Richmond Junior)

Men’s Māori All Star - Auckland Connections

Preston Riki, Ngāpuhi (Mt Albert)

Adam Pompey, Tainui (Wesley College)

Article added: Tuesday 14 February 2023