Indigenous Coach Alleges NRL Club Concealed All Stars Selection from Player

Indigenous All Stars coach Ronald Griffiths has alleged that at least one NRL club neglected to inform a player of their selection for the pre-season representative match.

His remarks to The Sydney Morning Herald follow Maori men’s coach Adam Blair’s criticism of Canberra, who he claimed failed to allow several players to participate in last weekend’s event held in western Sydney.

This prompted a fierce backlash from Raiders coach Ricky Stuart, who labelled Blair’s comments as “childish” and “ridiculous”.

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Following Stuart’s outburst, Griffiths has supported Blair’s stance, reinforcing that some NRL clubs are indeed restricting player availability.

He also noted that players are now contemplating requesting their managers to include All Stars clauses in their contracts.

“This was a topic we discussed while in camp, particularly regarding the timely release of players by their clubs,” Griffiths expressed to the Herald.

“Several players mentioned the idea of incorporating a clause in their contracts to secure their release for such games. They can request this during negotiations.

“It’s particularly challenging for young players on the verge of breaking into the NRL to ask their clubs for release for a pre-season event.

“I understand the clubs’ reluctance to release players, considering we have them for just one week while they belong to their clubs for the entire year. However, we have a responsibility as a sport to ensure that the finest players can compete, making the event more spectacular.

“I spoke with one player who wasn’t even notified by his club that he was being considered for selection. They only mentioned they were short on middle players for a trial.

“For this young athlete, it was a chance to immerse himself in his culture for a week and take pride in his identity.

“It was an opportunity for us to send him back more socially, emotionally, and culturally empowered, yet he wasn’t even informed that we desired to select him.”

The future of the All Stars game has come under scrutiny after last Saturday’s men’s match was perceived to lack star players.

Phil Gould has suggested that the event should be rescheduled to a different time of year, though the expanding NRL and international calendars complicate this matter.