Maoris call on NRL to prevent All Stars absences

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Maoris call on NRL to prevent All Stars absences

Victorious Maori coach Adam Blair has called on the NRL to stand up to coaches who pressure players into withdrawing from All Stars matches.

Blair led the Maori to a 10-6 victory over the Indigenous in Parramatta on Saturday and used his post-match press conference to urge the NRL to police availability properly.

The retired Kiwis forward name-checked the Canberra Raiders, who will open their season in Las Vegas, as one of the leading culprits for encouraging players to make themselves unavailable.

“Everyone’s dream is to play NRL and if you sit on the fringe of that it’s hard to stand up to your coach and say, ‘Hey, I want to represent my people’,” Blair said.

“I understand how it works … the more the game (NRL) can expose us to this game, the more the game can say, ‘If you’re Maori, you’re available to play in this game’.

“The more they hold everyone accountable then it becomes easier for the clubs to go, ‘well, the game says you have to play – unless you’re injured – you go and play’.

“There’s so many talented players that could’ve been here but due to pressures… for example, I love our Canberra boys and we could have taken five or six of them and put them in our squad.

“But I get it, I’m on the other side now (working for Newcastle)… those are five of Canberra’s best players.”

Blair said Canberra prop Joe Tapine would have been one of the first names on his teamsheet along with James Fisher-Harris, who captained the side.

The Maori coach said Fisher-Harris’ insistence on playing for his side had rubbed off on the group’s younger players.

“When you have someone as strong and as passionate as Fish for our people, it brings the likes of Kalyn (Ponga) into the team,” Blair said.

“Keano Kini is only a couple of years into his career but is brave enough to stand up to his club and say, ‘I want to represent my people, because that’s who I am first and foremost’.

“The more we can have our best players on the field, the more we can continue to be proud about who we are, the more we can be staunch about us as people.

“There should be no question around whether you represent your culture or not.”

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