With the NRL’s All-Stars fixture currently scheduled in among club trials and just weeks before the regular season kicks off, questions are being asked if the clash needs to be moved elsewhere in the busy rugby league calendar.
The addition of the Las Vegas trip has cut four sides’ pre-seasons a week shorter, leading to Penrith withdrawing from this year’s World Club Championship against Super League title winners Wigan Warriors, citing concerns over burnout and player welfare after five straight seasons of playing all the way through to the first Sunday in October.
Latrell Mitchell and Josh Addo-Carr will be serving suspensions for the 2025 game between the Indigenous All Stars and Maori All Stars, further reducing star quality in the showcase affair with the likes of Cody Walker, Nicho Hynes and Joseph Tapine withdrawing themselves, again referencing a desire to be fully fit for their club teams.
It’s hard to blame the players, who put their bodies on the line for the majority of the calendar year playing a tough contact sport – they truly need all the rest they can get. It puts the NRL in a difficult spot, however, if they’re going to continue pushing the All-Star game as a premium product with premium ticket prices.
Considering the grind of the regular season, and the desire to keep all attention on the marquee three-match State of Origin series mid-year, the only other really feasible spot in the calendar would be after the grand final. That’s typically the time international matches are played, but the 2024 Pacific Championships showed that Australia’s dominance means interest in national teams is maybe the lowest it has ever been.
Former Roosters, Eels and Souths player Dean Widders recently proposed a post-regular season solution for the All Stars that could integrate with international play.
“The All Stars games have been a tremendous platform and we’ve now got to fight to get more opportunities,” Widders said.
“Back in those days we played with whoever was around. But I feel when you look at the talented players we (the Indigenous community) have got that sat out of the Pacific Championships and weren’t in teams, we need to see them on the world stage. I believe that we should be pushing to progress and play more games.”
Latrell Mitchell will not feature in Saturday’s game (Photo by Ian Hitchcock/Getty Images)
It’s an interesting idea, and NRL CEO Andrew Abdo also referenced the potential of moving the clash to the end-of-year international period.
In its current guise the lack of a real care factor – from multiple stakeholders – and its pre-season status has left the All-Star game in an awkward spot of celebrating culture and showcasing star players but leaving the 80 minutes itself as rather meaningless and hollow.
Perhaps that’s all the NRL wants – extra revenue and an intensity level that inherently reduces the risk of injury to Origin stars for its biggest cash cow.
But if the administration really cares about elevating the All-Stars fixture to a more meaningful status it could be time to tinker with the concept.
Punitive responses to player withdrawals may be necessary, whether it stays in the current pre-season slot or moves around. It won’t necessarily start making certain players care but would likely result in even more stars turning out for the game.
That would show fans there’s faith in the concept from head office rather than treating it as a glorified kick-around featuring a fantasy team of Indigenous and Maori players.
