Kua whakaopeti atu te kapa rīki Māori ki te papa tākaro o CommBank Stadium i Parramatta, mō te whakaharatau whakamutunga i mua i te tukinga NRL Allstars 2025.
Ka mutu, ehara i te mea ko te rīki te mātua ki ngā kaitākaro.
Koirā tā James Fisher-Harris, kāpene takirua o te kapa Māori.
I te tau 2019, he manu pīrere noa iho a Fisher-Harris i te kapa Māori i tērā wā, nā, ināianei nā, koia tērā ka noho hei kāpene takirua me Dane Gagai.
Hei tāna anō, he nui te whanaketia o te kēmu.
“Bro, it’s mean, aye?”
“Just to see the growth of everyone, our boys, our wāhine, and even their side.”
“The Indigenous side, they’re doing heaps of songs and their own waiata and dances.”
“It’s good to see, man.”
More than just league
The NRL Allstars concept brings together the crème de la crème of the rugby league world. While some stars are missing this year due to other commitments like injuries, the star power is there for all to see.
In the Māori Allstars team alone, the likes of Kaylyn Ponga, Jordan Riki, and Joe Tapine headline a side boasting serious juice.
But co-captain James Fisher-Harris is the undoubted star and leader of the side. Coming off a fourth-consecutive premiership with the Penrith Panthers, Fisher-Harris has decided to return home to Aotearoa.
For Chanrze Nicoll-Klokstad, who starts in the number six jersey, winning the game isn’t the main thing.
“The aroha, the love, the passion, you could see it all out there.”
“It’s very cool to see that these two passionate cultures coming together, representing our cultures, and we get to go head to head.”
Fisher-Harris says while he is in Australia, his thoughts are for his family back in Aotearoa, his partner and three tamariki, and his whānau in Hokianga.
“To all my whānau up Tai Tokerau, Hokianga especially, I got you.”
