Rugby league coach delivers simple solution to claims clubs are putting pressure on Indigenous players to skip All Stars matches – following heated disagreement
Indigenous All Stars coach Ron Griffiths has a plan to help players secure releases from their clubs to feature in the annual pre-season fixture.
It came after Canberra boss Ricky Stuart and Maori All Stars coach Adam Blair were caught at loggerheads over the availability of several Raiders’ players in what became a heated discussion.
The Maori All Stars secured a 10-6 victory against the Indigenous All Stars this weekend in Sydney.
Blair had claimed that clubs were putting ‘pressure’ on players not to make themselves available for Indigenous pre-season matches. But his comments appeared to catch the ire of Stuart.
‘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”,’ Blair said, before making a direct reference to being unable to call upon several Canberra stars.
‘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.
All Stars boss Ron Stuart has revealed there is a simple solution for players to get around the pressures from their clubs to not play in pre-season Indigenous matches
It came after Adam Blair (pictured) was involved in a heated argument with Raiders boss Ricky Stuart after the former appeared to hint that Canberra had not released several key stars
Stuart (pictured) clapped back at Blair claiming that his comments were ‘selfish’ and ‘childish’
‘But I get it… those are five of Canberra’s best players.’
Stuart blasted Blair’s comments as ‘childish’, claiming: ‘He’s obviously coaching the way he used to play, very selfishly.’
Meanwhile, Indigenous All Stars boss Griffiths has placed his backing behind Blair on the matter.
‘I stand with Blair on the issue,’ he said to The Sydney Morning Herald.
‘He has been personally attacked. Adam has acted honourably and with good character.
‘I support Adam’s sentiment in terms of players being available. We’ve got some world-class, elite players that the fans want to see.’
‘There’s no doubt that clubs are holding players back. I’ve got examples of text messages from players where they have been told they can’t play.
‘I’ve also got examples where the club hasn’t informed the player that they are going to be selected; the club has just said to us: “No, they are not playing”.
The Maori All Stars beat the Indigenous All Stars 10-6 at the CommBank Stadium in Sydney on Saturday
Griffiths claimed that some players had felt pressured into missing the pre-season match
‘That’s just the reality of the situation. What Adam has come out and said, I support. We stand together on this.’
He then offered up his own take on what can be done to improve the situation claiming that players should add clauses to their contracts that allow them to be released for the pre-season match.
‘People spoke about having a clause in your contract to ensure you are released for the game,’ Griffiths said.
‘They have the opportunity to put that into their contract when they are negotiating.
‘Importantly, for young people on the cusp of playing NRL, it’s a hard thing to ask your club to release you for a pre-season fixture.
‘You’re taking a week off from your club, so it’s got to be managed differently in terms of player availability.
‘I can understand the club’s hesitation in releasing players – we have them for one week, they have them for a whole year.
Griffiths said that players should include a clause in their contracts that enabled them to play in the fixture
‘But we’ve got a responsibility as a game to allow the best players to play so that the game is a spectacle.
‘I spoke to a player last night who wasn’t even informed by his club that we wanted to select him. We were given rhetoric that they had no middles for a trial game.
‘It’s an opportunity for this kid to go and live with his culture for a week, to be proud of who he is.
‘It was a chance for us to send him back more socially, emotionally and culturally supported, but he wasn’t even informed that we wanted to pick him.’
