NRL ALL-STARS COLLIDE THIS WEEKEND
ALL-STAR DOUBLE-HEADER AND THE WORLD CLUB CHALLENGE
The biggest names in Rugby League collide this weekend over three huge games as the 2020 NRL season looms on the horizon.
This Saturday, February 22nd from Cbus Super Stadium on the Gold Coast, the best Indigenous and Maori superstars in the NRL collide in the annual NRL All-Stars game, LIVE at 7:30pm AEDT on Nine and 9Now.
The Indigenous side were victorious in 2019, and the Maoris will be searching for a measure of revenge.
Lining up for the Indigenous side are plenty of big game players such as Blake Ferguson, Josh Addo-Carr, Jack Wighton, David Fifita and Latrell Mitchell, whose move to fullback at the South Sydney Rabbitohs has caused a stir in rugby league circles in recent times. The All-Star game will be the first glimpse fans will have had in some time of Mitchell in his new position, after having been so dominant at centre for the past few seasons.
They face a Maori All-Stars side packed with talent and itching for revenge after falling to the Indigenous team in 2019. Kalyn Ponga, Dylan Walker, Jesse Bromwich and Jahrome Hughes are among the stars lining up for them, and they’ll be hoping that a few late omissions for the opposition could give them the leg up they need to get the win this year.
This match will be preceded by the top female stars doing battle in the NRL Women’s All-Stars game, littered with Indigenous and Maori stars of the NRLW, with coverage starting on GEM and 9Now this Saturday from 5:00pm AEDT.
The NRLW has grown in leaps and bounds since its inception in 2018, and the women won’t disappoint come Saturday.
The weekend of action rounds out on Sunday morning at 6:30am AEDT on GEM and 9Now, as the reigning NRL Premiership winners the Sydney Roosters travel to the UK to face 2019 Super League champions St Helen’s in the annual World Club Challenge.
The Roosters will be facing a lot of changes since they last played in the 2019 Grand Final, losing big names in Cooper Cronk and Latrell Mitchell, and slotting in new recruit Kyle Flanagan and second-rower Angus Crichton into their places respectively. Co-captain Boyd Cordner will also be rested for the match.
St Helen’s feature an imposing team packed with former NRL stars such as Kevin Naiqama and Joseph Paulo, as well as English stars in fullback Jonny Lomax and hooker James Roby. They also hold a distinct advantage of their national competition being several rounds in, ensuring their match fitness won’t be an issue.
Having won the World Club Challenge title last year, the Roosters will be hoping to become the first club in either competition to win five WCC titles, and the first to win it in back-to-back years.
