Take Indigenous All Stars global: Thurston

Indigenous All Stars rugby league captain Johnathan Thurston has called for the side to travel the world.

Johnathan Thurston has called for an expansion of the Indigenous All Stars concept and for the side to tour the world.

Ahead of the seventh edition of the showcase NRL All Stars game on Friday night in Newcastle, the annual match is facing an uncertain future.

It will go on hiatus next year, due to players being given an extended break following the World Cup, and uncertainty continues about its place on the packed league calendar.

Like every year since its inception in 2010, a string of high-profile withdrawals including Jarryd Hayne, Sam Thaiday and Josh Dugan, has taken some of the gloss off.

The NRL has moved to assure its support for the fixture, while the game's leading indigenous players are adamant it must be retained.

Thurston, the Indigenous side captain, revealed he wanted the concept to grow beyond a one-off pre-season game against the World All Stars.

He said he wanted the side to tour the world, taking on some of the smaller Test nations or representative sides as a vehicle for spreading indigenous culture.

"The pre-season is pretty hectic with a lot of games and club games and the World Cup at the end of this year," Thurston said.

"A dream of mine for the future is to have an indigenous side play a Maori side or a Scotland side or something like that and we can take our culture and bring it to life in other areas of the world.

"We're passionate and we have a lot of history and, if we can take that to other countries around the world, then that'd be a great thing."


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Source: AAP


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