For NRL great, Dean Widders, the Indigenous All Stars has to be on the "front page" of the NRL agenda.
With a long personal history with the game and in his role as NRL's Indigenous Programs Manager, Widders knows firsthand the power All Stars has on both young and old mob.
"We don't know what lives we have changed out there for the better," he shares in NITV's All Stars: More Than a Game documentary.
"You can never measure what lives you've saved or careers you've developed off the back of the some of the actions of the All Stars."
While it's a key event in the NRL calendar, the competition doesn't have equal standing with other events.
Unlike State of Origin, All Stars only have one round and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders only have the chance to play internationally under the Australia Flag, not for their mob.
"I wouldn't mind seeing an Indigenous All Stars team in the Pacific Champions," Jayden Campbell, Gamilaroi and Daingatti man and Gold Coast Titans player said.
"Some players don't get picked for Australia, so they go back and play for Samoa or Tonga - why cant Indigenous players do that for their heritage?"
Barkindji and Ngaph/Ngati Hine woman and NRLW coach shares his sentiment.
"I personally wouldn't like to see girls having to pick between playing an All Stars game for their mob and the picking to play for their country," she said.
"If we can find a balance where they can do both and use the platform the elevate our people even more that'd be ideal."
But, this can only happen if NRL changes their minds around the importance of the competition.
"I believe that we need to change the thoughts and minds of the NRL clubs to understand that this is a representative game and for some of our women and men it might be the pinnacle of their representative careers," Rebecca Young Worimi woman and former All Star and Jillaroo said.
If we have open mind to the fact that this is a representative game and it equals Origin and the Kangaroos we may be able to see a shift in what that looks like for our players.
Men's All Stars 2026 coach Ron Griffiths believes it's an opportunity for the NRL to be "brave".
"There's an opportunity for the game to be brave now and make this more than just one game," he said.
The Gomeroi man said a "total revamp" is due including scheduling the game later in the year.
"We'd get a chance to play against the Cook Islands and the Maori team - we could prepare a team to play in the world cup, even warm up matches or things like that."
Griffiths acknowledged the immense influence the All Stars has on communities across the nation, and young mob watching.
"Our players get the opportunity to influence people through inspiration to go on and possibly become doctors or lawyers or play NRL or wahtever it is a young kid from Sabi Island or Condobolin or Moore," he said.
"Long term that could be generational change, we can't have the magnitude of that lost on us."
For players Quincy Dodd and Grace Kemp being an All Star is one of her proudest achievements.
"We're not just an All Star for one month of the year, we're n All Star for the whole year," said Dodd.
"If there's a chance to split it up and have three games, that'd be awesome - but as long as the game is still growing, that's the important part."
"All Stars is such an important game, it's not only showcasing our culture but it's giving hope and chance to those young ones back home," said Kemp.
"Being put on this platform and putting on this jersey, you're not only representing mob from back home and playing the game we all love we're also showcasing to these kids out west for example there is a pathway for them."
For seven time All Star, and staunch Quandamooka man, Josh Kerr there is no better feeling than being on the field, in the jersey, representing his mob - and once in a while watching Josh Addo Carr celebrate with a shake-a-leg.
"You see the reaction, you see what the people do how excited they get," he laughed.
"How can you just sit there and say this games doesn't mean nothing to people?"
Stream free On Demand
All Stars: More than a Game
