St George Illawarra fullback Tyrell Sloan has come to the defence of the Koori Knockout despite recently sustaining an injury and the growing concerns for NRL players at the tournament.
Sloan suffered an ankle injury at the Koori Knockout last month and has since undergone surgery on a syndesmosis setback that will hamper the young Dragons star's pre-season plans.
The Koori Knockout gained further unwanted off-season attention when Canterbury's Josh Addo-Carr was involved in an altercation at a game on the NSW Central Coast for Redfern, with a two-game suspension handed down by the NRL.
Addo-Carr would ultimately miss out on a place in the Australia squad for the Pacific Championships tri-series as a result of the indirection.
With the NRL reportedly planning to review the event and other non-NRL-run tournaments, Sloan has gone into bat for the Indigenous tournament given the impact it has on the community.
"People don't see the things at the Knockout that we see," Sloan said, via The Canberra Times.
"There are a lot of teams that travel from country that are 10 or 12 hours away.
"A lot of kids that don't get to see NRL players, and even older men that don't get to experience the NRL or get exposed to that talent.
"Just coming up against Latrell Mitchell or Addo-Carr. Saying 'I got to tackle them', or 'I got bumped off by the boys'.
"We don't do it for the footy, we do it for our community. And that's what I want everyone to know. It's about my mob getting together. It's the biggest corroboree."
The NRL's potential review into the event, which will be held in Bathurst next year, comes around matters regarding insurance for players who are granted approval to take part in the tournament by their respective NRL clubs.
The league could come down hard on NRL players partaking in non-NRL-sanctioned events amid expressions of concern for further unwanted incidents.
Sloan revealed Dragons coach Shane Flanagan "wasn't too happy" to learn his fullback's pre-season program would be interrupted by an injury sustained at a Koori Knockout match.
"Foxx (Addo-Carr)'s incident was a big one and mine wasn't too publicised, but I tell you what, my coach wasn't too happy," Sloan added.
"He was just a bit pissed because he had a big pre-season set-up."
St George Illawarra are set to open their 2024 campaign with a trip to Cbus Stadium to face the Gold Coast Titans on Saturday, March 9.