Kangaroos' edge forward Angus Crichton implored the Australian squad to stay united in future amidst suggestions for an all-Indigenous side at the 2025 World Cup tournament.
The suggestion for an Indigenous side to take the field in France came from Ron Griffiths who will take over from Laurie Daley as coach of the Indigenous All-Stars in 2023.
Speaking with Fox Sports, Crichton was less eager about the idea of a split in the Australian ranks.
โThe way I see it, Indigenous Australia and white Australia - I don't think we need to divide it. I want it to be integrated, I want everyone to get on as one,โ Crichton said.
โIf we're having white Australia v black Australia then I feel like that's just making the gap further apart.
โI love representing Australia with my indigenous brothers.
โSo I feel like that would be a backward step in my opinion.โ
The current Kangaroos squad contains four Indigenous All-Stars representatives including Latrell Mitchell, Josh Addo-Carr, Jack Wighton and Reuben Cotter.
Conversely, Griffiths maintains his belief that the idea would be "great for the game" with plenty of NRL stars willingly forgoing Kangaroos' duties to play in the side.
โI think it would be great for the game, it would be fantastic to see. They would certainly be a strong team," Griffiths said.
โWhat's important is they would inspire the next generation of kids. You would see the game grow in terms of participation, certainly from an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspective.
โWe already love the game, but to have something like that would create a whole raft of opportunities for development within our culture.
