Canberra Raiders coach Ricky Stuart has launched a scathing response to Maori All Stars coach Adam Blair after Blair accused the Raiders of pressuring their players to skip the All Stars match, presumably to avoid injuries before the NRL season.
Stuart strongly denied the claims and labelled Blair's comments as โnaiveโ, โinexperiencedโ and "selfish".
It has often been suggested that NRL players face pressure from their clubs to prioritise club commitments over cultural representation, and Blair is the latest to resurrect the issue.
โEveryone's dream is to play NRL and if you sit on the fringe of that it's hard to stand up to your coach and say, โHey, I want to represent my people',โ Blair said, speaking with News Corp.
โThere's [sic] so many talented players that could've been here but due to pressures [they couldn't be here]โฆ for example, I love our Canberra boys and we could have taken five or six of them and put them in our squad.โ
Stuart fired back with receipts.
โAnyone with an ounce of knowledge about rugby league would know how dedicated and proud the Canberra Raiders are in regards to supporting the development and opportunity to play at the highest level of our Maori, Pasifika and Indigenous players,โ Stuart said.
โRuben Wiki, John Lomax, Laurie Daley, Mal Meninga, Quentin Ponga, Ken Nagas, I could go on and on.โ
Stuart also highlighted the Raiders' recent support for the All Stars concept, noting that Joseph Tapine has played in the last four All Stars matches and Jamal Fogarty is an All Stars representative.
โOur longstanding support and absolute understanding how special the NRL All Stars game is has been deeply tarnished by these naive comments from an inexperienced person,โ Stuart said.
โThis proud club does more for our Maori, Pasifika and Indigenous players than Adam Blair would ever do and will ever know of.โ
The Raiders also claim that Blair contacted players directly without consulting the club's football department, which is against normal protocol.
Stuart revealed that Raiders players, including Tapine, Matt Timoko and Trey Mooney all declined the invitation to play in the All Stars match on their own, without any pressure from the club.
โOur players made a decision not to play by themselves, many of which without our knowledge due to the way the Maori team conducted their communication,โ Stuart said.
The Raiders' football department sent an email to All Stars organisers to clarify that no formal request was made to the club regarding player availability.
Stuart also expressed his belief that the All Stars concept, while โwonderful,โ is held at the wrong time of the year.
The fiery exchange has reignited debate about the timing and significance of the All Stars match, as well as the balance between club commitments and cultural representation.
