The South Sydney Rabbitohs and Parramatta Eels are reaching out to the NRL for their respective stars, Latrell Mitchell and Josh Addo-Carr to have the Indigenous versus Maori All Stars match count towards their ongoing suspensions.
Mitchell is serving a one-match suspension for bringing the game into disrepute last season, whilst Addo-Carr's ban is four matches and a fine of $15,000 after testing positive for cocaine at a roadside test late last year.
Both clubs reportedly requested permission from judiciary chair Geoff Bellew on Thursday, as per Code Sports.
It is seemingly likely that the NRL will approve the applications, with suspended NRL stars being able to serve bans during representative commitments.
Recently, Cameron Murray served a game of his suspension sentence, missing the PM's XIII clash. Whilst Apisai Koroisau served two games during Fiji's Pacific Championships matches.
In 2022, the NRL came under fire for not allowing Latrell Mitchell to play in the Indigenous All-Stars' match.
Should the NRL maintain this precedent, Mitchell will likely not be playing in this years All Stars clash, instead serving part of his suspension and enabling the star fullback to return for the Rabbitohs in round 1 of that season.
Addo-Carr, who has been a stalwart member of the Indigenous All Stars side, will miss this season's edition after his heavily publicised off-field incident last year left him with a four-game suspension and ultimately led to his exit from the Bulldogs.
Having featured in four of the last six All-Stars matches, Addo-Carr is almost a guaranteed selection each year. This makes it all the more likely for the NRL to allow Addo-Carr to have next year's game count towards his suspension.
If the requests by Parramatta and South Sydney were to be approved by the NRL, this would mean Mitchell is free to play in the Rabbitohs round one match against The Dolphins, with Addo-Carr being eligible to face off against the Bulldogs in Round 3 in a clash against his former club.
