Indigenous run hot in Women's All Stars rout
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The Indigenous Women's All Stars powered to their biggest ever NRL Harvey Norman All Stars victory on Friday, with a 26-4 win over the Māori which was spearheaded by a dominant showing from centre Jaime Chapman.
Chapman registered long-range tries inside the opening two minutes of both the second and third quarter, on a night in which she ran for 214 metres and broke through seven tackles.
She was joined by debutante winger Kimberley Hunt in crossing for a double at Queensland Country Bank Stadium, with Shaylee Bent the home side's other scorer.
But it wasn't enough to claim the Trish Hina Medal as player of the match, with that honour instead going to playmaker Kirra Dibb, who pulled the strings in the victory with a try assist, line break assist and three goals.
The result eclipses the Indigenous' previous biggest winning margin over the Māori, which was achieved by way of a 18-8 victory back in 2022 and means the overall record between the two sides now sits at three wins apiece.
On the very last play of a first quarter which saw few scoring opportunities, it was deft grubber from Tamika Upton which broke the deadlock, with Bent getting the final touch.
Shaylee Bent Try
While it took 14 minutes to get over the line in the first quarter, it took the Indigenous just two minutes to get another out of the break thanks to a blockbusting Chapman run through some suspect Māori defence, with Kirra Dibb's ensuring conversion making it 10-0.
The third came after Shanice Parker compounded her handling error by hitting a player off the ball to give away a penalty, which led to Hunt streaking away down the right edge for her first.
Another devastating run, leading to another try, saw Chapman stretch the lead to 22 points early in the third quarter, before the Indigenous showed they weren't only up for the glamour stuff by repelling a mini resurgence from the Māori which saw them threaten on a number of occasions.
Jaime Chapman Try
The Māori finally got one back with 11 minutes to go, but Jasmine Strange's effort, which went unconverted by Raecene McGregor, came far too late to impact the final outcome.
A second for Hunt in the dying minutes confirmed the 26-4 victory.
Match: Indigenous v Maori
Round 1 -
home Team
Indigenous
away Team
Maori
Venue: Queensland Country Bank Stadium, Townsville
Match Snapshot
- The Indigenous victory squares the overall head-to-head record between the two sides at three wins apiece, with a neither having achieved wins in consecutive years so far.
- The Indigenous missed just 14 tackles compared to the Māori who fell off 34.
- After previously scoring just eight tries in the first five games against the Māori, the Indigenous All Stars managed to cross for that many in just 56 minutes on Friday.
- Kirra Dibb claimed her first Trish Hina Medal with a stellar showing in the halves, which included kicking a 40/20 and laying on a try.
- Māori lock Brooke Anderson got through 23 tackles, one short of Indigenous captain Quincy Dodd's game-high 24.
Play of the Game
You could take your pick from either of her efforts, which from an athleticism point of view were equally impressive. But the first came at a crucial stage in the match when the Indigenous led by only four points, with Chapman gliding through the first line and beating the chasers for pace, before she made light work of rounding fullback Corban Baxter.
Jaime Chapman Try
What They Said
"I am really proud of the girls. We built a really relaxed week and they took that out on the field and when things didn't go our way, there was a few errors there, but they just remained calm and composed. 'Simplicity is best' is the phrase we'd been using all week and keeping it really simple." – Indigenous Women's All Stars coach Jess Skinner.
Womens Indigenous All Stars
"In short we really didn't hold or secure the ball well enough, a lot of turnovers, and we missed some tackles that I think normally wouldn't be missed. When those things happen it's a pretty simple game."– Māori Women's All Stars coach Keith Hanley.
Māori Ferns
