Latrell Mitchell says the best defensive performance he has ever seen was the one that led his Indigenous All-Stars to a 22-14 victory against their Māori counterparts in Townsville.
Far from the fluidity and attack football fans at Queensland Country Bank Stadium may have expected, brave defensive work on the goal line earned the Indigenous team their victory as they withstood a Maori barrage on Friday night.
Two tries in 10 minutes for Indigenous winger Josh Addo-Carr gave his team an early lead, but it was Braydon Trindall’s play at five-eighth that won the Preston Campbell medal for best fielding.
Latrell Mitchell says the best defensive performance he has ever seen was the one that led his Indigenous All-Stars to a 22-14 victory against their Māori counterparts in Townsville.
The Maori team dominated the territory, was tackled 51 times within 20 meters of the opponent compared to 17 for the indigenous team, and ran almost 300 meters further, but lacked depth accuracy in the attack.
They scored within four minutes for a 6-0 lead, but did not cross again until the final minute of the match, when prop Xavier Willison found them a consolation attempt.
Indigenous captain Mitchell said his team showed an unexpected element to their game.
“With our attacking arsenal, we have the best attacking team in the world, but we have shown that we can also defend,” he said.
“That was the best defensive performance I’ve ever seen.
“The boys played football and had fun, that was my clearest message: play it simple and stand behind your skills, be proud of who you are and that Bob is your uncle.”
Trindall’s stellar combination with teammate Nicho Hynes would have had Cronulla fans salivating.
The five-eighth launched two delicate kicks which were canceled out by attempts from Addo-Carr and speedster Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow, while Hynes launched a superb cut pass to winger Alofiana Khan-Pereira late on to seal the victory.
Trindall was initially set to play as a makeshift hooker before an injury to Cody Walker forced him to move to the halves, Indigenous coach Ronald Griffiths said.
“When Cody retired, we didn’t hesitate to play him in the halves,” he said.
‘I told him ‘when the time is right to come out of the shadows, you will,’ and he did.
“He really controlled the pace of the game, but he made a special effort on defense… those are the kind of plays that win games, and that’s why he has that medal around his neck.”
Indigenous captain Mitchell said his team showed an unexpected element to their game.
Mitchell was never far from the action early on, his handling error allowing Maori captain Joe Tapine to produce the game’s opening point with a mammoth effort that saw him break three tackles.
But he quickly made amends, stepping up to the Maori line to pass Addo-Carr and score in the corner.
Perhaps the final moment of defensive desperation came when Maori prop Xavier Willison looked clean to score late in the third period, but was hauled away by the much smaller Bailey Biondi-Odo.
Maori coach Adam Blair lamented his team’s inability to break through as they so clearly won the turf battle.
“There were moments throughout that game where we had our opportunities, we generated enough pressure,” he said.
‘But you have to give credit to the indigenous boys, they fought well… we had about 20 minutes almost on their try line.
“They worked hard for each other and that’s what this game does when you represent your people, something different is at play.”