All Stars match

Rugby League All Stars Match
Company type	Annual sporting event
Industry	Sports (Rugby league)
Founded	February 13, 2010; 16 years ago
Headquarters	Australia
Area served	Australia
Parent	National Rugby League

The Rugby League All Stars Match is an annual rugby league fixture managed by the National Rugby League, showcasing a contest between the Indigenous All Stars and a rival All Stars team, both predominantly chosen through public voting. Since its debut in 2010, the event has been held across multiple venues throughout Australia. The most outstanding player in the game is awarded the Preston Campbell Medal, named in honor of the indigenous Gold Coast player Preston Campbell. Originally, the Indigenous All Stars competed against an NRL All Stars team until 2015, after which they faced a World All Stars team starting from 2016.

The first match took place on 13 February 2010 at Skilled Park on the Gold Coast, where the Indigenous All Stars secured a 16–12 win. Half-back Johnathan Thurston was the inaugural recipient of the Preston Campbell Medal. Player selection involves a combination of public voting via the official NRL website and coach selections to assemble a 20-player squad. The event also serves as a platform for testing innovative rules such as the "Double Try" and "Power Play." In 2012, the trophy was renamed to honor indigenous rugby league legend Arthur Beetson.

Rule variations

During the 2010 match, specific rule modifications were introduced to enhance both gameplay and spectator interest:

The double try or power play rule enabled a team scoring a try to attempt an additional try from one play-the-ball instead of taking a conversion kick, with this extra try valued at four points. Important stipulations included:
- The attempt commenced from the opposition’s 20-metre line.
- The defending fullback exited the field, giving the attacking side a 13 versus 12 player advantage.
- Kicking was prohibited during this attempt; if possession changed hands, play ended without scoring chances for defenders.
- Any penalty conceded by defenders during this play resulted in an automatic double try award.
The game was segmented into quarters with longer breaks, allowing live broadcasts of coaches’ team talks—a first for this event.
Teams were permitted unlimited interchanges.
Four officials operated on-field simultaneously, with two referees managing play at once.
The video referee offered real-time explanations of decisions for broadcast commentary.

In 2013, further experimental rules were trialed to enhance game speed and fairness:

Ruck Penalties*
- When defenders committed infringements in the ruck (such as holding down or leg pulling) that did not stop play, a zero tackle restart was awarded immediately at the infringement spot without kicking for touch.
- Any foul play by either team in the ruck resulted in standard penalties.
Quick Restarts*
- Quick penalty tap restarts were extended from the point of offense (excluding ruck penalties), with captain’s challenges limited to possession and scrum scenarios.
Restarts from Kicks*
- If an attacking kick launched from outside the opponent’s 30-metre line went dead in-goal, possession was transferred via a tap restart at the original kick location once officials were ready.

These rule changes represented deliberate innovations aimed at accelerating gameplay, ensuring fairness, and enhancing broadcast appeal within the NRL All Stars fixture.

Preston Campbell Medal

The Preston Campbell Medal, named in honour of the Gold Coast Titans' indigenous icon Preston Campbell—who originated the All Stars match concept—is presented to the player adjudged man of the match through a public voting process.

Year	Awardee	Team	Position	Club
2010	Johnathan Thurston	Indigenous All Stars	Halfback	North Queensland Cowboys
2011	Josh Dugan	NRL All Stars	Fullback	Canberra Raiders
2012	Nathan Merritt	Indigenous All Stars	Winger	South Sydney Rabbitohs
2013	Ben Barba	Indigenous All Stars	Fullback	Canterbury Bulldogs
2014	Not Held
2015	George Rose	Indigenous All Stars	Prop	St George Illawarra Dragons
2016	James Graham	World All Stars	Prop	Canterbury Bulldogs
2017	Johnathan Thurston	Indigenous All Stars	Five-eighth	North Queensland Cowboys
2018	Not Held
2019	Tyrone Roberts	Indigenous All Stars	Five-eighth	Gold Coast Titans
2020	Brandon Smith	Māori All Stars	Hooker	Melbourne Storm
2021	James Fisher-Harris	Māori All Stars	Prop	Penrith Panthers
2022	Joseph Tapine	Māori All Stars	Prop	Canberra Raiders
2023	Nicho Hynes	Indigenous All Stars	Halfback	Cronulla Sharks
2024	Braydon Trindall	Indigenous All Stars	Five-eighth	Cronulla Sharks

Summary

2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 Note: The event was not conducted in the years 2014 and 2018.

Year	Champions	Scoreline	Opponents	Location	City	Attendance
2010	Indigenous All Stars	16–12	NRL All Stars	Robina Stadium	Gold Coast	26,687	-
NRL All Stars	28–12	Indigenous All Stars	Robina Stadium	Gold Coast	25,843
NRL All Stars	36–28	Indigenous All Stars	Robina Stadium	Gold Coast	26,039
Indigenous All Stars	32–6	NRL All Stars	Lang Park	Brisbane	41,021
colspan=6 align=center \| Not Held
Indigenous All Stars	20–6	NRL All Stars	Robina Stadium	Gold Coast	23,177
World All Stars	12–8	Indigenous All Stars	Lang Park	Brisbane	37,339
Indigenous All Stars	34–8	World All Stars	Newcastle International Sports Centre	Newcastle	20,241
colspan=6 align=center \| Not Held
Indigenous All Stars	34–14	Māori All Stars	Melbourne Rectangular Stadium	Melbourne	18,802
Māori All Stars	30–16	Indigenous All Stars	Robina Stadium	Gold Coast	23,599
Māori All Stars	10–10	Indigenous All Stars	Queensland Country Bank Stadium	Townsville	20,206
Māori All Stars	16–10	Indigenous All Stars	CommBank Stadium	Sydney	26,755
Indigenous All Stars	28–24	Māori All Stars	Rotorua International Stadium	Rotorua	17,644
Indigenous All Stars	22–14	Māori All Stars	Queensland Country Bank Stadium	Townsville	15,579

Women's All Stars Matches Results

Since 2011, the Women's All Stars Match has been conducted as the female equivalent of the rugby league All Stars event.

Overview

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2014

This fixture acted as the primary preliminary event before the 2014 Anzac Test.

2015

Played as a lead-in to the men's 2015 All Stars game, the Women’s All Stars exhibition match concluded with the NRL Women’s All Stars triumphing 26–8.

External links

Year	Victorious Team	Score	Defeated Team	Venue	City/Town	Region/State	Country	Attendance
2011	Women's All Stars	20–6	Indigenous Women's All Stars	Skilled Park	G. Coast	Queensland	Australia	25,843
2012	Women's All Stars	10–10	Indigenous Women's All Stars	Skilled Park	G. Coast	Queensland	Australia
2013	Women's All Stars	38–6	Indigenous Women's All Stars	Suncorp Stadium	Brisbane	Queensland	Australia	41,021
2014	Women's All Stars	24–0	Indigenous Women's All Stars	Allianz Stadium	Sydney	New South Wales	Australia	25,429