Kokomos Reps Tyler Han & Jesse Braslin Rep Murri 16 Team

By QRL Media

Interstate rivalry will be on display tonight when the Queensland Under 16 Murri side face off against the NSW Under 16 Koori side in Newcastle.

The two teams will play as part of the Awabakal All Stars Interstate Challenge at 6pm NSW time; while the bill will also see Queensland Murri Carnival winners the Cherbourg Hornets play the Redfern All Blacks.
The Indigenous All Stars and World All Stars men’s and women’s games will be played tomorrow night at McDonald Jones Stadium.
Queensland Under 16 Murri coach Jim Stevens said the boys have been soaking up the atmosphere of the All Stars celebrations which also included a combined lunch with the Koori side and the NRL Indigenous All Stars team yesterday.
“This week has been fantastic,” Stevens said.
“It was a great thing for the boys to have their jerseys presented by the Indigenous All Stars.”
While the whole squad have been making the most of the opportunity to take part in many of cultural activities that have become a centrepiece of the NRL All Stars celebrations, they have also been training hard in anticipation of a tough match.
“This game will be played with the same New South Wales v Queensland rivalry as all the interstate games, for sure,” Stevens said.
“At the lunch, the boys were definitely sizing each other up,” he laughed.
One factor which has Stevens hopeful of seeing a strong performance from his young team is the fact they have been able to play together previously, having toured New Zealand at the end of last season, playing two games.
“The games in New Zealand put us on the front foot for this game,” he said.
“The boys have now played together and know each other.”
Over the past few years, this Murri v Koori game has proven to be highly competitive and a hard one to win, with the two teams playing out draws in four of the past seven years.
This was the case last season where the two rivals were forced to share the spoils with a 16-16 score which resulted the Queensland Murri side retaining the shield, having last won in 2014.
Stevens also said he wished to express his gratitude to the Newcastle Knights NRL club who had made the boys feel welcome.
“The Knights have been fantastic and have been letting us use their facilities to prepare,” Stevens said.
A rule change this year means all 20 players named in the squad will have the opportunity to play, with the unlimited interchange in place for the game.

See the Queensland Under 16 Murri squad list below:
1.    Rayden Burns
2.    Alofiaua Khan
3.    Byron Parnell
4.    Hamish Gibson
5.    Watjerra Briggs
6.    Bailey Biondi-Odo
7.    Lyncoln Rebel
8.    George Lee
9.    Tyler Han
10.   Vaughn Kim
11.   Cole Gardner
12.   Lochie Pollack
13.   Elia Mooka
14.   Jesse Braslin
15.   Jackson Smith
16.   Leo Blennerhassett
17.   Tyreece Gyemore
18.   Ben Mckellor
19.   Rodney Wailu-Walsh
20.   Denzel Borthwick