Indigenous All Stars 16 NRL All Stars 12

Thirty years ago, an hour’s drive up the road from the Gold Coast at Lang Park, a punch by Arthur Beetson on his Parramatta clubmate Mick Cronin gave fire-breathing birth to State of Origin. The NRL All Stars concept has arrived with similar unbridled ferocity, with a thundering tackle from Newcastle and Indigenous second-rower Cory Paterson on his club captain Kurt Gidley leaving no doubt about where allegiances lay on a historic evening at Skilled Park.

Traditional dancers face off with the NRL All Stars. Photo: Paul Harris

The result, a stunning 16-12 victory by Preston Campbell’s Indigenous All Stars sealed by a Jamie Soward try in the 74th minute, was what everyone bar NRL All Stars coach Wayne Bennett and his 20 men wanted, but the feelgood atmosphere that infused Skilled Park last night is unlikely to be matched in Newcastle today.

Floored by the shoulder of Paterson, his 22-year-old Knights teammate, Gidley knew he was in trouble immediately. He signalled to the sideline for assistance once he scraped himself off and got to his feet before hobbling from the field with a knee injury.

”I think all of Newcastle and everyone in rugby league will have their fingers crossed for Kurt Gidley,” said Andrew Johns after the incident in the second of the four quarters. Well they might. Gidley will undergo scans today

The NSW captain was not the only casualty of a spectacular inaugural affair. An elbow injury suffered by NRL All Stars captain Darren Lockyer early in the first quarter forced him to quit the contest, while Travis Waddell, the Canberra and Indigenous hooker, will have no memory of leaving proceedings just afterwards after suffering a heavy concussion.

Hints that the match, nestled on the calendar a month out from the NRL premiership kick-off, would be played in the vein of a regular pre-season trial were blown out of the water well before Gidley found himself on the end of a special from his club comrade.

It should have been blatantly obvious that there would be no shortage of passion, from the Indigenous selection especially, when spears and boomerangs were drawn in the faces of Lockyer’s men just before kick-off.

If that wasn’t convincing enough, a brutal start of near Origin proportions did the trick. Indigenous forwards Sam Thaiday, George Rose and, of course, Paterson exploded into life like this was July, not February. Their halves, Johnathan Thurston and Scott Prince, gelled almost instantly, offering a crystal ball into Queensland’s Origin future but, more importantly, giving the Indigenous side an early lead with a try in just the fourth minute.

Who else should score it but Wendell Sailor? Only Preston Campbell, the game’s initiator, would have been more fitting. Sailor, newly retired from rugby league and hence playing his last match, leaped on Prince’s kick to his corner with delight before using the corner post as a makeshift didgeridoo.

The Indigenous side failed to score at their first chance to convert the four points into a ”double try” – an NFL-like concept in use for this match only – but the crowd had even more reason to reach fever pitch when Ben Jones, the Roosters and Indigenous dummy-half, dived over to extend the lead.

In between, there were plenty of reasons for noise – winger Blake Ferguson showcased his freakish talents to reel in a flying Israel Folau and Jarryd Hayne, the NRL All Stars fullback, was held up by Thaiday.

The star-studded favourites fought their way back with tries to Josh Morris, Benji Marshall and Michael Jennings, but there would be no denying the Indigenous men.