After the vast majority of the nation's sporting competitions were cancelled until a later date, it only made sense that the inaugural Group 10 vs. Group 11 Indigenous All-Stars fixture would follow.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The unique contest, which was set to be played in April at Cowra, will be postponed until a later date.
The date for the reschedule isn't set in stone yet but with country rugby league on a hiatus until at least May 1, the assumption would be that the Indigenous clash plays second fiddle to Group 10, meaning it's something that might be held until after the season or even delayed until 2021.
Will Ingram, who is the organiser of the Group 10 side, thinks the postponement of the game is a cruel blow to the Indigenous boys and it was also something that took him by surprise.
READ MORE: Aust sports coalition seeks government aid
"After the Bathurst knockout, me and my group of selectors were throwing teams at each other and who we'd and where we'd put them," Ingram said.
"We were still planning for business as usual."
Ingram and the organisers are already looking at a few dates the contest can be played and think there are more than one viable option.
"There was a spare round slated for representative fixture, that could be a possibility," he said.
"There's also a long weekend in June and a wet weather weekend at the end of the season.
Those dates, of course, are all likely to change if the season returns as the boards will need to establish a new structure of their seasons but if there's still a wet weather round or even the representative clash between Group 10 and Group 11, you'd think there'd be a way to fit it in.
"It's going to be up to the executive really," he said.
"I'd like to think we go ahead and have it take place on the same weekend as the Group 10 vs. Group 11 match. That's a full representative group weekend that's slated to be a bye for both comps."
If push comes to shove and both the representative game and all-Indigenous game are to be played on the same weekend, players who are selected for both would likely need to choose one or the other.
"The player can decide who they want to play for but we've got bus loads of talented blokes who could fill a spot on the Indigenous sides," he said.
"The following this game got after it was announced was massive. There was a huge push from the players, the families and all the towns involved... you'd be silly not to listen to those voices."
Jake Humphreys
Sports nut at the Central Western Daily.
Sports nut at the Central Western Daily.
