NRL All Stars Game
| Rugby League All Stars | |
|---|---|
Current season or competition:: 2016 All Stars match
|
|
 |
|
| Sport | Rugby league |
| Instituted | 2010 |
| Inaugural season | 2010 |
| Number of teams | 2 |
| Country |
 Australia (NRL)
|
| Holders | World All Stars (2016) |
| Most titles | Indigenous All-Stars (3 titles) |
| Website | NRL.com/AllStars |
| Broadcast partner |
Nine Network Fox Sports |
| Related competition | National Rugby League |
The Rugby League All Stars Match of the National Rugby League is an annual rugby league football match between the specially-formed Indigenous All Stars and an All Stars team, both of whose members are made available for selection public vote. The game has been played since 2010 at Gold Coast, Queensland's Skilled Park. The player judged man-of-the-match is awarded the Preston Campbell Medal, named after indigenous Gold Coast player, Preston Campbell. Between 2010 and 2015, the Indigenous All Stars opponent was an NRL All Stars team, they were replaced for 2016 by a World All Stars team.
The first match took place on 13 February 2010 at the Gold Coast's Skilled Park and was won 16-12 by the Indigenous All Stars, and winning half-back Johnathan Thurston was awarded the inaugural Preston Campbell award for best player. Players from both sides were primarily chosen by the public, through a voting scheme through the official NRL website. Coaches from both sides then select the voted players into a make up squad, and players specially selected by the coaches are then included to create the full 20-man positional squad. Several rule alterations were also made exclusive to the All Stars which trialled such concepts like the "Double Try" and "Power Play" rule. In 2012, the match trophy was named in honour to indigenous rugby league legend Artie Beetson.
For 2010, the match exhibited several rule variations exclusive to the All stars match:
For the 2013 game, the following trial experimental rules were introduced:
The Preston Campbell Medal is awarded to the man of the match and is exclusively voted by the public. The medal is named after Gold Coast Titans and indigenous star Preston Campbell, who was the first person that ventured the idea of the All Stars match.
...
Wikipedia