Indigenous league team rejected as it could ‘divide’ Australia

Calls for an Australian Indigenous rugby league team have been rejected as it could cause “unnecessary division”.

Former NRL player Dean Widders has said an Indigenous side should play at the Pacific Championships.

“We don’t have a platform for our Indigenous players to play at a higher representative level,” he said on NITV.

But Kangaroos coach Mal Meninga said having an Australian Indigenous team play in direct competition to the Kangaroos could end in a white-only Australian team where no State of Origin players are eligible for Kangaroo selection and it could cause a racial split within the code.

“For me there is no reason why we can’t celebrate our history and our heritage,” Meninga said.

“But at some stage we have got to make a decision are we Australian first?

“That doesn’t disrespect First Nations people because they play a really important part in our history but also a really important part in our game.

“And if a First Nations person by heritage is good enough to be picked in the Australia team we do that.

“So I don’t think there is any bias.

“You know, I have got an Australian South Sea Islander background but all my cousins are First Nations peoples.

“But I take the view that we are Australians first.”

Widders said there needed to be a way “for our players to perform at the highest level”.

“We saw last year at the World Cup in the mens, Cody Walker, Latrell Mitchell, Josh Addo-Carr, some of our big star players … they all sat on the sideline and watched these international games,” he said.