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Josh Kerr

getsmarty

Immortal
Messages
33,485
You're not in trouble, Josh, you're in Indigenous All Stars
Author
Brad Walter NRL.com Senior Reporter
Timestamp
Thu 7 Feb 2019, 06:01 PM
walterbrad-head.png

When rookie St George Illawarra prop Josh Kerr was called to coach Paul McGregor’s office after being involved in a training mishap that left star hooker Cameron McInnes with a suspected fractured ring finger, he feared the worst.

"I walked up to the room and Mary said, ‘sit down’. I was playing b-ball with the boys and that day Cam McInnes tried to tackle me and he compound dislocated his finger so I was thinking, ‘oh, shit’. My head was falling off already," Kerr said.

When McGregor congratulated him on making the Indigenous All Stars team as a replacement for Gold Coast captain Ryan James, he initially didn’t believe him.

Then the tears started as the 22-year-old forward realised he was about to fulfil a childhood dream of representing his culture, achieving the honour before he had played an NRL match.

That was last Friday and on Tuesday, as he prepared to address an assembly at Gwynneville Public School as part of St George Illawarra's pre-season community blitz, Kerr said he was still "going tingly just talking about it".

181206-training_1414kerr.jpg

Dragons forward Josh Kerr. :copyright:dragons.com.au
"This is such a big thing for the indigenous community and our families because it brings everyone together," he said. "I never thought that I would ever get the chance or opportunity. This is like a dream of mine, I just can’t believe this is happening."

A proud Ngugi, Noonuckle and Geopul man of the Quandamooka nation, Kerr understands the significance of the All Stars match to the Indigenous community after a recent trip home to Stradbroke Island.

Telling his family he had been selected in next Friday night’s match against New Zealand Maori at AAMI Park was the proudest moment of his career.

"I called up the old lady first and she was screaming and crying," Kerr said. "The old man was a bit more like, ‘it’s about bloody time’, but everyone was just so happy. All the women were in tears and dad was just loving it.

"To be able to represent my culture and tell the indigenous side of the family, just to message or call my nanas and tell them the news … they were just over the moon."

Despite being yet to make his Telstra Premiership debut, Kerr feels confident he will be up to the task in a side light on for forward depth after the loss of James, Manly second-rower Joel Thompson and Brisbane utility Jack Bird through injury.

"To not even have played NRL and then be called into something like this, it is a shock. I feel ready for it, I feel very confident,” he said.

"You have got all your mob out there and you just have your heart on your sleeve so I am looking forward to it.

"I don’t know what else could top it. Maybe only one day to play for Australia. That is a dream of mine too."

All the women were in tears and dad was just loving it.

Josh Kerr on telling his family
After playing for the Queensland Murri Under 16s against a NSW Koori team in a curtain-raiser to the 2012 All Stars match on the Gold Coast, he knows what to expect and he has met most of his teammates during last year’s Indigenous leadership camp at Redfern.

"What these games do for cultures, it is something so special. That is why I love rugby league," he said.

"I have gone to a few games when I was younger and that’s when you see the crowd and how passionate they are. There was nothing but smiles on people’s faces. It is the oldest surviving culture in the world so we have got to keep that going."

As for McInnes, he has recovered and is back in training.

"He showed us his finger and it was just white but he is like Wolverine," Kerr said. "I can’t believe how quickly he healed. He is very, very tough."

https://www.dragons.com.au/news/2019/02/08/youre-not-in-trouble-josh-youre-in-indigenous-all-stars/
 

LINESPEED

Juniors
Messages
1,551
I really really hope he makes the first grade side and earns a contract extension. Seems like a first rate young man. Well done and go out there and slay them.

Great game Josh!
Looked at home in the pack with some great defence.
Great try! Looks like it’s taken an outside coach to give you a go.
Looked very fit & had plenty of game time from Daley, who must rate him.

If he can get past Waterboy’s journeymen, this could be his year.
 

dino1

Juniors
Messages
166
Great game Josh!
Looked at home in the pack with some great defence.
Looked very fit & had plenty of game time from Daley, who must rate him.

If he can get past Waterboy’s journeymen, this could be his year.
HE just scored from a follow through
 

Old Timer

Coach
Messages
16,914
Considering he barely knows any of the squad as they are all 1st graders he handled himself very well and gave a great interview as well.
Yes his try was from following through but he showed pace and was in the play so good on him.
He played plenty of minutes, kept the motor going all night, very quick play the balls, strong defensively and wanted to be part of it which was important.
Also showed what some players can do in better company.
 

Drag Queen

Bench
Messages
2,981
Considering he barely knows any of the squad as they are all 1st graders he handled himself very well and gave a great interview as well.
Yes his try was from following through but he showed pace and was in the play so good on him.
He played plenty of minutes, kept the motor going all night, very quick play the balls, strong defensively and wanted to be part of it which was important.
Also showed what some players can do in better company.
Well said. It'll be a great confidence boost for him. There was a hell of a lot of talent out there tonight on both sides.
 

BLM01

First Grade
Messages
8,943
Great game Josh!
Looked at home in the pack with some great defence.
Great try! Looks like it’s taken an outside coach to give you a go.
Looked very fit & had plenty of game time from Daley, who must rate him.

If he can get past Waterboy’s journeymen, this could be his year.

Agree he can hold his head high. Only 1 error and that was debatable.Played a bit like AhMau without the line breaks but played the ball pretty fast which set up their first 2 tries which Ahmau wasnt real noted for.. he is a big unit and could do some damage with a bit of change of direction, slight footwork and then be encouraged to look for an offload
But you cant get carried away yet as was unlimited interchange.
But I will say something controversial. He showed as much in attack and speed around moving laterally that if I was coaching... James Graham & KSims would be told to look over their shoulders.
We could have a prop rotation of Vaughan, Lawrie, Kerr and 1 of Graham or Sims to fight it our for the 4th prop very shortly. Graham is losing his impact in attack but still does a lot of work of the ball in defense and chasing. KSims...well should be nervous.

And I know the Channel 9 media love Ponga and his superstar status and he probably will be...but contrary to what they said last night I thought Ponga did not play that well as he was trying to hard to do the cute stuff and was a bit alone out there as their playamaker and go to man. Their no 1 in Hiku and No 7 in Hughes were ordinary at best.
Ponga was short of a gallop and will improve at 6 but I am not sold on him there yet. He proved he was a brilliant 1 and teams will target him big time at 6.
Ruan Sims was the only commentator to show a bit of balance summary of his game by saying he missed a few opportunites as well as set up 1 try. He missed a lot of the 1st half on the bench and missed a crucial tackle on Roberts that gave the Kari their break ahead in the 2nd half.
The boof head Fifita would of got man of the match but he will never get one because he is just him...... his typical lash out and kick to the head of Smith. That should of been sent from the field and charged. But no..cant ruin the spectacle.... I still think that deserves a week or 2 on the sideline. Just my view.
 

slippery5

Juniors
Messages
1,661
Considering he barely knows any of the squad as they are all 1st graders he handled himself very well and gave a great interview as well.
Yes his try was from following through but he showed pace and was in the play so good on him.
He played plenty of minutes, kept the motor going all night, very quick play the balls, strong defensively and wanted to be part of it which was important.
Also showed what some players can do in better company.
I now rate HOST & KERR better than Latimore.
 

getsmarty

Immortal
Messages
33,485
MATCH REPORT


Kerr scores in Indigenous All Stars win over Maori All Stars
Author
Michael Chammas Chief Reporter
Timestamp
Fri 15 Feb 2019, 10:22 PM
chammas-michael-head.png

It was a night where speed won over size; finesse over brute force.

The Indigenous All Stars played to their strengths and overcame the New Zealand Maori side 34-14 in the revamped version of the All Stars concept in Melbourne on Friday night.

Rugby league was back.

And after a one-year lay-off, the All Stars match was revived to mark the official start of the season in front of 18,802 at AAMI Park.

Unsurprisingly it was the usual suspects doing plenty of the damage.

Josh Addo-Carr and Latrell Mitchell picked up where they left off last season, but some of the stars of the future, like Brisbane's David Fifita and Melbourne's Jahrome Hughes, announced themselves on the big stage.

Indigenous coach Laurie Daley knew his side didn’t stand a chance of matching it with the New Zealand Maori side if it became a contest through the middle of the field.

Indigenous War Cry vs Haka

It's why almost all of their tries were scored in the corners, getting the better of the Maori side through the speed of the likes of Jesse Ramien, James Roberts and Addo-Carr.

It was a celebration of two proud cultures. A contest built on respect rather than rivalry, but emotional nonetheless.

The pre-game war cry and haka from respective teams was worth the price of admission alone, as both teams finished staring each other down on the half-way line.

It was only fitting that first points of the match went to the most talked about man of the week, with New Zealand Maori winger Dane Gagai crossing out wide against the team he once represented.

Gagai's brilliant ball control

In a rapid-fire opening to the match, the Indigenous team hit back when Josh Addo-Carr latched on to a bouncing pass from Tyrone Roberts to score out wide.

'The Fox', in front of his home fans in Melbourne, bagged number two soon after, as Latrell Mitchell dragged in two defenders and put it on a platter for his winger to give the Indigenous All Stars a 10-6 lead.

But Gagai wasn't about to let his opposite number continue his dominance, notching try number two soon after to level the scores.

Jesse Ramien showed why he could be one of the buys of the season for Newcastle when he took advantage of an Andrew Fifita offload, placing a well-timed kick into the corner for Bevan French to dive over.

On the stroke of half-time the Indigenous all Stars pushed out to a 20-10 advantage, but Blake Ferguson's post-try celebration – an awkwardly executed back-flip – received a bigger cheer than the try itself.

Flipping Fergo at his best

David Fifita earned a just reward for his toils, opening the account for the Indigenous side in the second half when he chased down a Cody Walker grubber for a 24-10 lead.

After a quiet first half by his high standards, Kalyn Ponga injected himself into the contest when he challenged the line and threw a perfect pass to put the rapidly improving Esan Marsters over.

With the New Zealand Maori side trailing by 10 points, Roberts burst into open space and sent his skipper Walker over to give his side a 28-14 lead with 16 minutes remaining.

The last try went to Josh Kerr, the Dragons forward who became the second player to represent the Indigenous All Stars without an NRL game, winning the race to a Tyrone Peachey grubber to ensure his side claimed the Arthur Beetson trophy.

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https://www.dragons.com.au/news/201...ndigenous-all-stars-win-over-maori-all-stars/
 

Dragsters

First Grade
Messages
5,331
Kerr took his chance and made the most of it.

He got plenty of minutes and kept himself busy in attack and defence.

My big concern with him has been his lateral movement in defence and while he showed signs of improvement in this game, for mine, for a bloke his size it is still an area he needs to work on.

Great read and effort on the kick-chase try was just reward for a fine all round rep debut.

That display should give mary the confidence to pick him if the need arises.

Well played big fella...
 
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