Pride and passion - Celebrating the players of Indigenous Round:
https://www.nrl.com/news/2022/05/25/pride-and-passion-celebrating-the-best-of-indigenous-round/
The meaning behind your team's Indigenous jersey:
https://www.nrl.com/news/2022/05/25/the-meaning-behind-your-teams-indigenous-jersey/
'She's watching over me' - The stories of NRL's 2022 Indigenous jerseys:
https://www.smh.com.au/sport/nrl/sh...-2022-indigenous-jerseys-20220524-p5ao3o.html
Also, from the Sydney Morning Herald,
GOULD BACKS ‘PLAYER OF THE FUTURE’ KOLOAMATANGI FOR BLUES
Caden Helmers
Keaon Koloamatangi knows Saturday night’s clash with Wests Tigers is his last chance to prove himself to NSW coach Brad Fittler, as Phil Gould backs the South Sydney forward to be the ‘‘ X-factor’ ’ the Blues need.
Koloamatangi is knocking on the door of the NSW line-up with Fittler to select a 22-man squad on Sunday. The back-rower is locked in a shootout with stars such as Cameron Murray, Angus Crichton, Tyson Frizell, Tariq Sims and Jake Trbojevic for a blue jersey. He can confirm his worth when the Rabbitohs take on the Tigers at Accor Stadium, but Gould already believes Koloamatangi can handle Origin.
‘‘ He’s going better than the lot of them, being brutally honest,’’ Gould said on the Six Tackles with Gus podcast. ‘‘ If you pick the others, you’re picking them on past performance and the fact they’ve never let you down, and they’ve performed well at this level. Are they performing their best at club level? I don’t think any of them really are at the moment , although I thought Frizell was very good for the Knights the other day in his comeback match.
‘‘ Koloamatangi is a player of the future and a player that can have impact. He’s got that real Origin presence about him, he’s got that real bullocking style. He can make people miss and he’s not missing any tackles.
‘‘ You’ve got to respect the fact they’ve been there and done it in the past. I’d have no hesitation in picking Koloamatangi, if that’s the way you want to go. He’s just got that X-factor about him. Origin is very hard, line breaks are very hard. He’s just got that Origin carry in him, hasn’t he?’’
Koloamatangi says he would need to overtake a handful of rival back-rowers in the race for a Blues jersey for game one on June 8.
But he has the backing of Gould and incumbent NSW hooker Damien Cook – who also believes Campbell Graham deserves an opportunity at centre – while a stint in Blues camp last year has 24-year-old Koloamatangi confident he can deliver.
‘‘ I’ve been trying to be a leader for the team and that’s what I earnt in camp, just being a professional and not being a kid any more, being more of a leader for the younger blokes and just being more mature,’’ Koloamatangi said.
‘‘ The coach [Jason Demetriou at South Sydney] tells me other teams look at me and I’m a threat. That gives me confidence other teams are doing their homework on me; it makes me become a better player, [because I] go on the training field and try to change my game up so I’m not easy to read.’’
