Maori coach Stacey Jones believes it was a successful week for his side, despite Friday night's disappointing 34-14 loss to the Indigenous team in the Harvey Norman All Stars clash in Melbourne.
The Maori side failed to cope with the dynamic Indigenous back line at AAMI Park, with Laurie Daley's team running in seven-tries-to-three in a dominant performance in front of over 18,000 fans.
While disappointed with the performance from his team, Jones could still see plenty of positives from the week as his team came together and embraced their Maori culture.
"The week is more than just a game of footy," Jones said following the 34-14 loss.
"I have enjoyed the week, it was disappointing we couldn’t get a result.
"They did the little things better. They have got class out wide, speed out wide and they put too much pressure on us.
"We came up with some errors early and couldn't get any good momentum.
"We had a little bit there, but we couldn’t sustain it."
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Plenty of eyes were on Kalyn Ponga for the Maori side, with the young star wearing the same No.6 jersey he is expected to play in at the Knights this season.
Jones said Ponga showed glimpses of his best, but an interrupted pre-season in Newcastle meant his game time in Melbourne had to be managed.
"He had a disruptive pre-season with Newcastle and I have been speaking to them," Jones revealed.
"There is some stuff there that showed he is going to be a wonderful player.
"He was probably the player we needed to be in the game the entire game."
Storm speedster Josh Addo-Carr set the tone early for the Indigenous side with the opening two tries of the contest, before another two four-pointers from Bevan French and Blake Ferguson set up an unassailable 20-10 lead at half-time.
The fast start the Indigenous team produced impressed veteran coach Laurie Daley.
"We played some really good football," Daley said.
"We played to our strengths to use the ball and play an entertaining brand.
"We put on some nice plays and scored some nice tries."
One player Daley saved special praise for was Ferguson, who celebrated his first half try with a backflip that impressed the Melbourne crowd when the replay was displayed on the big screen at the ground.
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"He’s got plenty of energy has Ferg," Daley said.
"He is an infectious personality and you can’t help not like him.
"He is one of those guys with plenty of energy, shakes your hand, gives you a hug and is always excited.
And Daley expects Ferguson to do extremely well at his new club this season.
"He will make a huge difference to Parramatta," Daley said.
"They lacked a bit of go forward last year and he will help them out with that."
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