After a rollercoaster week where she was in the team, out of the team and then back in again, Māori All Stars forward Tiana Raftstrand-Smith is excited to be in camp and is ready to represent not only her own family, but that of her good friend Kennedy Cherrington as well.
Originally named in the side earlier in the week, before finding out she had to be cut from the extended squad, Raftstrand-Smith received a late call up to the squad to replace her Bulldogs clubmate Cherrington, who broke her hand while playing in the opening round of the Harvey Norman Premiership.
“It means the world to me representing my culture, my culture is a big part of me and Māori is my first language, so it's pretty cool to just represent home and being back home too,” Raftstrand-Smith said on her first night in camp.
“I got the phone call on Tuesday saying I didn't make it, but then unfortunately one of my teammates Kennedy Cherrington got injured, so I got the call up.
“So this weekend, I want to represent her and her family, and my family as well, so it's going to be a really special game for me.
“It was a bit it of a rollercoaster week; my emotions were everywhere.”
With the All Stars games being played on New Zealand soil for the first time in the concept’s history, Raftstrand-Smith – who has moved from the Gold Coast to Sydney alongside her younger sisters Skye and Ebony to play with the Bulldogs this season – said she was looking forward to representing the Māori side in front family.
“It's real special for me, I'll have heaps more family members come and watch me and I think a few school teachers for my Māori school are coming too," Raftstrand-Smith said. "It's really special.
“I got my two older sisters and a few of my family members coming over ... they're already over there. They met me at the airport actually did me a haka, so it's pretty cool.
"I didn't even know (they were coming), so it was pretty surprising and pretty special as well. I didn't expect that at all."
Set to make her second appearance in the showpiece event, Raftstrand-Smith said she was grateful for the opportunity to not only be part of the team and learn more about her culture, but was happy to be able to share it with the Indigenous players, as well as the wider rugby league community.
“Celebrating culture together, I think that's what this is all about, sharing your cultures and just learning about each other and each culture, so it’s a really special thing to be a part of.”