Samuel Arthur Thaiday is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played for the Brisbane Broncos in the National Rugby League, serving as their captain from 2012 until 2013. An Australian international and Queensland State of Origin representative second-row, he can also play prop and lock as well as hooker and spent all of his career at the Broncos, with whom he won the 2006 premiership. In 2008, Australia's centenary of rugby league and Thaiday's sixth year at the top level, he was one of only three current players to be named in the Indigenous Australian rugby league team of the century. On 6 July 2018, Thaiday announced his intention to retire from the NRL at the end of the 2018 season.
The 2009 State of Origin series was the 28th time that the annual three-game series between the Queensland and New South Wales representative rugby league football teams was played entirely under 'state of origin' selection rules. Queensland won their first two matches to retain the shield and to record 14 series wins, as well as the first time in Origin history that a state had won the series for four consecutive years. Maroon centre Greg Inglis was awarded the Wally Lewis Medal as player of the series.
The Indigenous Australian rugby league team is a rugby league football team that represents Aboriginal Australians and Torres Strait Islanders. The team was first formed in 1973 and currently plays in an annual All Stars Match against a National Rugby League NRL All Stars team.
The 2010 All Stars Match was the first time the event was held. The match was a pre season game between representative teams, Indigenous Australians versus the best in the National Rugby League and took place at the Gold Coast's Skilled Park on 13 February 2010. The Indigenous team featured 20 players of aboriginal descent chosen by public votes. Preston Campbell was selected automatically as Indigenous captain. The NRL All Stars featured one player from each of the 16 NRL teams as well as the Australian and New Zealand captains and deputy captains. Along with other rule changes exclusive to the match, the game trialled a new "Double Try" rule where a team can choose to swap a conversion attempt for a second try attempt.
The NRL All Stars team was a rugby league football team made up of professional players in the National Rugby League. These players were selected by fan vote. However, fans were only allowed to select one player from each NRL team to join the Australian rugby league team captain and the New Zealand national rugby league team captain. Two other players were selected by the NRL All Stars coach. This team played in the annual NRL All Stars Game against the Indigenous All Stars. They were replaced in 2016 by a World All Stars.
The 2011 All Stars Match was the second of the annual representative exhibition match played between the Indigenous All Stars and the NRL All Stars which was held on the 12 of February 2011 at the Gold Coast's Skilled Park. The game was won by the NRL All Stars 28–12, claiming their first annual title. Canberra Raiders fullback Josh Dugan won the Preston Campbell medal for Man of the Match. Preceding game included a Women's All Stars exhibition match which was won by the NRL Women's All Stars 22-6.
The 2012 All Stars Match was the third of the annual representative exhibition matches played between the Indigenous All Stars and the NRL All Stars team which was held on 4 February 2012 at the Gold Coast's Skilled Park.
The 2012 State of Origin series was the 31st time the annual best-of-three series between the Queensland and New South Wales rugby league teams was played entirely under 'state of origin' rules. For the fourth successive year a Queensland victory set a new record for consecutive State of Origin titles, reaching seven. Game I was played at Melbourne's sold out Etihad Stadium and won by Queensland; its television broadcast watched by more than 2.5 million viewers, rating it as the most-watched State of Origin broadcast since the introduction of OzTAM ratings in 1999. New South Wales' series-equalling win in Game II, played at Sydney's sold out ANZ Stadium, set a new TV ratings record for most-watched second game of any series in State of Origin history. The decider, Game III was played at Brisbane's Suncorp Stadium and was won by Queensland. This game set a new record for the highest television audience in Australia for a rugby league match since the introduction of the OzTam ratings system in 2001.
The 2013 All Stars Match was the fourth of the annual representative exhibition matches played between the Indigenous All Stars and the NRL All Stars team which was held on 9 February 2013. Once again the players were selected through a voting scheme which over 40,000 fans polled their selections over the two online voting stages. Final stage voting for both sides were closed on the midnight 14 January. After the success of the previous three events the match was moved from Gold Coast's Skilled Park to the larger capacity Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane. The Indigenous All Stars won the match 32–6 to even the ledger with two wins from the four games played so far. Both Ben Barba and Reece Robinson became the first players to score a hat-trick in an All Stars match. The preceding game included a Women's All Stars exhibition match which was won by the NRL Women's All Stars 22-6.
The 2013 State of Origin series was the 32nd time the annual best-of-three series between the Queensland and New South Wales rugby league teams was played entirely under 'state of origin' rules. It was the first series to be administered by the Australian Rugby League Commission which was created in a major re-structure of the sport's administration in Australia.
Jake Trbojevic is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a lock and prop for the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles in the NRL and Australia at international level.
Shannon Boyd is a former Australian professional rugby league footballer who last played as a prop for the Gold Coast Titans in the NRL, and has played for Australia at international level.
The 2015 All Stars Match was the fifth annual representative exhibition match played between the Indigenous All Stars and the NRL All Stars. It was held on 13 February 2015, returning from a one-year hiatus.
The 2016 All Stars match was the sixth annual representative exhibition All Stars match. For the first time, the match was played between the Indigenous All Stars and a World All Stars team.
The 2017 Anzac Test was a rugby league test match played between Australia and New Zealand at Canberra Stadium. It was the 18th and last Anzac Test played between the two nations since the first was played under the Super League banner in 1997. The match was played on 5 May 2017.
The 2019 All Stars match was the eighth annual representative exhibition All Stars match of Australian rugby league. The match was played between the Indigenous All Stars and the Māori All Stars and for the first time, the match was played in Victoria's AAMI Park. The match was held on 15 February 2019.
The 2020 All Stars match day was an annual pre-season fixture of Men's and Women's All Stars matches of Australian rugby league. Both games were played on 22 February 2020 at Queensland's Cbus Super Stadium, the original venue the fixture was first played at. The matches were played between the Indigenous All Stars and the Māori All Stars.
The 2021 All Stars match was the tenth annual representative exhibition All Stars match of Australian rugby league. The match was played between the Indigenous All Stars and the Māori All Stars at Townsville, Queensland's Queensland Country Bank Stadium on 20 February 2021.
The 2022 All Stars match will be the eleventh annual representative exhibition All Stars match of Australian rugby league. The match will be played between the Indigenous All Stars and the Māori All Stars at CommBank Stadium on 12 February 2022. For the first time since the introduction of the All Stars concept, the teams were not selected through public voting.
