The NRL All Stars match will return to its spiritual home on the Gold Coast in 2020, with rugby league’s celebration of Indigenous culture coming back to Cbus Super Stadium in February.
The brainchild of Titans ambassador and rugby league legend Preston Campbell, the All Stars match was first played on the Gold Coast in 2010, instantly becoming one of the showpiece events on the NRL calendar.
NRL Head of Football Graham Annesley announced that after the All Stars match made its return to the rugby league schedule last year in Melbourne, the match will fittingly now return to its spiritual home as the centrepiece of the 2020 pre-season.
The Australian Indigenous All Stars will again take on the New Zealand Maori Kiwis in a double-header epic, with the women’s teams facing off first, followed by the men’s teams.
Gold Coast Titans stars Ryan James and Kevin Proctor were joined by Broncos NRLW players Amber Pilley and Rona Peters for the announcement on the Gold Coast on Thursday morning.
“Some of the very best players the game has ever seen come from Indigenous and Maori heritage," Annesley said.
"There’s no doubt that both matches will showcase an exciting brand of rugby league. I know it’s an occasion the players really look forward to.
“It’s wonderful to see this event back on the Gold Coast, the original home of the All Stars concept.”
Titans Chief Executive Steve Mitchell said the NRL’s decision to bring the All Stars concept back to Cbus Super Stadium was a reward for loyal Titans fans and a reconfirmation of the Gold Coast and Northern Rivers region’s importance to the fabric of rugby league.
“The All Stars coming home to the Gold Coast is tremendous recognition from the NRL of the hard work done by Preston Campbell in creating this concept, and the significant role our region plays as a heartland of rugby league,” Mitchell said.
“It was the support of the people of the Gold Coast that helped to turn Preston’s idea into this fabulous celebration of rugby league that we all enjoy today.
“It is great recognition of the Gold Coast’s importance in a truly national rugby league competition that the NRL has decided to bring the All Stars concept back to its spiritual home at Cbus Super Stadium.”
Tickets for the 2020 All Stars double-header will go on sale in December and you can register you interest at www.nrl.com/waitlist.
