Dominant Victory for Māori Ferns in Townsville

NZ Māori Ferns “delivered an emphatic 24-0 win over the Indigenous All Stars” in “a thoroughly one-sided” contest played out in Townsville, Todd Balym writes for NRL News.

Not only did the Māori side keep the Indigenous women scoreless, they ran in three more tries to ensure a dominant victory, avenging last year’s tough 10-4 loss on the Gold Coast, Balym writes.

“It was super important and we used that exact term after the second try, let’s keep the foot on the throat and keep leading and pushing as hard as we can,” Ferns captain Corban McGregor said.

Māori Ferns coach Keith Hanley was ecstatic with the result as his team – minus all their New Zealand-based players – produced a complete performance with powerful defence, skill and precision.

Whether it was halfback Zahara Temara orchestrating tries from pinpoint grubber kicks or the rampaging runs of front-row duo Rona Peters and 18-year-old rookie Mya Hill-Moana, the Maori women just had an answer for everything.

“We couldn’t possibly have scripted that,” Hanley said.

Original article by Todd Balym, NRL News, February 20, 2021.