The Bay Tigers’ Mason Harrison is captain-coach for the Indigenous Dream Team and will be joined by Tigers’ team mates Dylan Powell and Andrew Stewart.

Ten Moruya Sharks will run around with Dennis Green, Aaron, Caine and Kyle Brierley lining up for the Dream Team and Tim Weyman, Pat McMahon, Dillon Johnston, Jake Clarke, Luke Jay and Shane Colebrook for the All Stars.

Last year the Group 16 All Stars ran away with a 36-16 win at Mackay Park and the Dream Team is hoping to level the scores.

“It’s my first time playing with the Dream Team and I’m honoured to coach the boys,” Harrison said.

“The concept is a great idea.

“It helps build extra fitness before the competition and it gets us out and amongst the community early in the season.

“I hope we can take it out after a good trial match.”

Caine played in the inaugural match last year and said he believed the Dream Team’s forward pack would be more damaging.

“We’re stronger this year with bigger forwards,” Caine said.

“It’s a pride thing and we have a fair few talented players so we’ll try to even the scores up.” 

Weyman said the trial match against Milton Ulladulla Bulldogs last weekend at Mackay Park would put the All Stars in good stead for the big showdown.

“A lot of us play against each other so we were able to sort out a few creases,” Weyman said.

He said he was excited to be joined by so many Sharks’ players.

“It will be exciting to play at group level with familiar faces,” he said.

“It’s a good way to start the season and hopefully we can go back-to-back but they’ll be a better side this year.” 

Group 16 will host its first full contact women’s match between Group 16 North and South.

The Sharkettes have four players in the side, Natasha Brunhuber, Jen Roqica, Jasmine Campet and Bree Moreton.

Brunhuber and Roqica said they were excited about playing in the first event of its kind on the Far South Coast.

“It’s exciting because I’ve grown up watching my dad and brothers play,” Brunhuber said.

“We’ve grown up playing it in the backyard (with family) so it’s exciting,” Roqica said.

In ladies’ league tag the players don’t wear protective gear and the pair said they would be opting for mouthguards.

“The boys said we should wear shoulder pads too because it’s harder to be taken down,” Brunhuber said.

The women’s North team has had two training sessions and the main advice was “no high tackles”. 

“It will be fun to play with girls from down the coast that we know too,” Brunhuber said. 

The event will kick off with a match between the Group 16 under 18s representative team and the Gungahlin Bulls under 18s at 2.45pm.

Sharks under 18s players Jock McNaughton, Jesse Robertson, Indiana Jones, Jacob Zutt and Cohen McGrath will take the field. 

Two Group 16 trial matches follow before the women’s contact match at 6.30pm and the All Stars match at 7.30pm.