Indigenous All Stars coach Ronald Griffiths will make a couple of "left-field selections" for the representative match in New Zealand next month to give emerging talent time to shine.
After guiding Newcastle's NRLW side to a maiden premiership last year, Gommeroi man Griffiths leads the Indigenous men's side for the first time against the New Zealand Maori in Rotorua on February 11.
The Novocastrian mentor has taken over from Laurie Daley, who was the Indigenous side's head coach for more than a decade.
In Daley's time, the All Stars - now in its 12th year - often proved a stage where a relatively unknown player or two could stand out and enhance their NRL prospects.
And Griffiths, who twice assisted Daley, intends on providing such a platform.
"There's a couple of little left-field selections that we will go with," Griffiths told the Newcastle Herald, three weeks ahead of the match.
"One thing the game does is it provides an opportunity for players who might not be at the highest level or are nearing the highest level.
"If you look at Josh Kerr, when he was first picked he hadn't played a game of NRL. Now he is obviously entrenched in the Dragons' side. Shaq Mitchell, it was the same thing with him last year, I don't think he had played NRL and after we gave him an opportunity in the All Stars, he secured a top-30 deal [at South Sydney].
"The game allows for that to happen."
Griffiths is pressing ahead planning for the match despite concerns it could be affected by the evolving situation regarding the players' push for a new collective bargaining agreement.
His assistant Indigenous coaches include former Cowboys outside-back Ty Williams and Rabbitohs five-eighth Cody Walker, who will also likely play in the game.
They have about 60 eligible players to choose from, Griffiths said, and have been working through the list to clarify who will be available.
The All Stars was not held in the years after the 2013 and 2017 Rugby League World Cups, but is going ahead this year despite the most recent World Cup's conclusion in mid-November.
"We're just working our way through the process now of finalising a squad," Griffiths said. "We've got a larger squad, [but] we are just talking with clubs and narrowing that now if need be, if players are unavailable or injured.
"The World Cup throws a different spin on things with players who might not have done the preparation to play in this game because they've come back [to training] later."
Newcastle players eligible for the Indigenous side include NRL regulars Dane Gagai and Adam Elliott, and lower-graders Dylan Lucas, Kobe Rugless and Ryan Rivett. Knights skipper Kalyn Ponga is not expected to be part of the Maori team due to a calf injury. Griffiths said it would be somewhat of a relief to not have to coach against the marquee man.
"He's a world-class player," Griffiths said of Ponga.
"Whenever you coach against those guys you want them to play because we want it to be a great spectacle, but you have to come up with a specific plan because he is a phenomenal player."
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