WAYNE BENNETT has called on fans to channel the late league legend Arthur Beetson and select an attacking line-up for the team he will coach in the third annual All Stars match next year.
Bennett said the Indigenous All Stars would be a more dangerous prospect than ever for his team on February 4, when they play for an All Stars trophy bearing Beetson's name.
''It's pretty hard [to beat them] anyway, when they come together it's family for them and they just don't want to let each other down, so it's hard enough without adding Artie's name to it,'' Bennett said yesterday.
A new ''power play'' rule, which will allow a team to ask the opposition to remove two players from the field for five minutes, will encourage the sort of football Beetson made his own, Bennett said. ''Maybe that's one of the messages I can give to fans; we might just go out in honour of Artie and go on a bit more of an attacking approach than probably we have in the past,'' he said. ''We've been just trying to play a bit of football but with the power play coming in I think [there's] got to be a little bit of a change of mindset.
''And that's what the indigenous boys do better than anybody. They've got this wonderful flair and freedom of spirit and Arthur epitomised that in the way he played and that's what he brought to the game.''
Both sides have won the trophy once. Preston Campbell led his side to victory over Darren Lockyer's NRL All Stars 16-12 in 2010 but Lockyer's team was resurgent this year, beating the Johnathan Thurston-led indigenous team 28-12.
In addition to the power play, this year simple infringements in the ruck area will be followed by an immediate restart of the tackle count - instead of a kick for touch - and the 40/20 rule has expanded to include 20/40 kicks in play.
Bennett said the technical experiments were exciting and could have a place in the wider competition.
''The power play one I wouldn't be so keen on bringing in straight away, not to say in the future it won't come,'' he said. ''But the [ruck infringement rule] I think will be a forerunner … particularly for a lot of small indiscretions that happen out there and they have an effect on the play-the-ball.''
A public vote plays a role in selecting 16 on each team. The captains, Benji Marshall (taking over from Lockyer) and Thurston, enjoy automatic selection, while Cameron Smith also gets a call-up for the NRL side. Bennett will then choose two players to round out the voters' picks and indigenous coach Laurie Daley will choose three players.
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