But, after missing out on selection, he instead secured a different piece of prized silverware, when playing alongside fellow NRL stars Tyrone Peachey and David Fifita to win the inaugural National Indigenous Championships in Wollongong.

The Nanima Common Connection, a well-established team competing in indigenous competitions for several years, dominated the final, beating Dave Smith Memorial, a group from Newcastle honouring their mate who passed away earlier this year.

Nanima, from Wellington in the NSW central west, won 26-nil on Sunday at Collegians Sports Centre.

The wildly successful carnival, featured more than 50 teams from under 10s to the open men’s and women’s divisions, as well as being a cultural celebration.

“It was great, especially for the young kids to be able to watch there heroes,” organiser Matt Rose, the brother of former Manly and St George Illawarra player George and an accomplished player in country NSW competitions in the past decade.

“They obviously watch them on TV, but weekends like this show the opportunities are there for them with some hard work. 

“The standard of footy from the juniors right through was fantastic, we had one grand final decided golden point, one in the final seconds and a couple of others come down to the last couple of minutes.”

Rose was uncertain if the national titles would return to Wollongong against next year, but said using Collegians Sports Complex and neighbouring Parrish Park was ideal. “We’d definitely be happy to come back,” he said. “The grounds are perfect as facilities and being right next to each other, but we’ll just have to sit down later and see what happens.”

The Butucarbin Warriors took out the under 12 and 14 titles, Western Koori Eels claimed the under 16s, winning 5-4 in golden point, while the Gadhu Sisters won the women’s competition with a 36-nil win over Yuin Fit.