Bopper ... Dave Taylor. Source: The Daily Telegraph
COACHES concerned about injuries will be watching the inaugural All Stars match on February 13 on the Gold Coast with great anxiety after Souths' wrecking-ball forward Dave Taylor and Wests Tigers' playmaker Benji Marshall promised to play "flat out" in just the second week of trials.
With the bulk of the NRL's top talent named in the 20-man All Stars team at their headquarters in Moore Park yesterday, Taylor said his teammates would "give it their all" despite a lack of match fitness and timing.
"I'm not going into this game just for a little muck around," the Rabbitohs' most voted for player said. "It might be early in the season but we're not going to hold back when we've been fortunate enough to be selected by the fans."
Marshall said a few club coaches would be nervous but added that the NRL All Stars could not afford to hold back if they wanted to overcome an Indigenous All Stars team boasting the talents of six international players, including Greg Inglis, Johnathan Thurston and Carl Webb.
The NRL All Stars have a whopping 17 internationals, with only Taylor and forwards Nate Myles and Alan Tongue yet to represent their country.
NRL All Stars coach Wayne Bennett will have a six-day camp to prepare his troops but he quashed any suggestions that the camp would resemble State of Origin preparations.
"We'll approach it pretty similar to Origin in that we'll have a camp but it won't have the same intensity," the supercoach said.
"I don't want it to be an Origin camp.
"It'll be played with great intensity, pride and passion but it's a different format."
Taylor, however, said the All Stars game would be the closest thing to Origin he's played.
"I'm basically going into camp with Origin players from both sides so it's an opportunity to learn from them and to get some experience at a representative level," he said.
With all the attacking firepower both teams possess, Bennett predicted the final score could be as high as 38-36.
Marshall forecast the final scoreline would be 64-62.
ALL STARS: Darren Lockyer (Broncos), Cameron Smith (Storm), Benji Marshall (Tigers), Adam Blair (Storm), Billy Slater (Storm), Kurt Gidley (Knights), Jarryd Hayne (Eels), Israel Folau (Broncos), Josh Morris (Bulldogs), Manu Vatuvei (Warriors), Michael Jennings (Panthers), Matt Cooper (Dragons), Alan Tongue (Raiders), Dave Taylor (Rabbitohs), Anthony Watmough (Sea-Eagles), Gareth Ellis (Tigers), Luke O'Donnell (Cowboys), Anthony Tupou (Sharks), Nate Myles (Roosters), Luke Bailey (Gold Coast).