{"id":447948,"date":"2026-05-27T15:36:13","date_gmt":"2026-05-27T15:36:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/447948\/"},"modified":"2026-05-27T15:36:13","modified_gmt":"2026-05-27T15:36:13","slug":"national-reconciliation-week-queensland-maroons-state-of-origin-nrl-season-2026-blues-v-maroons-game-one","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/447948\/","title":{"rendered":"National Reconciliation Week, Queensland Maroons, State of Origin, NRL season 2026, Blues v Maroons, Game One"},"content":{"rendered":"

State of Origin is all about rivalry but with game day falling at the start of National Reconciliation Week it is also a great example of people coming together as a team with a common goal.<\/p>\n

Held from May 27 until June 3, National Reconciliation Week<\/a> (NRW) is a time for all Australians to learn about our shared histories, cultures, and achievements, and to explore how each of us can contribute to achieving reconciliation in Australia.<\/p>\n

The theme for National Reconciliation Week 2026 is\u00a0All In, a call for all Australians to commit wholeheartedly to reconciliation every single day.<\/p>\n


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For Game One this year, the Maroons have five Aboriginal (Selwyn Cobbo) and Torres Strait Islander (Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow, Reuben Cotter, Ezra Mam, Gehamat Shibasaki) players in their side, while the Blues have Indigenous players Kotoni Staggs and Dylan Lucas in their squad.<\/p>\n

For Maroons centre Tabuai-Fidow, being selected in the team is not only a chance to represent Queensland, but also his family and be a role model for other Indigenous young people aspiring to achieve their goals.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt’s obviously something that’s pretty big for me, just being that role model and showing young Indigenous kids, what they can do if they put their mind to it,\u201d Tabuai-Fidow said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt’s pretty special to have that cultural background and to try and shape a better way and a better life for the young Indigenous kids.\u201d<\/p>\n


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\n \"Hamiso
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\n Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow and Gehamat Shibasaki at Maroons trianing.
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A popular player who is a star at the Dolphins, Tabuai-Fidow has become know for his post-try celebration where he showcases his totem \u2013 the shark (baidham).<\/p>\n

Early on in his career, some thought it was a reference to his NRL team, but the Saibai Island man has been quick correct the misunderstanding.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI think at the start it was a bit funny and then I sort of had to try to correct them because it is my totem,\u201d Tabuai-Fidow said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt’s something that I’m proud of and to show it at this stage and this level of rugby league, it’s something pretty important.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joining him in the Queensland backline will be his Dolphins team-mate Cobbo, who has been recalled to the Origin arena this year after some good early-season form in the NRL.<\/p>\n

Hailing from Cherbourg, Cobbo said he understood the responsibility of representing more than just himself.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat’s every kid’s dream to put on this jersey and it means a lot to me and everyone back home in Cherbourg,\u201d Cobbo said. \u201cAll my family’s there.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt means a lot to me and (I am) doing it for everyone in the state as well.<\/p>\n


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\n Queensland Maroons in their Indigenous training kit during a field session with the Sunshine Coast Falcons.
\n \u00a9QRL
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\u201cKids all over Queensland watch these games and I wish that they can play in these games as well.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat means a lot to me and just to give back to the community.<\/p>\n

\u201cI’m a role model to younger kids, Indigenous and non-Indigenous.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt means a lot.<\/p>\n

\u201cTrying to give back to the kids; they all want to play in this jersey and I guess I just try to give back.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"State of Origin is all about rivalry but with game day falling at the start of National Reconciliation…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":447949,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[111,139,69,213],"class_list":["post-447948","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/447948","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=447948"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/447948\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/447949"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=447948"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=447948"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=447948"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}