Wendell Sailor has predicted South Sydney young gun Alex Johnston to be a decade-long representative player with the winger to make his first senior representative appearance in the Indigenous All Stars team.
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Johnston had a breakthrough 2014, scoring 21 tries in 18 appearances, including a grand final four-pointer, before being selected in the Kangaroos Four-Nations squad. While he didn't get a chance to represent Australia. Sailor - who played on the wing for the Kangaroos and Wallabies - said it was just a matter of time.
"His last year was sensational," Sailor said. "I wish he got a start in the Aussie team. He has the world in his feet and could be in the rep scene for the next 10 years. It's all about backing himself. He has all the skills and is a brilliant finisher."
Johnston will play alongside Rabbitohs teammates Greg Inglis and Kyle Turner in the 20-man Indigenous All Stars team, when they face the NRL All Stars on February 13 on the Gold Coast. The match will also mark Paul Gallen's return to the field following his drug suspension. The NSW skipper was included in coach Wayne Bennett's 20-man squad which will feature the likes of Kieran Foran, Mitchell Pearce, James Graham, Trent Merrin and Corey Parker.
NSW mentor Laurie Daley will coach the Indigenous All Stars team, with Sailor one of his assistants. The match returns to the NRL calendar after a one-year hiatus.
"I'm happy for the fans and in Indigenous community," Sailor said. "Sport is a big part of our lives. The young kids like Tyrone Peachey get to see the professionalism of Inglis and Johnathan Thurston and the work they do in the community. In Origin there are plenty of big functions and the intensity is so high. [This camp] is all community based. You'll see the players working with children about self-esteem, bullying, being proud of your culture and staying in school."
Sailor said the game was a perfect platform for Cronulla recruit Ben Barba to help relaunch his career following an unhappy one season stint in Brisbane. It was Bennett who cut short Barba's three-year deal at the Broncos.
Barba will partner Thurston in the halves. "What he did in 2012, he could do no wrong," Sailor said. "The year after he didn't go that well and last year he didn't play that well by his standards so people thought he was a flop.
"He comes into an environment where most of them know each other so well and they play like they are playing in those [Indigenous] knockouts. This could be the best thing for Benny Barba. I was talking to [Barba's Cronulla teammate] Mick Ennis and he said he has been going really well and there was a good feeling around the Sharks."
Origin hostilities will be put to the side as Daley will get a first hand look at a host of Queensland's most important players with the likes of Inglis, Thurston, Sam Thaiday and Justin Hodges who will be at his disposal for this match.
Thurston and Inglis dominated the public's voting for inclusion in the squad, with only 33 votes separating the pair after more than 15000 votes were cast. Bennett's former Newcastle charge Beau Scott has been named captain of the NRL side.
