Vautvei out of All Stars reckoning
New Zealand Warriors winger Manu Vatuvei has ruled himself out of contention for the Harvey Norman All Stars match.
The giant Kiwi international is recovering from surgery after breaking his arm in the Four Mations match between England and New Zealand.
Vatuvei, who scored 20 tries in 19 appearances for the Warriors last season, said he was disappointed to miss out.
“It is a great concept and the whole week of promotions and activities last year to support Indigenous Australians was a great experience,” hei told NRL.com.
“Getting to play alongside players like Darren Lockyer and other Kangaroos and NRL club players was also amazing. I am really disappointed to not get the chance to play again this year.”
The 24-year-old was the leading winger in the final stage of the public vote for the high-profile match between the NRL All Stars and the Indigenous All Stars.
Four players from each NRL club are included on a 64-man shortlist for selection.
Members of the public must vote for one player from each of the 16 clubs, with the most popular featuring in the final team, which will becoached by Wayne Bennett.
Krisnan Inu has replaced Vatuvei as the fourth Warriors player on the list.