The Maori All Stars have prevailed, hanging on for a 16-10 victory over the Indigenous team in dismal conditions at CommBank Stadium.
Controlling the game in the middle of the field, the Maori deserved their victory, batting away a Nicho Hynes grubber kick in the dying moments to confirm the win.
For the Maori, captain Joseph Tapine was a worthy winner of the Preston Campbell medal as player of the match, however he had plenty of willing helpers on the night, none better that Sharks backrower Briton Nikora who was outstanding for his team.
Nikora got through 80-minutes and was strong in both attack and defense in an encouraging pointer to the season ahead.
Also celebrating the Maori win was prop Royce Hunt, with his robust ball carries helping to put his team on the front foot at crucial times.
However, while it was the Maori celebrating, happily watching on would have been Sharks coach Craig Fitzgibbon, with his Indigenous team representatives also enjoying some good moments in their first hit outs of the 2022 season.
Hynes, who played the game in the halves for the Indigenous, was close to his team's best, his kicking game was on point, while he was also required to steer his team around the field. All concerned at the Sharks will likely be satisfied with what they saw from their new recruit.
Jesse Ramien had a somewhat mixed night, the centre backing up for the first try of the night, before being sinbinned in the second half for a professional foul.
Overall Ramien was aggressive and hard to handle with ball in hand.
Also for the Indigenous, Braydon Trindall kicked a sideline penalty goal, defended strongly throughout and kept his name in the frame for a spot in the Sharks side for round one, Will Kennedy tried hard to make his mark on the game and there was plenty to like about the intensity shown by Andrew Fifita.
Another to have a stint in the sinbin after getting involved in a first half push and shove, Fifita tried to lift his team in what was his first game since the potential career-ending injury suffered last season.
All seven Sharks involved in the game appeared to come through without any major injury concerns, however most are likely to sit out their team's first trial match which is against the Panthers next Sunday.
That game is scheduled to be played at 4pm at CommBank Stadium, with team information to be released once it becomes available.
