Warriors forward Adam Blair has been handed the honour of captaining the Māori Kiwi All Stars against their Indigenous Australian counterparts at AAMI Park on Friday.
Blair, 32, has amassed 48 caps for the Kiwis and has played 289 NRL games between four clubs.
Māori All Stars head coach Stacey Jones made the call to go with the versatile big man ahead of a number of other contenders.
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"We’ve got a few leaders in there, but Adam Blair will captain the team," Jones said in a statement.
"We’ve got Jesse (Bromwich), Kev (Proctor), Dane (Gagai) and James (Tamou) as well who are all experienced players and will support Adam as senior leaders.
"Adam is a calming influence, he’s a competitor and the players respect him. Those are the things you look for in a captain."
Blair is also set to lead a new haka ahead of the match, something that he and his teammates have been practising in the build-up.
The Warrior spoke about the significant honour that came with the position.
"I was so excited when this game was first announced and absolutely pumped when I was selected," he said.
"Now being offered the captaincy is really humbling.
"It’s a tremendous honour being able to lead this team into a match of such significance.
"I’m really proud of my culture and we’re all privileged to have this opportunity to represent our heritage and to give something back to the people."
