Something amazing happened through the year, something that I certainly hoped for but some might not have. Some might have judged Benji Marshall on his experiment with the Auckland Blues, or even believed the Marshall was past his best and fragile but I have never been given a reason not to love Benji Marshall.

The St George Illawara Dragons started the season so badly, that it formed as a catalyst for the 'Oust Doust' campaign. I'm not saying that it was the sole reason, but it certainly helped those negative vibes and to put it succinctly - I don't hear much about this el ousto Dousty thing much these days. The same group of Dragons then enjoyed a purple patch of form which saw them do enough to finish the season in eight spot. I'm a kiwi, so while I enjoyed the efforts of Josh Dugan, Gareth Widdop and a host of Australian and English forwards, two players stood out for me. One was Leeson Ah Mau, a former Warrior who became somewhat of a journey-man but is now a very good NRL prop and the other was Marshall.

Marshall is close to playing the best I've seen from him; he's just doing it differently. Marshall still produces moments of Marshall-magic that only he can do which grab the headlines and make you think 'that's cool for Benji, he can still do this!'

Example A

Example B

Example C

Marshall however has also added a very composed balance to his game. Marshall-magic comes when an opportunity is presented which is only once or twice every few games. What made the Dragons so good this season was pinpoint kicking, both long and short as well as perfectly executed plays in attack which saw Marshall play an equal hand with Widdop in.

Marshall is a far better all-round half than he was before he went to the Auckland Blues and I'd argue that this makes him a better player. 

But Marshall won't be involved in the Kiwis tour to England in November. There has been a lot of noise between some personal differences between Kiwis coach Stephen Kearney and Marshall, but the decision to leave Marshall out of the Kiwis train-on squad made a lot easier when Marshall injured his leg in week one of the NRL Finals. I don't really care for Kearney and Marshall's relationship and won't ponder on that when I can open up the question of who will partner Kieran Foran in the halves.

Kearney must have some idea as to who he wants to where the no.7 jersey, but it's not like there is one clear-cut option. Thomas Leuluai is capable of doing a job in the Kiwis and would certainly be a reasonably safe bet in England, but he and Shaun Johnson are both on the injured list. 

It's important to remember that Leleuai and any of these other options would work because they are playing with Foran who is awesome and behind the best forward pack in international rugby league/NRL. Oh and Roger Tuivasa-Sheck: arguably the best NRL player right now. It's not an overly hard job.

Tohu Harris has played their in the past, a sign of how it's not a hard job but also how talented Harris is. In fact, the Kiwis looked better when Harris played in the halves against the Kangaroos than they did when Issac John came on. John's also another option having played a few NRL games with the Penrith Panthers, but Kearney will be weighing up whether the extra forward in Harris will be more beneficial. Harris just needs to catch and pass and kick every so often as John would but Harris is a big dude who will bolster their edge defence and offer an excessive amount of go-forward.

Peta Hiku played in the halves with the Junior Warriors and was named their Player Of The Season in doing so. Hiku's already played at fullback with the Kiwis and is a great option as I reckon he's highly under-rated but having Hiku and Dean Whare as our centres has me getting giddy.

The craziest option, easily the best option would be to play Tuivasa-Sheck in the halves with Foran and put Hiku and fullback. Tuivasa-Sheck could actually pull this off and the Kiwis would be almost un-defendable.

There are also young players who could step up. Kodi Nikorima is a dynamic young utility with the Brisbane Broncos where Kearney is an assistant coach and knows first-hand just what Nikorima is capable of. Nikorima usually comes on at hooker to give Andrew McCullough a break but also filled in at fullback once or twice this season and is able to play in all four spine positions. 

Because this is a full-on tour to England, it's a great opportunity to take a few young kids on tour with the Kiwis. This isn't just a week long camp or a Four Nations in Aotearoa and Australia, this is a multi-week journey where you can lay the foundations of the Kiwis culture in young players and start a positive cycle, so don't sleep on Kearney giving Nikorima greater responsibility. I think Nikorima is actually a certain selection, but playing in the halves would be a step up. 

The same goes for Junior Kiwis halves Te Maire Martin and Zac Dockar-Clay. This would be mental, but I'd love for this to happen and there would be no better opportunity than a tough tour against a rising English side to blood a young buck. 

Thinking about it only leads be too be pretty excited with all the options. Whatever decision Kearney makes, I'm happy to roll with just how I'd be happy to support Kearney's decision to bring Marshall back into the frame. The thing is that regardless of who partners Kieran Foran in the halves for the Kiwis, the Kiwis will still be a good team. In the past we have scraped the barrel to get two halves to rival the Kangaroos' let alone a forward pack that offers so much, so right now we are in such a healthy position that it's just going to be fun to sit back and observe.

I think that's how I'm going to finish off anything I write about the Kiwis - it's just great to love the Kiwis right now ya know?