Kiwis Team To Face Kangaroos In Perth
What role will Manu Ma'u play? Bring da ruckus.
International footy doesn't leave a whole lot of room to ease your foot of the gas and we all know that once you're reppin' your country, you're all-in. David Kidwell named his Kiwis side to face the Kangaroos in Perth and while this game certainly isn't a piss-take, the Four Nations is lurking and it looks as though Kidwell understandably has one eye on what will go down in England after this trans-Tasman battle.
This doesn't quite look like the very best Kiwis side that Kidwell could pick and that my friends is why we all need to kick back and rejoice a little. We can celebrate once again, that kiwi rugby league is in a fantastic position and reading this team list gave me goosebumps as I contemplated how beastly it is - you can't help but be proud. There's only a few minor changes that I'd make to a full-strength side with Jordan Kahu moving to centre in place of Solomone Kata and Dallin Watene-Zelezniak replacing Kahu at fullback. Simon Mannering would have to come into this 17 somewhere as well and maybe Greg Eastwood as well.
Two related notes...
Watene-Zelezniak and Eastwood may have been given the week off to be apart of the NZ Maori side as Eastwood was initially mentioned as being available and Dallin's older brother Malakai will start at fullback for the Maori. Dallin could also be at Josh Mansour's wedding, but if you're in Huntly for the NZ Maori vs NZ Residents fixture, keep ya eyes peeled.
Honestly, where does Mannering fit into this forward pack? He's not going to keep Jason Taumalolo out of that No.13 jersey and he can't demand a spot on the left edge over Tohu Harris which leaves us with Kevin Proctor's right edge spot. Proctor hasn't really done a whole lot wrong, which could mean that Mannering needs to eye up a bench spot and even then he will be competing with Manu Ma'u who had a fantastic season with Parramatta. Mannering is a deity, so he's gotta be in there somewhere but damn, this Kiwis forward pack is stacked.
Kidwell has opted to bring in Kata to start at centre and Kata offers something completely different at centre to Kahu, Shaun Kenny-Dowall and even Dean Whare and Peta Hiku. These centres we have seen in the Kiwis recently rely more on touches of class, skill and their size to ask questions of their opposition while Kata is all power. Warriors fans will know all about Kata's eagerness to tuck the footy under his wing and not set up his winger, so in the International arena Kata will need to play his role but that role will definitely involve him not only taking defenders on out wide but also cutting back in-field where he can compliment the work of the forwards and Issac Luke.
Jordan Rapana thoroughly deserves his debut on the wing and this should be the start of a long stint with the Kiwis for Rapana. With no Manu Vatuvei, the Kiwis now have to slick finishers on either flank and instead of trying to get Vatuvei the footy where he can barge over, the aim of the game will be to get Rapana - and Jason Nightingale - slightly on the outside of their opponent. Rapana's staple is tackle bustin' so watch out for his footwork, especially when he creeps across field as he'll probe at the Kangaroos defence and there'll be ample opportunity for support play around Rapana.
The Kiwis spine has a Warriors tinge to it and some would view that as a negative, however the form of Thomas Leuluai, Shaun Johnson and Issac Luke was hardly the reason for the Warriors struggles this season. They'll be playing behind a forward pack that at the opposite end of the spectrum to their Warriors forward pack and should enjoy the go-forward and speed offered by their forwards. In the Anzac Test, Kahu played a limited role with the footy but still impressed with his carries and defence. Kahu is one of three lads - along with Watene-Zelezniak and Roger Tuivasa-Sheck - who lead the fullback options and despite Kahu being ranked 3rd in that group, we need to see that Kahu can contribute more with some ball-playing and develop an intriguing combination with Johnson.
How can you go wrong with a starting forward pack of Jesse Bromwich, Jared Waerea-Hargreaves, Kevin Proctor, Tohu Harris and Jason Taumalolo? Seriously! One low key thing to watch out for with the starters is their speed or footwork, which is led by how Taumalolo dominates the middle but Bromwich and Harris will also look to put a little step in at the line.
Joseph Tapine and Gerard Beale will be kickin' it on the sidelines; leaving Ma'u, Lewis Brown, Martin Taupau and Adam Blair on the bench. Brown will likely give Luke a spell and do a job for 10-20 minutes at dummy half, while Taupau and Blair will play through the middle with Taupau to play the role of the block-busting forward and Blair to take care of the niggly work. How Ma'u is used will be interesting as I suspect we'll see how give Proctor a break on the edges, although I'd love to see Ma'u play through the middle and bring the ruckus in conjunction with the Kiwis' powerful style of footy. Bromwich, Waerea-Hargreaves and Taumalolo can, but tend not to play 80 minutes and with the Four Nations to come, I'd suggest that these three will play around 40-50 minutes each and that leaves the door open for a possible shift to the middle for Ma'u.
The mark of this Kiwis set-up is that Tapine could come in and replace Ma'u, or Watene-Zelezniak could feature in the backline, or that Mannering and Eastwood could slide in somewhere. Given where we've come from as kiwi rugby league fans, having competition for spots ... like high-quality competition for spots is fantastic and this squad only shows that the depth has increased dramatically and that's only to go to greater heights in the coming years.
So get used to debating Kiwis spots, sussing out who can do what and who's better than who. Start practicing now because the Kiwis are yet to really roll out their very best team, wait, what is your very best Kiwis side?