Lost amongst the selections and hype around the Anzac Test has and will be the backdrop of the Four Nations later this year along with the World Cup the following year. While the Kiwis must go all out to maintain their recent domination of the Kangaroos, the big tournaments looming on the horizon mean that Stephen Kearney must keep one eye on the future and that's what we've got with the Kiwis Test squad named yesterday. 

Jesse Bromwich (captain, Melbourne Storm x Manurewa, Auckland) 
Adam Blair (Brisbane Broncos x naughty Northland) 
Lewis Brown (Manly Sea Eagles x Chch) 
Greg Eastwood (Canterbury Bulldogs x Manurewa, Auckland) 
Alex Glenn (Brisbane Broncos x Northcote, Auckland) 
Tohu Harris (Melbourne Storm x Hastings) 
Peta Hiku (Penrith Panthers x Gisborne) 
Shaun Johnson (NZ Warriors x Orewa) 
Jordan Kahu (Brisbane Broncos x Petone, Wellington) 
Shaun Kenny-Dowall (Sydney Roosters x Ngaruawahia) 
Manu Ma'u (Parramatta Eels x Richmodn/Marist, Auckland) 
Sam Moa (Sydney Roosters x Auckland) 
Jason Nightingale (St George Dragons x Waikato/Tauranga?) 
Kodi Nikorima (Brisbane Broncos x Palmerston North) 
Kevin Proctor (Melbourne Storm x Te Kuiti) 
Jason Taumalolo (North Queensland Cowboys x Otahuhu, Auckland) 
Martin Taupau (Manly Sea Eagles x Auckland) 
Dallin Watene-Zelezniak (Penrith Panthers x Hamilton) 
Danny Levi (19th man, Newcastle Knights x Wellington)

As is always the case, other media outlets will get their knickers in a twist about the dramas surrounding this Kiwis squad. Yeah, the Warriors players have been yanked from possible selection and Issac Luke wasn't named, but all of that only leads me down a path paved good vibes as this is still one heck of a Kiwis squad. As the author of all things NRL and all things Kiwis at the Niche Cache, this is no surprise to me as I am finely tuned to pay close attention to the kiwis in the NRL, for those who didn't know, kiwis dominate the NRL.

How can anyone not love the selection of Jesse Bromwich as skipper? Bromwich is the best prop in the NRL, which Craig Bellamy and Cameron Smith endorse without a second thought for those who need any sort of validation to my wild claims. Not only is this great recognition for a player of Bromwich's calibre, it also shows how young this Kiwis squad is as Bromwich is only 26-years-old himself.

Bromwich will be joined by Adam Blair, Greg Eastwood, Sam Moa, Jason Taumalolo and Martin Taupau as middle forwards named in this squad. The other blokes are all good in their own right, the return of Taumalolo and his partnership with Bromwich through the middle however is mouth-watering. Bromwich is ranked 1st in offloads with 27 this season while Taumalolo averages 10.53m per-carry and Bromwich averages 9.16m per-carry, both have great footwork and are arguably definitely two of the top-five middle forwards (if not the best) in the NRL. 

The non-selection Luke is a bummer, however in Kodi Nikorima and Lewis Brown, Kearney has two decent hooking options. Luke is a dynamic runner, which suits the Kiwis style through the middle as they use speed and footwork around the ruck to make easy metres, however Brown and Nikorima are pretty good runners of the footy themselves. That Kearney can leave out Luke and have Brown, Nikorima and Danny Levi in the squad once again highlights our depth. 

Manu Ma'u's selection brings me great joy and he is joined by Kevin Proctor, Alex Glenn, possibly Taupau and possibly Tohu Harris as edge forwards. Ma'u is thoroughly deserving of his selection, he's a beast on a weekly basis and can easily churn out 80 minutes of footy. 

The number of edge forwards selected leads me to think that we will see Harris start in the halves alongside Shaun Johnson and while I'd love to see Benji Marshall or Te Maire Martin in there, or Kieran Foran, Harris is a freak and I want everyone to see what a freak he is. If Harris does see some halves action, he'll offer another big body - again suiting the Kiwis game plan/style of play - and as he's played in the halves and at centre in the NRL, he's clearly mobile enough to not be a liability.

Johnson can run this team largely by himself, thanks to the power of the forward pack unlike the Warriors pack that he plays behind each week. Johnson will have support form Nikorima and Peta Hiku, who can both play in the halves and as long as Johnson is getting quality footy on the front-foot, he'll be a threat regardless of who his halves partner is.

Our outside back group consists of Hiku, Jordan Kahu, Shaun Kenny-Dowall, Jason Nightingale and Dallin Watene-Zelezniak. That's five blokes, so it's pretty easy to narrow it down to the starters and my pick is that we'll see Hiku start at fullback with Nightingale and Watene-Zelezniak on the wings, Kenny-Dowall and Kahu at centre.

Don't sleep on all five of our outside backs being in great form. Hiku and Watene-Zelezniak are key figures in an exciting Panthers backline, Kahu has recently got back to his best while Kenny-Dowall and Nightingale have been beacons of hope for Roosters and Dragons fans this season. The only catch is that Hiku has been playing centre, Kahu's been playing wing and so has Kenny-Dowall; they'll probably end up playing different positions for the Kiwis than they have been with their clubs, they have all shown though that they can fill any role very well.

Rep footy is about rolling out the best team that is available, plugging holes left by injuries and suspension. Considering that in the past, injuries and suspensions would have crippled an already weak Kiwis team, this team fits the bill nicely as everyone in the squad deserves their selection. Don't sleep on the selection of Levi as 19th man either, Queensland have brought in Origin prospects to be 18th/19th men and I reckon that's what Kearney is doing here as Levi will benefit greatly from the experience.