After dropping a squad on Sunday evening, Stephen Kearney has now dropped a team list for the Anzac Test that does differ a little from the original squad while also giving us some clarity as to which players will play in which position. The overall vibe of this Kiwis team is still the same though as it is super young, only Jason Nightingale, Adam Blair and Greg Eastwood strike you as certified NRL veterans which offers up an interesting side-show to this Test.

As I alluded to in my thingy-ma-jig regarding the original squad, I reckon Kearney has one eye on future tournaments, especially the World Cup next year but also the Four Nations tournament later this year. A one-off Anzac Test is very important and winning it is obviously a priority, Kearney does however have the luxury of the best kiwi players in the NRL right now being on the younger side of the ledger. 

Kearney has named 19 cuzzies, throw in Danny Levi and we have 20...

Jordan Kahu
Jason Nightingale
Shaun Kenny-Dowall
Gerard Beale
Dallin Watene-Zelezniak
Tohu Harris
Shaun Johnson
Jesse Bromwich
Lewis Brown
Adam Blair
Kevin Proctor
Manu Ma'u
Jason Taumalolo

Bench: Kodi Nikorima, Greg Eastwood, Martin Taupau, Sam Moa.
Water boys: Brad Takairangi, Kenny Bromwich.

We'll start at the back where Jordan Kahu will start at fullback, which came after Peta Hiku had to withdraw thanks to injury. There's a few big calls in this team by coach Kearney (big call in terms of key players playing out of position against the Kangaroos) and Kahu is certainly one of those. However while there's some anxiety about Kahu starting at fullback after playing mostly at wing and centre with the Broncos, there's equal amounts of excitement as this is a great chance for Kahu to show what he can do.

We haven't really seen too much of Kahu at fullback with the Broncos. I have heard a lot about how talented Kahu is and I've consistently said that this is why the Broncos stood by Kahu through numerous major knee injuries. Kearney is of course an assistant coach at the Broncos so he's exposed to Kahu's ability every day at training and we can only assume that he has unwavering faith in Kahu, so we should as well.

Every week, I see how good Kahu is at running the footy. He runs hard, he's got good footwork and he's slick as he glides around the turf, what we don't really see are his skills. Kahu will be called on to do a whole lot of ball-playing, helping out Shaun Johnson as fullbacks are expected to do and this will come with Kahu lining up against Darius Boyd who is the best ball-playing fullback in the NRL and who would have hopefully taught Kahu a few tricks of the trade. 

Jason Nightingale and Dallin Watene-Zelezniak are our wingers, two wingers who have been in great form to start the season. We all know what Nightingale can do, keep an eye on how hard Watene-Zelezniak carries the footy as this kid goes nothing less than hundies and it could be inspiring for the rest of the troops.

Shaun Kenny-Dowall has also been in great form, albeit on the wing for the Chooks so how he slides into centre will be interesting. Gerard Beale has been called up in a rather weird selection by Kearney as Beale hasn't enjoyed consistent game time at centre with Cronulla, he's instead come off the bench most games this season. I have enjoyed Beale's work this season though, he's a capable player who will do a job. The presence of Takairangi in the wider squad is interesting, he's one of Parramatta's centres all season and is in better form than Beale.

As predicted, Tohu Harris joins Shaun Johnson in the halves and while this may be reason of concern for some kiwis, I can't contain my excitement. Sure, a Harris x SJ7 combo isn't close to the Jonathan Thurston x Cooper Cronk combo but then again, the Kiwis are different to the Kangaroos, they play differently and have a slightly different set of priorities. It's all about power and size, Harris is another big body who can use his skills to set up other blokes but if he runs, he's going to get a quick play-the-ball and the Kiwis roll forward.

I love the Storm's kiwi gang, they are a must-watch for me each week and that allows me to see how freakish Harris is as a footy player. The dude does everything, literally everything having played in a variety of positions at the highest level. Those who are worried about SJ7 really shouldn't be as SJ7 will be playing behind a Kiwis forward pack who are infinitely better than the Warriors forward pack. 

Part of the Kiwis game plan will be to have as many players in motion and/or players pushing up in support of SJ7, which doesn't happen at the Warriors. Not only with he be getting front-foot ball, but he'll have options all over the place which will also open up opportunities for SJ7 himself.

I love Jesse Bromwich and all we need to know about him as a skipper is in this video...

He's joined by Adam Blair and Jason Taumalolo as the middle-trio. Bromwich, Blair and Taumalolo are middle forwards from the three best teams in the NRL (Storm, Broncos and Cowboys), hence I love our forward pack. Greg Eastwood and Sam Moa will likely roll through the middle off the bench, Eastwood is all about footwork and offloads while Moa is fantastic off the bench as he simply runs as hard as possible for 15-odd minutes.

Martin Taupau is named on the bench and he's been playing on the left edge for Manly in the NRL, so where he features for the Kiwis will be interesting. I would prefer Taupau being a like-for-like replacement for Taumalolo through the middle as they both have a unique speed x power x footwork combination, especially as Kevin Proctor and Manu Ma'u can play 80 minutes. 

Eastwood can also play on the edge and I reckon Proctor will be given a spell at some stage, so look for either Taupau or Eastwood to fill that spot at some stage. 

Ma'u and Proctor give the Kiwis a threat on either edge. Ma'u is a physical beast who will look to dominate every battle and to have a player come in for his debut, who plays at a Test intensity every week in the NRL is a luxury. Proctor earns a living running off Cooper Cronk at the Storm, he's also played in many Kiwis teams with SJ7 now so expect Proctor and SJ7 to roll through their play-book.

Ah the funk. Now Harris can very easily slot into an edge forward role, which leaves a hole in the halves for a livewire like Kodi Nikorima. The basic play is for Nikorima and Lewis Brown to rotate, Issac Luke is a big omission but Brown and Nikorima are both crafty/dynamic runners of the footy so they will do a similar job to what Luke usually does. 

The funky play is that Nikorima and Brown get game time alongside each other with Nikorima doing a job in the halves while Brown plays dummy half. This fits the way the Kiwis will look to play rather nicely as the Kangaroos will need to pay both Nikorima and SJ7 plenty of respect as they are great runners/ball-players, especially if they are doing their thing on the back of an offload or quick play-the-ball.

Any time the Kiwis come up against a Kangaroos team with the legends that they have, it's going to be tricky. The Kiwis have however created a bit of a blueprint on how to beat the less dynamic Kangaroos and most of the pieces to this puzzle are still in place for the Kiwis so I'm still hopeful. Hopeful of a win, although the result of this specific Test isn't the be all and end all.

What is just as important is how this young - I must stress this once again - Kiwis team perform against such quality opposition. Kiwi rugby league is soaring, we've grown our presence in the NRL and the quality of that presence has gone through the roof so with injuries and suspensions doing some damage, this is a great opportunity to showcase our depth.