Niche Cache Kiwis Training Camp
Yo Peta Hiku, we need you g, come show the boys how the Kiwis dooz it
After naming our Premature Kiwis Four Nations squad, coach Stephen Kearney has graced us with the opportunity to select a bunch of players in our Niche Cache Kiwis Training Camp. Obviously we can't pick any players named in that Premature Four Nations squad and Kearney requested that we keep a focus on younger players who could step into the Kiwis set up in the next few years.
This isn't a team, just a group of players who will be brought together under the Kiwis umbrella. The purpose of this training camp is to ensure that there's a continuation of key aspects of the Kiwis play and that the mana runs deep. You could consider this to be a 'Kiwis B' team, but it's not and I'll name our 'Kiwis B' team at the conclusion of the NRL season. This is just a gathering of players who the Niche Cache deem to be there or thereabouts for international selection and deserve to get a little taster, or need to be kept in the system despite being down the pecking order.
Also note that I try and steer clear of picking players who are currently representing Samoa or Tonga, who are yet to declare their intentions of playing for the Kiwis. David Fusitua, Sam Kasiano and Sosaia Feki are the best examples of this, while the likes of Tuimoala Lolohea and Manu Ma'u have recently been selected for the Kiwis so they were eligible for our Premature Four Nations squad. It's not a simple equation as it all depends on what the player wants.
Backs
Joseph Manu, Brad Takairangi, Gerard Beale, Jordan Rapana, Curtis Rona, Josh Hoffman
Smacking me in the face when I was making my list of backs for the Niche Cache Training Camp was the form that each of these blokes is in and it's a fantastic time for kiwi rugby league when they are all doing a fine job for their respective NRL clubs. Jordan Rapana can count himself the unluckiest member of the Training Camp, unlucky to narrowly miss out on the Four Nations squad as I opted to take a hefty contingent of big boppers which meant an outside back had to miss out. Don't sleep on Rapana to make the actual Four Nations squad though as he's in scorching form and deserves selection, he has represented Cook Islands up to this point which chucks a spanner in the works.
So had Brad Takairangi and he got the Kiwis call earlier this year, so there's a bit of funk in that the Cook Islands have a fairly close relationship with Aotearoa. Rapana is a winger who put his crazy tackle busting ability down to simply hating getting tackled and Takairangi is a tall lad who can cover centre and an edge forward spot.
For once, our centre stocks are extremely healthy (see the Injured Lads section) with both Gerard Beale and Josh Hoffman playing great footy for the Sharks and Titans. Beale is enjoying consistent game time and has basically pushed Ricky Leutele out of the Sharks starting team while Hoffman is bouncing back strongly after a lean season or two. Like Rapana, both Hoffman and Beale could find themselves in the Four Nations squad later this year if Kearney opens a spot up for either of them. Don't sleep on how well all of their teams are playing with the Raiders, Sharks and Titans all in decent form (to various degrees).
Curtis Rona was a star performer for the Bulldogs on the wing and has the ability to finish from anywhere within sniffing distance of the try-line. This year though, Rona's best work has come at centre and he can genuinely play either centre or wing equally as well. Rona is close, just like the rest of these lads and he needs to get a taste of that Kiwis set up as soon as possible.
The bolter to some extent is Joseph Manu, who has been given a shot with the Roosters this season on the wing. Blessed with all the traits of a good NRL winger, Manu has a left-footed step that enables him to sneak between defenders and I also remember watching Tokoroa's finest set the Under-20's comp on fire playing at centre. Manu is a player of the future and should lock down a Roosters wing spot on a consistent basis soon enough.
Forwards
Joseph Tapine, Nelson Asofa-Solomona, Danny Levi, James Fisher-Harris, Lewis Brown, Isaac Liu, Ava Seumanufagai, Elijah Taylor, Kenny Edwards
While most of this Training Camp crew are younger lads, there's blokes like Hoffman, Beale and Lewis Brown who have been there before and deserve to still be in the mix. Brown can do a job in any position, he just can't nail down one position and there are better options at hooker, edge forward and centre which means he misses the Premature Four Nations squad. Brown is now a veteran and having a solid campaigner like him in the mix shows how healthy kiwi rugby league is.
Isaac Liu made the cut to tour England last year and he gets through a solid amount of work with and without the footy on a weekly basis with the Roosters. There will be many more Kiwis Test appearances for Liu in the future as he's a no-nonsense rugged player through the middle and while there's some behemoth's in this group, Liu is a bit smaller and more mobile which is a handy asset. Elijah Taylor has also made previous Kiwis squads and has 10 Tests to his name, he's simply a victim of such a powerful Kiwis forward pack that doesn't leave much room for a workhorse; especially with Simon Mannering back in the Kiwis group.
Joseph Tapine, Nelson Asofa-Solomona and Ava Seumanufagai are all next up as Kiwi beast who dominate the middle of the field. What's funky here is that all three of these lads are from Wellington and this just shows how the quality of kiwi rugby league is stretching its reach further and further. Tapine has relished a move to the middle with Canberra and adds some serious punch to their attack off the bench, Asofa-Solomona is the x-factor that Melbourne need to win a Premiership and his combination of size x skill x athleticism isn't too common in the NRL while Seumanufagai has been a low key beast for Wests Tigers all season.
We've got some edge forwards in James Fisher-Harris and Kenny Edwards, two blokes who again show how far NRL clubs are looking for kiwi talent. Fisher-Harris was snapped up by Penrith from naughty Northland and has slid out to the edge in recent weeks where he's a handful thanks to his size and aggression. Levin's Edwards is a more mobile forward who offers a splash of speed and footwork, fairly similar to Bodene Thompson and he's been a consistent presence in Parrmatta's side.
Danny Levi was in the squad for the Anzac Test and is a powerful hooker who has had to endure Newcastle's rebuilding wave. This has worked in Levi's favour as he gets solid minutes on a weekly basis and will be far better off for the experience, especially at this stage of his career.
Injured Lads
Te Maire Martin, Dean Whare, Peta Hiku, Roger Tuivasa-Sheck, Manaia Cherrington
Dean Whare and Peta Hiku would probably fill both centre positions in a full-strength Kiwis squad and Roger Tuivasa-Sheck is the best fullback we've got. While all three are all fairly young, they have all featured heavily in the Kiwis in the last few years and their experience will be crucial to building the Kiwis mana in this Training Camp. Coach Kearney will be with the Kiwis squad, so we need some these three to be at the Training Camp, lurking and chiming in with advice when they see fit.
Also invited are Te Maire Martin and Manaia Cherrington. I named Martin in the Premature Four Nations squad as he'd benefit hugely from that experience but he's still on the comeback trail from a shoulder injury and if that's not healed up in time for him to play some NRL games, he'll be at the Training Camp.
Cherrington is also currently injured and is caught up in a weird situation at the Tigers, which saw him get minimal game time behind Robbie Farah. I don't think Cherrington's long-term future is at the Tigers (go to Penrith cuzzy!), I just want Cherrington to know that he's still in our sights. Cherrington and Levi are going to offer excessive depth at the dummy half position for the Kiwis over the next decade.