#KiwiNRL No More Kodi Nikorima & Sio Siua Taukeiaho In 2016
You'll be able to do a Kiwis pukana again soon enough Kodi
This week, Wayne Bennett told us all that Kodi Nikorima would not feature again this season for the Broncos thanks to a shoulder injury that has kept him out of action for much of the year. This came after Sio Siua Taukeiaho suffered a knee injury last weekend for the Roosters against the Sharks, it could be an ACL but regardless, it seems unlikely that Taukeiaho will be out of action for a while.
Both injuries will see two young Kiwis unable to lace up for the Kiwis in the Four Nations after the NRL season is finished. Nikorima's injury has wider implications for Brisbane as they will be without his spark for the Finals while Taukeiaho's injury will only impact his Kiwis chances as the Roosters season is over.
Nikorima is one of the forgotten lads of the #KiwiNRL season as he was a key figure in Brisbane's run to the Grand Final last season but the Broncos haven't enjoyed the luxury of having Nikorima on their bench this season. For many, the memory of Nikorima that they will pick out of their brain from the 2016 season was the demolition at the hands of Melbourne when Nikorima came off the bench to replace Corey Oates on the wing and Suliasi Vunivalu having a field-day in the air against a much smaller Nikorima.
Last season, Nikorima would come on late in the first half and spend much of the second half on the field. This gave the Broncs a dynamic dose of x-factor through the middle as Nikorima has more speed and better footwork than Andrew McCullough, which when combined with the razzle dazzle of Anthony Milford and Ben Hunt, gave the Broncos a potent attacking force. This season though, things weren't so settled with Nikorima seemingly battlin' injury on a regular basis and when he was healthy, McCullough was out injured and the Broncos were knee-deep in an Origin slump that saw Travis Waddell starting many games.
It's a completely different story for Taukeiaho. The best way to describe what Taukeiaho does for the Roosters is to compare him to Jason Taumalolo and Taukeiaho is probably the only bloke in the NRL who you can genuinely compare to Taumalolo. He doesn't quite get through the same work that Taumalolo does (having a few 20 carries/200m games this season) but he plays in a similar fashion with his speed and power enabling him to make big metres around the ruck area. Taukeiaho has also featured on the edges as well.
Taukeiaho is ranked 5th in running-metres for the Roosters this season and is 2nd behind Dylan Napa in running-metres for Roosters forwards. Working in Taukeiaho's favour though is that he averaged 9.41m per-carry while Napa averaged 9.06m per-carry, with Napa playing three more games than Taukeiaho. Taukeiaho isn't too far behind Taumalolo in that regard with Taumalolo averaging a staggering 10.63m per-carry.
Both Nikorima and Taukeiaho have already featured for the Kiwis and could become key figures in this Kiwis team moving forward. Nikorima can cover a range of positions, however he'll probably be best used coming off the bench to cover hooker and the play-making positions with his dynamic running game suiting the Kiwis style of playing with speed and power through the middle. That's exactly why I'm excited to see Taukeiaho get more game time for the Kiwis because he is also perfectly suited to the style of the Kiwis and the mere thought of Taukeiaho playing in a forward pack alongside Taumalolo, Martin Taupau, Jesse Bromwich, Tohu Harris, Kevin Proctor, Greg Eastwood, Jared Waerea-Hargreaves and any other exceptional Kiwis forward has me fizzing with excitement.
While Nikorima and Taukeiaho should feature heavily in next year's World Cup, it's highly unlikely that we'll see either in the Four Nations this year. Sure, that's a bummer but it only opens things up for the Kiwis to flex their depth muscles and give opportunities to even younger players with equally as bright futures.
Issac Luke can genuinely play 80 minutes, so he can absorb the absence of Nikorima. The likes of Danny Levi (Newcastle), Manaia Cherrington (Wests Tigers/Cronulla) and the Warriors duo of Nathaniel Roache and Jazz Tevaga could get the call up with the Four Nations a great opportunity to get these lads in the system.
Taukeiaho's absence will probably be a non-factor as the Kiwis have a plethora of powerful forwards, that would have made it difficult for Taukeiaho to get a run in a full-strength 17. There are youngsters like Joseph Tapine and Nelson Asofa-Solomona who thoroughly deserve a call up and as fans, it's great to see such talent there knocking on the door to step in when injuries like this happen.