Feki and Koni as a centre/wing combo for Tonga??

Coming hot off an NRL Premiership, Cronulla Sharks will again look to their low key #KiwiNRL and perhaps more notably their #PacificNRL contingent to keep them near the top of the NRL ladder this year. The Sharks have one of the more funkier #KiwiNRL groups as there's not the large group of established kiwi talents that other teams like Brisbane or Melbourne have, while they also lack the sheer young talent that teams like Sydney Roosters or Penrith Panthers have.

Cronulla on the other hand have a bit of a mix-and-match group, led by Bay Roskill junior and former Junior Warriors centre Sosaia Feki. He's the leader of our #KiwiNRL group at Cronulla pretty much by default as he's enjoyed fantastic success with the Sharks and has seen his career reach a new level with every season that passes.

Despite winning a ring last season, Feki had to contend with a funky rotation policy from coach Shane Flanagan who - for whatever reason - pulled Feki from the field after 40 minutes (give or take) in many games. As far as wingers go, they don't get much better than Feki thanks to his powerful carries out of Cronulla's end and the ability to score a try more often than not any time he gets the footy 10m out from the tryline.

Coach Flanagan had a luxury of options though and while I hated seeing Feki come from the field, it was a wise move when you consider that he had six outside backs (Feki, Gerard Beale, Ricky Leutele, Jack Bird, Valentine Holmes, Ben Barba) covering five slots and he kept them all in the mix. Feki would usually make way for Beale, which made the swap easier to digest.
Beale is similar to Feki in that he purely and simply does a job for his team, without fuss. Feki played centre for the Junior Warriors but has settled on the wing with the Sharks, while Beale is equally comfortable at centre as he is on the wing. There's a fair chance that Beale could benefit from Barba's absence, with Holmes or Bird set to compete for that fullback spot which would open a wing or centre spot for Beale.

I went in depth about Fa'amanu Brown and Manaia Cherrington's chances of game time, so check out those. The only recent development here is that Cronulla could snap up James Segeyaro in the coming weeks and that would be a big blow for Cherrington, who joined the Sharks with a sniff of a starting dummy half spot after Michael Ennis' retirement.

There's also whispers that Chad Townsend has suffered a broken thumb, which could open the door for Brown to sneak into Cronulla's halves. That'll only be for a week or two and we could be treated to a battle between Brown and Cherrington for a bench utility spot.

Sam Tagataese will once again maintain the good work that Matt Prior and Andrew Fifita do as starting props. He's big, moves well and has been with the Sharks for a number of seasons now, fitting in strongly with their veteran core.

With the World Cup lurking on the horizon, all these blokes will be looking to impress. Brown will hope that he's there partnering Anthony Milford in the halves for Samoa and Tagataese will be a likely selection, while Feki's a certainty to represent Tonga if he's healthy. Beale and Cherrington are long shots to make the Kiwis squad, but as a versatile outside back Beale could sneak in and if Cherrington can establish himself with consistent minutes I wouldn't sleep on him making a strong case for selection.

Sosaia Feki will continue to be one of the best wingers in the NRL.

Gerard Beale could be a low key winner in Ben Barba's absence.

Fa'amanu Brown is unlikely to get too many minutes.

Sam Tagataese will be a regular presence on Cronulla's bench.

Manaia Cherrington must surely be hoping for some good luck after joining Cronulla.