2017 RLWC: Aotearoa Kiwis Black Book #4
Might as well make the most of it now cuzzie!
The fact that Aotearoa and Tonga will slide on into knockout footy regardless of who wins this weekend's clash lingers in the background, it certainly doesn't take anything away from what will be a game dripping with intrigue. For Aotearoa and David Kidwell, this is an opportunity to see what must be close to - I ain't going all in on that because it's not a knockout game - his strongest team and what they can do against a stronger opposition. Tonga will provide an obvious step up from Samoa and Scotland, which will put the systems and schemes of Aotearoa under pressure.
I'm going to have a field-day previewing this encounter so keep an eye out over the coming days for a written preview and a video to go with it. For now I'm only concerned with the team that Kidwell has selected to face Tonga and that's led by the weird situation that has led to this specific team gaining selection.
The initial team that Kidwell selected to face Samoa had a starting middle trio of Martin Taupau, Adam Blair and Simon Mannering, with Joseph Tapine and Kenny Bromwich on the edges. Bromwich's late withdrawl through injury caused a re-shuffle and Jared Waerea-Hargreaves came into the starting side, pushing Mannering out to fill Bromwich's edge spot.
Let me do some more painting to set the scene; Waerea-Hargreaves wasn't even in the initial top-17 to face Samoa, after Waerea-Hargreaves had been royally messed around presumably by the Jason Taumalolo situation. Waerea-Hargreaves was told he was in, then told he was out and then told he would definitely be selected in the Kiwis squad. That essentially means that he was already on the fringes of the squad and this is backed up by Waerea-Hargreaves not making the initial team to play against Samoa.
Ah, but go back a bit further than that and in the weeks leading up to RLWC, Kidwell and his selectors went on this weird media campaign talking about different players and generally not making much sense. One comment zoned in on Waerea-Hargreaves' discipline and how this can impact big games, Waerea-Hargreaves then had a hand in a few key penalties against North Queensland Cowboys the following week. A lot of sense was made here and while Waerea-Hargreaves churns through high calibre performances consistently for the Roosters, he did exactly what the Kiwis selectors didn't want him to do (and what the Roosters didn't want) in a NRL Finals game. Hence, why I think Waerea-Hargreaves fell back down the pecking order.
Back down the pecking order because Waerea-Hargreaves was black-balled for a long time with the Kiwis and had only recently worked his way back into the mix, for whatever reason. With that scene/context in mind, it's bonkers that Waerea-Hargreaves has gone from being outside the top-17 for game one vs Samoa, to starting two straight and named to start against Tonga. Not bonkers in a bad way, just bonkers how this sport thing plays out.
And ultimately, I don't think it really matters who is doing that job. If it's Waerea-Hargreaves, Taupau and Blair, great. If it's Taupau, Blair and Mannering, great. Any other combo, great, chuck in Russell Packer or Isaac Liu, great. I do however think that the forward pack selected to face Tonga matches up nicely against the Tongan forward pack, partly because I suspect we will see Simon Mannering play on Manu Ma'u side of the field to contain one of the better edge forwards in the world (Ma'u).
The presence of Waerea-Hargreaves and Packer will be important because they're slightly different to the other Kiwis forwards and the main Tongan forwards. Waerea-Hargreaves and Packer don't have the footwork or agility of the others, they are how grizzly workers who find their front and play-the-ball swiftly, with aggression, mongrel and niggle as well. Along with Adam Blair, they'll put a shot on, make life difficult for kickers and generally annoy Tonga, allowing for Taupau, Nelson Asofa-Solomona and Liu to focus on their attacking impetus. All about balance folks.
Stay tuned for that preview, 'cos I'm already about to explode with thoughts.
The outside back group is the best available and although Jason Nightingale showed what a Kiwis legend he is against Scotland, his selection in the Kiwis squad was always about depth. The importance of such players is amplified in a World Cup and if something happens to a starting winger, it's glorious to know that Nightingale is there ready to go for a knockout game.
Then you have Kodi Nikorima's selection over Te Maire Martin and I don't really care either way. These two are equal in my mind and now Nikorima has the opportunity against the strongest opponent in this pool, so we're going to gain some major insight into the Nikorima/Shaun Johnson combination from this game.
Peace and love 27.
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