Our first look at a possible Kiwis team for the upcoming Anzac Test saw me settle on this 17-man team:

Roger Tuivasa-Sheck, Jordan Rapana, Dean Whare, Jordan Kahu, Jason Nightingale, Kieran Foran, Shaun Johnson, Jesse Bromwich, Issac Luke, Adam Blair, Simon Mannering, Manu Ma'u, Jason Taumalolo.

Kodi Nikorima, Martin Taupau, Nelson Asofa-Solomona, Joseph Tapine.

Also included in the wider group were:

Dallin Watene-Zelezniak, David Fusitua, Te Maire Martin, Kenny Bromwich, Alex Glenn and James Fisher-Harris.

What's the common factor through those four guys named in the wider group? They're all young and while it's super exciting to have youngin's who are capable to providing stiff competition, it's also important to understand that youngins' need to earn the right for international duty and that a good season doesn't result in automatic selection anymore.

Just as being a veteran, or having done a job for the Kiwis before, doesn't result in automatic selection anymore. That's the joy of the #KiwiNRL takeover as youngins' need to offer more than those with more experience than them and the veterans need to prove why they should be selected over a young buck; you gotta prove yourself to earn selection.

This leads me to Jared Waerea-Hargreaves. This one left me scratching my head a wee bit after Kiwis team selection #1 because as exciting as Nelson Asofa-Solomona and Joseph Tapine are, Waerea-Hargreaves has started this season on fire. Averaging 52mins/per-game and 9.73m/per-carry, Waerea-Hargreaves has re-established himself as the leader of the Roosters rugged forward pack and he's also 2nd in offloads at the Roosters with 13, averaging 1.9 offloads/per-game. 

We know that Waerea-Hargreaves can churn through this sort of workload, his fitness has usually held him back in recent years though as he's been somewhat injury prone. When David Kidwell talks about wanting players who share his passion for the Kiwis jersey, I get the vibe that Waerea-Hargreaves is at the top of that list given how he fell out of favour with Stephen Kearney a few years back. 

The Kiwis' depth ensured that Waerea-Hargreaves' 'falling out of favour' was absorbed and they didn't really miss him. What we are seeing from Waerea-Hargreaves this season, appears to be the work of a cuzzy who is desperate to reclaim his standing as one of the best props in the NRL and reclaim that Kiwis jersey. Right now, you've got to pick Waerea-Hargreaves.

Given that, I'm going to reshuffle my Kiwis forward pack. Waerea-Hargreaves will start because I see more value in having Adam Blair come off the bench than Waerea-Hargreaves, with Tapine dropping off the bench. The reason I keep Asofa-Solomona on that bench is because I want him to get a sniff of this level of footy before the World Cup, although Asofa-Solomona and Tapine equals at this stage.

I still think that Kidwell could go with Alex Glenn or Kenny Bromwich on the bench, instead of Asofa-Solomona and Tapine. That's up to Kidwell and whether he wants some edge cover on the bench, or if he wants to unleash some size through the middle.

One toko we need to keep a close eye on is Sio Siua Taukeiaho, a Roosters comrade of Waerea-Hargreaves. In completely non-footy matters, Taukeiaho is crucial to the #TTTT beastly forwards of the Kiwis and the prospect of Taukeiaho joining Jason Taumalolo, Martin Taupau and Joseph Tapine has me frothing with excitement. 

Taukeiaho returned from a lengthy injury lay-off last week against Newcastle and while a single performance against Newcastle needs to be kept in context, Taukeiaho picked up exactly where he left off. In just 30 minutes, Taukeiaho had 11 carries for 144m, averaging a whopping 13.09m/per-carry. 

In 2016, Taukeiaho averaged 9.41m/per-carry through 20 games. 

In 2015, Taukeiaho averaged 10.86m/per-carry through 27 games.

This is why I've been excited about Taukeiaho during this time and although I reckon it's a stretch for him to do enough in a short space of time to earn an Anzac Test spot, he's a beast and should be in the mix for any Kiwis team.

Keep an eye on the return of Kevin Proctor this weekend. If he does return this weekend then he'll put himself in contention, if not then he's leaving it very late to make his case for selection over Manu Ma'u or Simon Mannering.

There was also some feedback about Suliasi Vunivalu last week. At this stage Vunivalu has given no indication as to what nation he will chose to represent and having come through Aotearoa's schoolboy rugby union scene, there's every chance that he looks to repay the country that gave him a route to professional sport. 

Vunivalu is a gun, but the Kiwis have plenty of depth out wide and as this is World Cup year, I believe Vunivalu will decide to play for Fiji at the World Cup. And a very strong Fijian team at that.

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