Us kiwis love some State of Origin footy. Even though there's no relationship between Aotearoa and State of Origin, which makes it all a bit weird. Besides the joy of seeing Aussies piss each other off, we get knee deep in Origin because we don't have such a contest here in Aotearoa and we barely get to watch the Kiwis play, let alone the complete absence of any sort of representative rugby league in Aotearoa. There is a major void that needs filling and Origin fills that void every year.

That's all a bit silly though, just as it's silly that we don't get to see our Kiwis play in Aotearoa. The concept of some sort of Aotearoa x State of Origin isn't new, although it's a concept that I'd rather push than previewing, reviewing and talkin' all sorts of shit about State of Origin. In the past I've covered Origin as if I were a crazy Sydney media joker and enlightenment has led me down this path where all that really matters to me is #KiwiNRL. I still might have a few Origin tricks up my sleeve, don't worry.

We don't have states and while there's more South Islanders joining NRL clubs every year, we don't quite have the numbers for a North vs South series. Instead, I'm going with Tamaki Makaurau vs Aotearoa which loosely translates to Auckland vs Everyone. For the sake of the first Niche Cache Battle of Aotearoa, I'm broadening Tamaki Makaurau to cover the greater Auckland area as Wikipedia reckons that a southern suburb of Auckland like Manurewa doesn't fit into Tamaki Makaurau; let's just roll with Tamaki Makaurau being greater Auckland.

I'll name the two teams when each the teams for each State of Origin game are named. There could be a few changes to each team and these changes could depend on NRL form, personal preference, me forgetting about players or a completely fictional story. I'll try to offer something different for each of the three games; consider this an intro to the whole idea.

Tamaki Makaurau

Backs

Roger Tuivasa-Sheck, Sosaia Feki, Konrad Hurrell, Solomone Kata, David Fusitua, Shaun Johnson, Kieran Foran.

An almighty Aotearoa Warriors look to this backline as Feki and Hurrell both spent time with the Warriors before moving to Australian clubs. The first bit of funk here comes with a typical eligibility drama thanks to my selection of Hurrell and Kata as the centres. Both came from Tonga to play First XV rugby union in Auckland and with the eligibility rules as they are, both Hurrell and Kata will be free to play for Tonga at the World Cup afterwards.

Also, Johnson will play as a traditional No.6 for this team with Foran as the halfback. No left and right side bullshit, just Foran offering organisation and control with Johnson free to roam.

Forwards

Jesse Bromwich, Kenny Bromwich, Martin Taupau, Greg Eastwood, Manu Ma'u, Jason Taumalolo.

As all the main hooking options aren't from Auckland (Issac Luke, Matt McIlwrick, Danny Levi, Kodi Nikorima ... even Brandon Smith is from Waiheke Island which is kinda in Auckland?) and as this game will be rather brutal, I've gone with Kenny Bromwich at hooker. The younger Bromwich just needs to do a solid job here and get the ball to the right blokes at the right time as there's severe firepower in this forward pack.

Bench

Suaia Matagi, Sio Siua Taukeiaho, Alex Glenn, Sam Kasiano.

Covering hooker/edge and at a pinch the outside back spots will be Glenn who does a fine, versatile job for the Broncos. Otara's Taukeiaho can also play edge/centre, while Matagi and Kasiano will be brutal through the middle, with some scope for Kasiano to hover around the footy, adding some funk to Tamaki Makaurau's attack.

Aotearoa

Backs

Jordan Kahu, Jordan Rapana, Dean Whare, Joseph Manu, Dallin Watene-Zelezniak, Fa'amanu Brown, Benji Marshall.

Kahu and Rapana hail from Wellington, Whare is from Rotorua, Manu is from Tokoroa, Watene-Zelezniak is from Waikato, Brown is from Christchurch and we all know where Benji's from. Not only is most of this backline Maori, most of them can make legit cases for a Kiwis jersey and the prospect of Marshall leading a super exciting backline like this has me salivating.

Forwards

Adam Blair, Issac Luke, Jared Waerea-Hargreaves, Tohu Harris, Kevin Proctor, Simon Mannering.

Blair is from up north, Luke's from Hawera in the 'Naki, Waerea-Hargreaves is from Rotorua, Harris is from Hastings, Proctor's from Te Kuiti and Mannering can only have grown up in the South Island, right? Again, this is a forward pack that could be rolled out for the Kiwis and while Mannering is the perfect bloke for this level of footy, Blair and Waerea-Hargreaves ooze aggression and niggle which will be crucial in slowing down the likes of Taumalolo, Taukeiaho, Kasiano and Bromwich.

Bench

Kodi Nikorima, Joseph Tapine, Nelson Asofa-Solomona, Russell Packer

Tapine and Asofa-Solomona are from Wellington, Nikorima is from Palmerston North and Packer is from Levin which means this bench all comes from the bottom of the North Island. Chur to that because it's a fair reflection of Wellington and the surrounding area's contribution to the NRL. Nikorima will be lethal off the bench with all the big bodies slowing down once the crazy tempo of this game takes over and with Packer to continue the gritty work through the middle, Tapine and Asofa-Solomona will be able to focus on their fancy footwork and offloads ... or joining in on the brutality as well.

As I came up with these teams, I couldn't contain my excitement at the mere thought of how intense this game would be. Obviously as it's a State of Origin replica, it carries the same level of awesomeness but the prospect of these two forward packs trading blows, niggle and plenty of skill is nothing short of enticing. Team Aotearoa would be eager to show that they represent a low key heartland of rugby league, while Tamaki Makaurau start as underdogs on paper but are still the big-dawgs and they'll represent Auckland's strong Polynesian presence with pride.

Game one will be held in Wellington, with game two up in Auckland. As this is our concept, we can switch things up a little and there is a date set aside for game three but it will only be played if required. Game three will be held in Dunedin during peak University time, so if we need a decider, it's gonna be loose and no fun police will be allowed.

Massive crowds ($$), brutal footy, all sorts of funky skills and flair that only cuzzies from Aotearoa can offer, then you've got a haka for each team. I'm a haka nerd and have been known to spend hours on Youtube peeping the intricacies of the haka, so I'll be intrigued to see how these teams conjour a haka that represents them. For example, Tamaki Makaurau may wish to include elements from the Sipi Tau or Siva Tau. Team Aotearoa will need a haka that represents all of Aotearoa sans Auckland, so both teams could have a haka that includes a variety of different elements that we've never really seen before.

Ponder these teams and this concept. If I've forgotten any players or if there are any players who you want up in the mix, leave a comment on Facebook. To me this sounds like an incredibly dope idea and it's rather mind-boggling as to why NZRL haven't actually tried to get this going. Lucky we're here.

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