The eve of the Anzac Test has arrived and David Kidwell has trimmed his Aotearoa Kiwis squad down to a playing-17. No fluffin' around here, let's get straight into some notes:

No Brandon Smith or David Fusitua

Expected. When the squad was announced, I highlighted that Smith had been selected in the same role as Danny Levi last year and Smith will benefit from being around the camp. Naming Smith is however a sign of this kid's talent and was significant in that regard. I'm a bit bummed that Fusitua won't be in the squad but with the outside backs depth that we have, someone was always going to be unlucky. The reason I'm bummed is because Fusitua has reinforced what a gun he is this season, seamlessly slipping between centre and wing for the Warriors, looking excessively classy in the process. Regardless of our depth, Fusitua will be represent Aotearoa for many years.

Jordan Kahu at centre

After spending the opening stanza of the season on the wing for Brisbane, Kahu will start at centre for the Kiwis. This comes after he spent the Four Nations at fullback and that should give you an automatic indication of what we are working with here; Kahu is slick. Look out for a set-play or two down the Kiwis left edge involving Kahu as he built up an interesting combination with Johnson over in England last year and is more than capable of swiftly assessing numbers down an edge.

Dean Whare at centre

It's all about defence with Whare. The attack takes care of itself as he's got nice footwork and can offloads, but his ability to read a play and then make the correct decision puts him up there as a top-tier centre. Having Whare there just gives you a sense of confidence that Australia will have to do something special to score down that edge, not just roll through a basic second-man play.

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Remember the Four Nations?

This isn't to say that the Kiwis will wipe the floor with the Kangaroos tomorrow night, but after the Four Nations last year everyone got their knickers in a twist and completely ignored any context. That Four Nations team had Kahu and fullback, now Roger Tuivasa-Sheck is back in action and the likes of Jason Nightingale, Shaun Kenny-Dowall, Solomone Kata, Jared Waerea-Hargreaves, Greg Eastwood and Lewis Brown aren't in this current Kiwis squad. Shaun Johnson didn't have Kieran Foran last year either and Simon Mannering wasn't in the form he's in now, let alone in the Kiwis squad. Instead of Lewis Brown adding spark off the bench, that's Kodi Nikorima's job now; catch my vibe?

Russell Packer to start

Coach Kidwell has opted to start Packer and bring Adam Blair off the bench, which I like. Packer is better suited to the mayhem of the opening exchanges and when you ponder the impact-value of Packer vs Blair, Blair wins. Blair has been low key strong this season for Brisbane and will bring his standard niggly energy off the bench, possibly sparking some funk with offloads but most importantly, Blair will be the bloke putting pressure on Cooper Cronk and Jonathan Thurston.

Kenny Bromwich sneaks on to the bench

I'm not sure if having Kenny on the bench was part of Kidwell's plan before Nelson Asofa-Solomona had to pull out via injury, but Kenny gets his chance any way. Kevin Proctor's move away from Melbourne and Tohu Harris' injury opened an edge forward spot on either flank for the Storm and Kenny pounced on that opportunity, steadily going about his business. I suspect we'll see Kenny give Proctor a break at some stage, don't sleep on Kenny possibly coming on through the middle though and it's funky to note that Felise Kaufusi sealed Melbourne's other edge spot and he's reppin' Tonga this weekend.

Simon Mannering, Lord Mannering

No matter how damn good Lord Mannering is playing, Jason Taumalolo will start at lock every day of the week and that's all good. When Mannering is playing this well, he's a certainty to represent Aotearoa and that means shifting out to an edge where I think there's great benefit in having him defend. Mannering will be solid with the footy, but defensively he will be crucial in stopping Australia's edge raids with Cronk/Thurston combining with Matt Gillett or Sam Thaiday down their right; Mannering will likely start on the left.

Kodi Nikorima is slept on

If you've read this before, skip on; Nikorima was crucial during the Kiwis purple patch a year or two ago. He'd come off the bench and add some serious spark around the ruck, which will go down nicely against a Kangaroos forward pack that has plenty of size.

General style

When Nikorima plays hooker, he's dynamic around the ruck. What's Jason Taumalolo's bread and butter? Slicing in-behind the ruck thanks to his speed, then power. Tuivasa-Sheck loves to leave big forwards grasping at Caspar and Issac Luke is, well Issac Luke and there's only one way he goes about his business around the ruck. Australia have Cameron Smith and they'll be understand this threat, so they'll do their best to slow Aotearoa down but it's one thing to plan to do that, it's a different thing to try and slow a gang of the best ruck-runners in the NRL.

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Who is the most important Kiwis player?

Obviously there are a few, but I can't go past Tuivasa-Sheck. Warriors fans (or silly media) didn't quite understand that when Tuivasa-Sheck went down injured last season, the Warriors chances of relative success vanished. Without Tuivasa-Sheck at fullback (amongst other notable absentees) the Kiwis struggled in England. This guy is excessively good and whether he's starting a set with a tackle bust, chipping in on the third/fourth tackle to make 20m or throwing a final pass to set up a try; he can be as influential as anyone else in this game.

Kieran Foran and Shaun Johnson playing behind a beastly pack

We have seen what Foran and Johnson can do when they have a forward pack who can maintain parity with their opposition and we've also seen some minor limitations when the Warriors are struggling to roll down-field. Expect this to be a little different with the Kiwis forward pack as there's some fairly impressive power and speed to make metres, allowing Foran and Johnson greater opportunities to attack with quick footy, when Australia can't push up off their line. That's crucial because a major strength of Foran and Johnson's work is their running ability and the Kiwis will look super threatening when these two look to engage defenders before they then continue with that run, or look to shift the footy. First and foremost they need to get the inside defenders engaged, nibbling at them.

Haka

Adam Blair and Issac Luke will be front and centre as per usual, with Martin Taupau near the front also. In England, Solomone Kata was a standout in the haka which was pretty awesome to see as Kata appeared to truly buy in to the Te Iwi Kiwi culture and the energy or enthusiasm with which a kid from Tonga who only arrived in Aotearoa during his teenage years did the haka amplified the goosebumps significantly. This time around I'll be eager to see Packer's involvement and where he's positioned, while Dean Whare's return to the Kiwis should see him eager to feel the haka vibes again.

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