Game one of State of Origin saw me drop a Battle of Aotearoa bomb on Aotearoa and with game two of that Aussie thing only a jiffy away, I'm not going to name different teams or make any changes to Tamaki Makaurau or Aotearoa. I have however settled on a different angle for game two in naming some 'Emerging Extras' who are in line to represent TM or Ao in the near future and will benefit greatly from being around either team, let alone being around such mana.

During my research for this Battle of Aotearoa series, I stumbled upon many players who are eligible for the Kiwis in some way, shape or form but don't fit into my imaginary TM or Ao selection criteria. There are many players who have either moved to Australia at a very young age, or were born in Australia but have opted to stay true to their whakapapa and represent the Kiwis or Junior Kiwis. This could be viewed as a third team (dunno if I can name a team of 17 though) and who knows, maybe the Battle of Aotearoa could include some involvement from those cuzzies from Australia.

Who knows, I haven't even noted down names for that yet so we'll have to see how many lads fit that criteria. I know there are a few intriguing names though and you'll have to wait for game three to get that sussed for you.

Here's the teams I name for the 2017 Battle of Aotearoa

Tamaki Makaurau

Tuivasa-Sheck, Feki, Hurrell, Kata , Fusitua, Foran, Johnson, Bromwich, Bromwich, Taupau, Eastwood, Ma'u, Taumalolo.

Taukeiaho, Glenn, Matagi, Kasiano.

Aotearoa

Kahu, Rapana, Manu, Whare, DWZ, Brown, Marshall, Blair, Luke, Waerea-Hargreaves, Harris, Proctor, Mannering.

Nikorima, Asofa-Solomona, Packer, Tapine.

I still get far too giddy when I imagine these two teams going at each other and ponder the level of skill, aggression and niggle that would be on display. These Emerging Extras that I've named all fit into the slightly younger bracket, or they are players who haven't quite dominated the NRL like the Battle of Aotearoa guys have, just yet. There are six players named for each team and I've also included two older lads who both happen to play for the Dragons.

These veterans will guide the Emerging Extras and I could make a strong argument against myself as to why they should be selected in either BoA teams. I've made my bed so to speak, so I'll lay in it but I still see immense value in having these older lads around to act as a bridge between the Emerging Extras and BoA. I've also tried to steer clear of those who are currently injured or have battled injury for much of the season, so honourable mentions go to Agnatius Paasi (TM) and James Fisher-Harris (Ao) who didn't end up in the mix.

Tamaki Makaurau

OG: Leeson Ah Mau

Leeson Ah Mau was presented a golden boot on Sunday for playing 100 games for the club! #redv pic.twitter.com/8lC5zH4PF5
— The Dragons (@NRL_Dragons) May 2, 2017

Brandon Smith, Leivaha Pulu, James Gavet, Isaac Liu, Ata Hingano, Esan Marsters.

Leeson Ah Mau gets the OG spot and his presence will be crucial when you consider that Pulu, Gavet and Liu all currently play through the middle. Ah Mau is a selfless middle forward who I'd strongly suggest has settled for contract/s with the Dragons that enable them to spend money elsewhere, while offering plenty of funk via footwork and agility. A few years back, Ah Mau was a nightmare to defend against thanks to that footwork but last season Ah Mau slid backwards a wee bit and how he has re-established himself as a bench forward this season is a credit to his nature.

Smith is in my top-three most exciting up and coming #KiwiNRL lads and all you need to know about that is that the other two are named in the BoA; Smith is a legit weapon. From Waiheke Island, I've simplified things by naming Smith in TM as I'm not an expert on the nuances of geographical Maori boundaries. TM are a bit light on hookers and having named Kenny Bromwich as BoA hooker, Smith will be in the BoA equation soon enough.

The other play-maker is Ata Hingano and I've seen more than enough to get Hingano involved here without a whole lot of #KiwiNRL game time. Same goes for Esan Marsters who finally got his #KiwiNRL debut the other week and is showcasing his versatility as he's getting #KiwiNRL minutes at right-centre for Wests Tigers after coming up as an edge forward. Marsters is a big unit who moves exceedingly well and he'll be someone we monitor closely during Emerging Extras camp to see how he deals with the challenges laid out in front of him.

Gavet, Liu and Pulu form a rugged trio of middle forwards and the prospect of seeing Gavet and Pulu work in tandem through the middle is mouth-watering; Warriors fans take note. The balance offered by these three is what intrigues me as Gavet is all aggression, Pulu has the offload/passing skills and Liu is the grafter with nimble feet. Liu deserves plenty of lovin' as he creeps under the radar for the Roosters, we don't sleep on the Otahuhu junior's steady work though.

Aotearoa

OG: Jason Nightingale.

Corey Harawira-Naera, Matt McIlwrick, Danny Levi, Ava Seumanufagai, Te Maire Martin, Elijah Taylor.

I had to pause when writing the paragraph about Ah Mau because much of it applies for Nightingale as well, hence they were both selected as OGs. Nightingale is as good a GC as you're going to get and it'll be an honour to have him around the camp, especially as I kinda feel bad for not naming him for BoA. Instead of Nightingale, I went with Jordan Rapana and Dallin Watene-Zelezniak which is rough but opens the door for Nightingale to perhaps be more influential than he would of been otherwise.

Naming two hookers wasn't ideal, although the hooking depth of Aotearoa is beautiful and while TM don't have that luxury, Ao has a plethora of young hookers. Matt McIlwrick doesn't get huge minutes for Wests Tigers and usually makes way for Jacob Liddle after 30 minutes, but I love his work-rate and simplicity. McIlwrick and Danny Levi form a great combination as McIlwrick can take care of the gritty opening exchanges and then free up Levi to spark Ao into gear, alternatively McIlwrick could also cover lock and would benefit from spending time learning from Simon Mannering.

The Tigers aren't the greatest team in the NRL, they've got #KiwiNRL depth though (including Marsters) and I've got with Ava Seumanufagai and Elijah Taylor as middle forwards. Seumanufagai will join Cronulla Sharks next season and against his future club, the Wainuiomata junior had 18 carries for 161m in 50 minutes last weekend; that's become standard business for Seumanufagai when Aaron Woods is away.

Taylor is the most BoA-ready player of the Emerging Extras and he would slot straight into Ao if there was an injury/suspension. Taylor's defensive ethic would be an asset in this arena and his ball-playing would form an intriguing threat when you consider the ball-playing ability of Mannering. Taylor could play edge or middle, while Corey Harawira-Naera looks like a steady prospect out on the edge for Penrith with his opportunity coming at the expense of his Northland brother Fisher-Harris.

Tall and athletic, Harawira-Naera ticks all the boxes for an edge forward and looks to offer a similar style of play to Kevin Proctor as he'll build a career running great lines off the hip of Matt Moylan and Nathan Cleary.

Another mihi to all the whanuk that come to celebrate the dreamteams 21st was solid and just all my whanuk in general was blessed being able.to catch up.with you all, this pic shows you something I miss doing being in Ahitereiria, Te HAKA. Chur to the bro @tupe_fiasco Blacktrick and Baby (Little sister) for Te Puru churrrrr And I had a promo later that day 😂 #hori #tepuru #whk #hakas #

196 Likes, 4 Comments - Corey Harawira-Naera (@horitecorey) on Instagram: "Another mihi to all the whanuk that come to celebrate the dreamteams 21st was solid and just all my..."

At this stage, it's hard to differentiate between Hingano and Te Maire Martin as their careers are running parallel. Envision a future where Hingano, Martin and Nikorima form a super funky play-making trio for the Kiwis and then hit pause, because Martin and Hingano haven't quite established themselves as consistent #KiwiNRL halves. That's great though as I'd prefer that Martin is forced to suss out his game in reserve grade, learning the craft and building a style that translates into long-term #KiwiNRL success.

To finish with; ponder the respective journeys of Hingano and Martin in comparison to that of Shaun Johnson. Hingano and Martin are currently learning how their unique talents fit into the #KiwiNRL and sporadic tastes of #KiwiNRL footy have come with time in reserve grade where they can focus on the nuances of their work. Johnson went straight into the league and had to learn how his unique style would fit into first grade.

I'd strongly suggest that Johnson is still learning and that's all good as he didn't chose to be in that position. This serves as a reminder to chill on Johnson as he's yet to really show that he can control a team and hasn't had a consistent halves partner during his career; which is where Hingano steps in as he's likely to form a long-term combo with Johnson.

This also serves as a reminder to saviour the process and enjoy the journey of observing players through their relative ups and downs; Martin and Hingano will benefit immensely from this period of their careers.

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