#KiwiNRL Youngin' vs OG: Te Maire Martin vs Benji Marshall
Unc
There's this World Cup at the end of the year. The World Cup where the Kiwis will return to Aotearoa and take their show to the people, playing games in Auckland, Christchurch and Hamilton. With the #KiwiNRL takeover in mind, this is a fairly special moment and could be a nice measuring stick of how rugby league is sitting in Aotearoa. But damn; the lead up to this World Cup has been rather strange.
David Kidwell's first tour as Kiwis coach was a nightmare, backed up by the Anzac Test and the subsequent 'ka kite' to Jesse Bromwich and Kevin Proctor. Now ol' mate Shaun Johnson's got a bung knee, leaving us to think about how mediocre the Kiwis have been when one or two starters are missing. Kieran Foran and Simon Mannering's are sound examples from the Four Nations, Dean Whare was absent for a while prior to the Anzac Test, as was Roger Tuivasa-Sheck and Johnson's last major injury saw the Kiwis head to England in 2015 without Johnson or Foran.
We head into the World Cup without Bromwich, Proctor and Johnson. Oh, and really crappy performances in nearly every game since Kidwell took over.
That's the reality, although I'm opting to view the silver lining of Johnson's absence and not based on irrational optimism. There's a legit possibility that Foran can step up with Ata Hingano's assistance and offer the Warriors a different combination, different could be better.
And the same applies to the Kiwis. Benji Marshall could relish an opportunity to offer his experience - World Cup winning experience, ya know - and work wonders alongside Foran. Te Maire Martin could announce his arrival as a phenom and bust the selection door down via a strong finals run with North Queensland Cowboys. Perhaps the Foran/Hingano combination will work so well for the Warriors that the wisest move would be to bring the Warriors spine into the Kiwis like Queensland would - they'd need to lead the Warriors deep into the finals though.
Depth options are Kodi Nikorima, Tuimoala Lolohea and Fa'amanu Brown. Lolohea is likely to lace up for Tonga and Brown's probably going to combine with Anthony Milford for Samoa. Nikorima has done a fine job as a bench utility for Aotearoa, coming on to play dummy half where his speed and skill around the ruck has made a difference.
Wayne Bennett was incredibly influential in the last World Cup win for Aotearoa and he's going to have a major influence on Aotearoa at this World Cup, despite coaching England. Bennett's currently plotting how he wants his Brisbane Broncos team to look as they gather momentum ahead of the NRL finals. This is an annual activity for Bennett's Broncos as he tends to settle on his best-17 after Origin and that brings slicker performances; Anthony Milford and Ben Hunt are back as the starting halves combo.
This leaves Nikorima and Marshall competing for a bench spot, a battle that could have implications on the Kiwis play-making options. My preference is for Nikorima to stick to his bench role and I'm backing Marshall to play alongside Foran for Aotearoa, so ideally they will both get plenty of game time for a Brisbane team that could make the Grand Final, right?
Wrong. Bennett can't really have both Marshall and Nikorima in his team, so if one is selected for whatever job Bennett wants them to do, they are taking minutes away from the other. Marshall oozed class as he helped Brisbane pull away in the last 10 minutes against Newcastle, forming a trio of play-makers with Milford and Hunt while Andrew McCullough played 80 minutes. But Nikorima lost his bench spot to Marshall.
McCullough's a gun so there's no real reason for Nikorima's spark, especially when Marshall's adding spark himself. If Nikorima was given a bench spot, then Marshall will be shifted back to reserve grade.
Selecting Marshall wouldn't be so crazy if Marshall continues to play 15 minutes, looks slick and helps Brisbane form an ultimate razzle dazzle spine. Selecting Marshall from reserve grade would be a little crazy; I'd be happy to do it but it would definitely look a little crazy.
England's coach is effectively in control of the Kiwis vacant halves spot. Bennett won't sabotage Aotearoa, he will however do what's best for the Broncos and this will impact who gets the greater opportunity to state their claim to play alongside Foran.
Ah, Bennett has some control.
The #KiwiNRL takeover means we have more depth than ever, especially in positions that we traditionally don't dominate. Bennett has some control, the players have a lot of control though and it's purely up to Marshall - I'm leaning towards Bennett ridin' with Marshall - or Martin to play the best footy they can. This comes via depth, as well as a splash of the stars aligning as Martin's be given a blank canvas up in Townsville.
Martin was lingering around in reserve grade for Penrith and was then given an opportunity with the Cowboys. From which Martin was thrusted into an enticing halves partnership with Michael Morgan as Jonathan Thurston suffered a season-ending injury. Martin not only gets to pick Thurston's brain, he gets to play 80 minutes in a Cowboys team that is still a Premiership contender sans Thurston.
None of the Bennett control will matter if Martin goes nek level, goes above and beyond expectations, taking the Cowboys - sans Thurston - deep into the finals.
Even Marshall's path to this position is funky; Bennett was the bloke who gave Marshall an opportunity to extend his career. Marshall moved from the Dragons to the Broncos on a cheap deal, for a year, with no guarantees of NRL footy and now Marshall finds himself with NRL minutes and a Kiwis halves jersey in his sights.
This sets up another #KiwiNRL angle to the final stanza of the NRL season. The #KiwiNRL microscope will be tuned in on the Broncos and Cowboys to see what Bennett's thinking and the form of Marshall and Martin (or Nikorima). We've got some depth folks, so the days of Tohu Harris playing halfback should be over and our depth is playing for contenders. Finals footy will only amplify the opportunity.
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