Another injury for Kieran Foran and a Bulldogs club with a murky future makes for a fairly complex situation awaiting Foran. After exploring the NRL angle, now there's the Aotearoa angle to dive into and with the World Club steadily approaching, Foran's injury throws yet another spanner in the works for coach David Kidwell.

Kidwell's tenure as Kiwis coach can only be described as tumultuous thus far. Foran's injury was off-set by news that we may see Shaun Johnson return in the last few weeks of NRL footy and while Foran may still be available for Aotearoa selection if he skips the rest of the NRL season to get fit and healthy, that doesn't seem likely. 

We need to remember that Kidwell has somewhat irrationally said that Benji Marshall won't be considered, that Aotearoa had moved past Benji. I view that as rather silly given that the Kiwis will need an experienced back up halves option and at the very least, there's immense benefits to having Marshall in the squad. Marshall has shown in Brisbane that he's down to do whatever the team needs and to brush Marshall aside, ignoring the value Marshall would have in guiding young halves and being present to step in if a half is forced to miss a World Cup game, seems rather arrogant of a struggling coach.

Again, I ain't saying Marshall should be selected to start in the halves; he'd be an asset to have in the squad.

Without Foran, Aotearoa will be hoping that Johnson can prove his fitness throughout the remainder of the NRL season. Kidwell highlighted that Aotearoa has some young halves available and I'm frothing at the depth of young halves that is brewing, although the Kiwis ain't winning a World Cup with Kodi Nikorima and Te Maire Martin as the halves pairing. This isn't a development tour to England, this is a World Cup and if Aotearoa can't play with a fit, fizzing and funky Johnson/Foran combination, the next best situation is for Johnson to partner either Nikorima or Martin.

My preference would be Johnson/Nikorima and given Kidwell's anti-Marshall beliefs, Martin would be next in line in a World Cup squad. Martin is still settling into his NRL career and while he's shown many times what he is capable of, he has so far played a limited role with North Queensland Cowboys while Lachlan Coote and Michael Morgan dictate their attack. Coote's battling injury and Morgan's battling concussion issues, so we could see Martin graced with more responsibility over the next few weeks and that's super timely for the Waikato youngster.

Nikorima on the other hand has demanded a halfback spot over Ben Hunt and they have effectively switched roles this season with Hunt moving to the bench. It's not as though Nikorima is more dominant that Martin as Brisbane Broncos have a few jokers in Anthony Milford and Darius Boyd who go alright, Nikorima's snapped up his opportunity to be the starting halfback of Brisbane Broncos though and that says a fair bit about what he offers.

I've loved Nikorima's impact off the bench also, which could see Martin selected ahead of Nikorima so Nikorima can keep his x-factor bench spot. That's unlikely though as Aotearoa have far more depth at hooker/bench utility than in the halves and Nikorima's bench spot could be easily taken care of by Danny Levi, or a genuine utility.

Issac Luke is an 80-minute hooker and his consistently solid performances for the Warriors have been pushed into the shadows by many who have made him a scapegoat. The presence of players such as Alex Glenn, Kenny Bromwich and Tohu Harris could allow Kidwell to roll with them on the bench as cover for a variety of positions including hooker.

Glenn is demanding selection through fantastic form for Brisbane and I remain high on Kenny Bromwich as he's a mobile, skillful and powerful forward who can play middle or edge. Glenn has also done a job through the middle this season for Brisbane and Harris has played middle for Aotearoa previously, so all three can cover middle or edge. Whereas selecting Levi on the bench would only cover dummy half. 

The latest injury to Foran could clarify a selection conundrum for Kidwell as he may have been tossing up between selecting Foran or Nikorima. Foran hasn't been all that great for the Warriors and that Warriors spine looked mediocre against Australia in the Anzac Test, meanwhile Nikorima has been playing halfback for a top-tier NRL team. Now with Foran unlikely to be available for Aotearoa, Kidwell can roll with the in-form half and this will open up more options on the bench to carry powerful forwards.

All of this depends on Johnson's fitness though. When Johnson first got injured, I questioned the value of rushing him back into the Aotearoa set up for the World Cup without playing any NRL footy. Like Foran, Johnson was part of the Kiwis spine that looked crap in the Anzac Test and he hasn't exactly been dominating the NRL on a weekly basis this season either ... then sprinkle the lack of NRL footy heading into the World Cup on top.

Things have changed slightly and the more NRL games Johnson plays prior to the World Cup, the better. The prospect of a Johnson/Nikorima halves combination excites me more than the Warriors spine being rolled out again and Nikorima is doing the exact job Aotearoa needs him to do, week in, week out for a classy NRL club. The interesting question here is if you had to chose between Foran or Johnson to partner Nikorima, who would you go with?

Peace and love 27.

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