#KiwiNRL Encyclopedia: Round Tekau Ma Toru
Big body contact.
Sea Eagles vs Cowboys
Sea Eagles
Starting: Addin Fonua-Blake, Martin Taupau.
Bench/Extended Bench: Toafofoa Sipley/Lewis Brown.
Cowboys
Starting: Antonio Winterstein, Te Maire Martin, Jason Taumalolo.
Bench/Extended Bench: Haters.
Doc's Word
Take a moment to get a little fizz in your loins about Addin Fonua-Blake and Martin Taupau vs Jason Taumalolo. From a #KiwiNRL perspective this battle between the Sea Eagles duo who have been immense to start this season and the bloke who is routinely known as the best running forward in the game, will be mandatory viewing.
I've highlighted Fonua-Blake's impressive work this season a lot and continue to put him in my #KiwiNRL top-17, as well as a Kiwis top-17 and as for Taupau, well all that needs to be said is that he is 2nd in offloads, 4th in runs and 4th in run metres across the entire NRL. Of course, when you are 4th in runs, you're going to be among the best for run metres but what's crazy about Taupau is that he averages 10.19m/run.
That means that Taupau is going to have the most runs in the majority of the games he plays and he's going to get 10m with every run, then he's good for roughly 3 offloads per game.
Tauamlolo hasn't quite been as amazing as he has in previous seasons and has run for more than 200m, just once this season and that happens to be the last game that the Cowboys won, in round 9 vs Penrith Panthers. Overall, Taumalolo is still doing a great job but in an under-whelming Cowboys team, his slight dip (still nek-level) in production and efficiency is coinciding with losses; Taumalolo's runs and run metres aren't leading to Cowboys domination anymore.
Keep an eye on the offloads of Taupau as he's got 36 offloads for the season, while Taumalolo has 9 and no one in the Cowboys has more than 10 offloads this season.
Underneath all of this is the #KiwiNRL funk of Taumalolo's move back to represent Tonga and although it's likely he will stick with Tonga, there's still some uncertainty at the moment. Taupau has been a consistent Kiwis selection after initially playing for Samoa (against Taumalolo when Taumalolo first played for Tonga) and then there is Fonua-Blake, who represented Tonga before opting for Aotearoa at the World Cup, moving the opposite way to Taumalolo; all three have played Junior Kiwis.
Rabbitohs vs Sharks
Rabbitohs
Starting: Haters
Bench/Extended Bench: /Mawene Hiroti
Sharks
Starting: Sosaia Feki.
Bench/Extended Bench: Ava Seumanufagai/Sione Katoa.
Doc's Word
Valentine Holmes' call up to Origin opens up a wing spot for Sosaia Feki and as Cronulla Sharks continue their winning ways (against weaker teams), it feels as though Feki's only chances will come via injury or Origin.
There is also the presence of Mawene Hiroti on the Rabbitohs extended bench, which signals that Hiroti is edging closer to an NRL debut. The young outside back from Taranaki benefits from the absences of Greg Inglis and Dane Gagai to Origin, with Alex Johnston still out injured as well. Hiroti has predominantly been playing on the wing in reserve grade, but can play centre as well and earned Aotearoa Under 18 selection last year.
Eels vs Knights
Eels
Starting: Brad Takairangi, Manu Ma'u, Peni Terepo.
Bench/Extended Bench: Suaia Matagi, Marata Niukore/Kirisome Auva'a.
Knights
Starting: Shaun Kenny-Dowall, Slade Griffin.
Bench/Extended Bench: Danny Levi.
Doc's Word
It's tough to watch Parramatta Eels at the moment, but I'm keeping close tabs on the development of Marata Niukore who is proving to be a bright spot for the Eels and #KiwiNRL jokers. Niukore got 20 minutes off the bench last week, after 15 minutes in his debut and continues to play through the middle where his impact and efficiency in running the footy has been suprising; last week he had 35 from only 3 touches.
I reckon we could see Niukore get more minutes this week, perhaps 25-30 minutes as Eels coach Brad Arthur continues to look for some sort of winning formula. Niukore's size and footwork could also match up nicely against a Knights pack that is missing Herman Ese'ese and looks a bit slow, their bench is also smaller and Niukore's minutes will come against the likes of Chris Heighington and Jamie Buhrer which should be beneficial to Niukore.
In saying all that, Nathan Brown has been named on the extended bench and if he is good to go, then he may replace Niukore. That would be a bummer.
Roosters vs Tigers
Roosters
Starting: Joseph Manu, Jared Waerea-Hargreaves, Sio Siua Taukeiaho, Isaac Liu.
Bench/Extended Bench: Zane Tetevano, Frank-Paul Nuuausala/Poasa Faamausili.
Tigers
Starting: Tuimoala Lolohea, Esan Marsters, Benji Marshall, Russell Packer, Elijah Taylor, Ben Matulino, Michael Chee-Kam.
Bench/Extended Bench: Josh Aloiai/Pita Godinet.
Doc's Word
This will be a #KiwiNRL party as both teams roll out their full #KiwiNRL crews.
Frank-Paul benefits from Dylan Napa's absence via Origin, giving the Roosters six #KiwiNRL players in their 17 that has been named. Latrell Mitchell's Origin call up also means that Joseph Manu finally gets to play centre after doing a fine job on the wing and this is Manu's chance to show coach Trent Robinson that he should be starting at centre every week.
Wests Tigers will again have seven #KiwiNRL players in their starting 13, which is more than half and they will have eight #KiwiNRL players in their overall 17. Coach Ivan Cleary continues to shuffle his hooking rotation, with Jacob Liddle out again (maybe via injury) and Elijah Taylor moving to start at hooker and Pita Godinet coming on to the extended bench; Taylor will share minutes with Josh Reynolds.
Tuimoala Lolohea showed what he is capable of at fullback in his return last week vs Bulldogs, although shit has hit the fan with the Tigers signing Moses Mbye for next season. Lolohea had 16runs/161m and only had 51 kick-return metres, meaning that most of his run metres came in general play; 2 dummy half runs for 31m is exceptional.
The benefit of having Lolohea at fullback ahead of Corey Thompson is Lolohea's skill and play-making ability, which produced a try assist last week and saw him have 30 touches vs Benji Marshall's 31 touches (Luke Brooks had 61). Lolohea also had 2 kicks, one which resulted in a try and with Lolohea at fullback, the Tigers have the luxury of three kickers, four when Josh Reynolds is on the park.
Now it's up to Lolohea to find some consistency and settle into his combinations with his halves. That fullback spot is there for Lolohea to own, for the rest of this season at least and he needs to keep adding value each week, starting this week vs Roosters.
Jahtearoa Premiers
Something a bit different this week as I've named a Jahtearoa Premiers team, solely from the teams that have been named for round 13. The idea being that even though there are only four games this round, there's still enough #KiwiNRL funk to build a competitive team and to have a bunch of extras left over as well.
Fullback:Tuimoala Lolohea
Wings: Shaun Kenny-Dowall, Sosaia Feki
Centres: Esan Marsters, Joseph Manu
Halves: Benji Marshall, Te Maire Martin
Middles: Russell Packer, Ben Matulino, Jason Taumalolo, Slade Griffin
Edges: Sio Siua Taukeiaho, Manu Ma'u
Bench: Addin Fonua-Blake, Martin Taupau, Jared Waerea-Hargreaves, Isaac Liu
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Peace and love 27.