Having earned an Aotearoa Kiwis call up on the wing, Jamayne Isaako appears to be in line for a steady crack at the Brisbane Broncos fullback gig after sealing a long-term deal to stay in Brisbane. It's been a crazy 48 hours or so for Isaako, which comes after a fairly crazy year for the Christchurch product and as the Broncos try to suss an NRL Finals spot, Isaako could be a key cog at fullback.

This was all sparked after a Broncos training session, which featured Isaako at fullback, Darius Boyd at left centre and Jordan Kahu at left wing. Obviously Wayne Bennett has seen a few things that resulted in this shift and now Isaako gets a chance in his preferred position of fullback. Isaako has all the skills to be able to handle fullback and he's showcased his running ability numerous times so far in his career and with a background in rugby union, the passing/play-making aspect of fullback shouldn't be an issue either.

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Isaako's two years with Junior Kiwis saw him play fullback, then in the halves. That's a clear example of the skill he has and not only is Isaako the Broncos goal-kicker, he also takes on the penalty kick for touch duties with his massive boot. Perhaps we could see Isaako chime in on some general play kicking as he gets comfortable at fullback.

I reckon this is less about Isaako commanding a crack at fullback though and more about Bennett wanting to get Boyd into centre to sort out their defence. Bennett has the tools available to him, to be able to make such changes and this will not only re-fresh the Broncos ahead of the last few rounds, it gives Isaako a chance to settle into the fullback role

Of course that means that Kahu moves from centre to wing, perhaps this could be viewed as a demotion for Kahu. Kahu's a baller and consistently does whatever is required from Bennett at a high level, routinely playing his best footy on the wing and this just feels like the best thing for the team.

Usually I wouldn't write a whole think about a last minute positional shuffle like this, but this came with news that Isaako had signed a four-year deal with the Broncos. Payne Haas was also snapped up long-term and while the Haas deal got all the headlines, you can make a strong case that Isaako re-signing could be more influential, or important than Haas' deal.

This is a huge deal for #KiwiNRL because of what it means for the Canterbury region. Regardless of what Isaako has done so far in his career, fullback at Brisbane Broncos is a marquee position as the Broncos remain one of, if not the biggest clubs in the NRL and to snatch an NBA narrative; Brisbane Broncos is a big market club.

It would have been cool for any #KiwiNRL player to get this gig and although Kodi Nikorima is the Broncos halfback, this feels different. Nikorima's from the Manawatu/Christchurch and the Broncos have fantastic #KiwiNRL diversity with Jordan Kahu from Wellington and Alex Glenn from Auckland, so I don't mean different in terms of where Isaako is from.

Instead I mean that this feels like the genuine arrival of an almighty #KiwiNRL prospect, a supremely talented youngster from Christchurh who now has an opportunity to nail the Broncos fullback job. Starting this weekend, the next four years could see Isaako establish himself as a star of the NRL and this would immediately put Canterbury on the map, boosting the #KiwiNRL stocks from that region.

In the same week that a South Island rugby league legend in Simon Mannering announced that he's hanging up the boots, a door has opened for South Island youngin' to step up and start that journey. This is all about Isaako's ceiling as a fullback and after seeing glimpses of what he's capable of, the time has come for Isaako to become the headline act.

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Peace and love 27.