There wasn't much to remember about Aotearoa's 2017 World Cup campaign, other than Roger Tuivasa-Sheck continuing his climb towards his true potential. Tuivasa-Sheck then went to another level for Aotearoa Warriors this season, combining his leadership development with his sublime footy abilities. Unfortunately for the Kiwis, Tuivasa-Sheck was one of many top-tier Kiwis who wasn't released for the Denver Test - a decision that made complete sense from an NRL club's perspective.

All of that results in Tuivasa-Sheck not representing Aotearoa for almost a year, which isn't overly dramatic considering there has only been one Test in that time. As Tuivasa-Sheck picked up another knee injury on the Warriors last game of the NRL season though, Tuivasa-Sheck could be ruled out of any Kiwis footy in October and November. This would put Tuivasa-Sheck in the same bucket as someone like Jesse Bromwich, a top-five middle forward who has missed a considerable chunk of Kiwis footy.

When we consider the quantity and most notably the quality of players who have been absent from Kiwis duty, there is no surprise that the level of performance has dipped. This isn't even about the Tongan players, I'm solely thinking about Tuivasa-Sheck, Bromwich and even Tohu Harris; who didn't play World Cup or the Denver Test.

As much as I celebrate the growing depth of kiwi rugby league, to compete with the best nations, Aotearoa needs their best players. In very general terms, there has been little continuity in Kiwis selections over the past 18-24 months and we only need to have a geeze at the halves combinations that have been rolled out during that period to reinforce this. I haven't even mentioned Kieran Foran yet, who has established a combo with Shaun Johnson for Aotearoa but has been M.I.A. during this recent period.

It's strange to expect Aotearoa to compete with Australia, England or Tonga, when every game features different combinations, not just in the halves but across the whole team. This is international footy though and aside from the absolute lunacy in David Kidwell's team selections during the World Cup, Aotearoa has simply been dealt a shitty hand of cards.

Kiwis fans, like hearty Kiwis fans should know that this dip in Kiwis performance has coincided with Aotearoa being unable to roll out their very best team. Let this fill you with low key confidence and know that we're building towards re-establishing settled combinations and competing at a higher level. Despite Tuivasa-Sheck suffering this knee injury, we could see minor steps in a positive direction during the international window; minor steps culminate in a couple big steps.

Coach Michael Maguire is optimistic about Tuivasa-Sheck's chances of playing for Aotearoa in this window. That's mainly because Aotearoa has an exciting schedule ahead of them and by exciting I mean long, lots of footy. By the time the Kiwis are in England, Tuivasa-Sheck could be ready for action and Maguire would be eager to work with Tuivasa-Sheck in any capacity.

Aotearoa Warriors on the other hand, they may not be so keen. The Warriors must prefer Tuivasa-Sheck chill out, rest up and prepare for the summer's mahi. There's a bit of history with Tuivasa-Sheck's knees now and as they two parties (Warriors and Tuivasa-Sheck) agreed on Tuivasa-Sheck not playing in the Denver Test without any real reason other than him wanting to be a good father/husband/partner/BF, it makes a wee bit of sense for him to skip a tour when battling knee injury rehab.

Note: I reckon the players didn't have any say in whether they wanted to play the Denver Test or not. The clubs decided this and clubs with key players who had niggling injuries etc, would have said 'nah bo' to a mid-season trip to Denver ... and fair play.

What has me low key excited about this is that Dallin Watene-Zelezniak has spent much of this season at fullback and did the job in Denver. Is he as good as Tuivasa-Sheck? No. At least Aotearoa has the option of someone who is a fullback at NRL level, has international fullback experience and Aotearoa doesn't have to suss a makeshift fullback as they have previously, or as North Queensland Cowboys did with Te Maire Martin.

Watene-Zelezniak started the season on the wing for Penrith Panthers, then Dylan Edwards suffered a season-ending injury and Watene-Zelezniak grabbed the fullback duties. Eight games at fullback and then a weird four-game stint on the wing as the Panthers tinkered with Northlander and NSW Super Cup MVP Caleb Aekins at fullback, as well as Tyrone Peachey. Had that continued, Watene-Zelezniak would have finished the season on the wing and we'd have another annoying little situation where an NRL winger is playing fullback for Aotearoa.

Sanity prevailed and now we have Watene-Zelezniak coming into Kiwis camp as the Panthers fullback. This will change next season as Edwards returns, but right now, the likeliest option as Kiwis fullback has been in nice form at fullback for Penrith.

There are other options; Peta Hiku, Te Maire Martin, Jordan Kahu. Those are the niggly options we'd typically had to rely on, instead of replacing a fullback with a fullback. Such a luxury and the opportunity to give Watene-Zelezniak more experience in this role at international level, as well as more time to build combos, or actually play a game with Shaun Johnson at halfback, is beneficial to Aotearoa moving forward.

Because, we know that availability tends to screw the Kiwis over. Having clarity in the depth and options when any top-tier Kiwis players isn't available, helps to ensure that the impact is minimal. The Denver Test was crucial to this process as it gave opportunities to the second-tier of players and while Aotearoa doesn't quite have the second-tier quality just yet, it's building and needs time to be established.

Take the outside backs for example. I have Watene-Zelezniak as a starting winger alongside Jordan Rapana in a full-strength Kiwis team - Tuivasa-Sheck at fullback. Jamayne Isaako and Ken Maumalo were the starting wingers in Denver and if there is an opening, like there will be with Watene-Zelezniak moving to Tuivasa-Sheck's fullback spot, then there is clarity in Isaako and Maumalo being next up.

These nuances extend throughout the whole squad, or possible squad and that's a mark of Aotearoa's growing depth. No one can predict Kiwis squads or teams because no one knows who will be available and in the past, digging into that second-tier has resulted in mediocrity, which then means buzz around the Kiwis diminishes as they aren't competitive. Upcoming international footy, could single a wee shift in that regard and this can all come back around to Aotearoa making slow but steady progress after rock bottom.

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Peace and love 27.