As I went deep into the Issac Luke contract situation, it became clear that Luke's bung shoulder wouldn't just have an impact on his NRL career. Luke was named in the Kiwis wider squad, prior to news of his shoulder surgery coming out and as all signs are pointing to Luke being out of action for the start of next season, he's obviously going to be ruled out of any Kiwis footy this spring.

Which is a bummer, especially in conjunction with Roger Tuivasa-Sheck's probable absence via a knee injury. I'm not overly confident that we'll see Tuivasa-Sheck lace up for the Kiwis and am preparing myself for the reality that Dallin Watene-Zelezniak is likely to play fullback for most, if not all the spring internationals, then it's a bonus if Tuivasa-Sheck is all good.

Losing two certain starters and two Kiwis who are clearly the best in their respective position is far from ideal, although like with Watene-Zelezniak at fullback; there is clarity in the dummy half depth. There is also excitement here as Aotearoa has strong depth at the dummy half position and with Luke moving into the final stage of his career, this could be the start of a transition period in this position.

I'm far more comfortable with Luke not playing these spring internationals, than Luke missing out on World Cup selection. Such an international window as we are approaching, is the perfect time to provide younger players with regular Kiwis footy and build into the next World Cup - which is unlikely to include Luke. This process got underway in the Denver Test, with Slade Griffin earning a Kiwis call up for his strong start to the season with Newcastle Knights and with Luke all but ruled out of any Kiwis footy, coach Michael Maguire is likely to turn to Danny Levi and Brandon Smith.

PreSeason got me like.

410 Likes, 15 Comments - Brandon Smith (@drsmithers) on Instagram: "PreSeason got me like."

Both Levi and Smith were named in the Kiwis wider squad, while Griffin is out of action with his knee injury. There are weird options like Te Maire Martin getting dummy half minutes as he did with North Queensland Cowboys this season, or my Kodi Nikorima bench fetish that I continue to revert back to; Nikorima was the bench dummy half during Aotearoa's super competitive period around 2014-2015. Shaun Johnson needs a halves partner though and the battle to join Johnson is in itself an almighty battle between Nikorima and Martin.

Levi appears the most logical selection and depending on the make up of the team, Maguire's preferences etc, rolling with Smith on the bench could be a crucial move for Aotearoa moving forward. Smith has been playing mainly as a middle forward for Melbourne Storm, playing alongside Cameron Smith and adding an immense dose of energy, aggression and x-factor off the bench. Such funk, would give the Kiwis a freshness to their work and without Luke, Levi and Smith move one notch up the ladder.

There were promising signs from Levi at the World Cup and he should be in the mix to start at hooker, especially with a veteran forward pack around him. This is an incredibly weird situation though as Levi did a solid job at the World Cup, only to fall behind Griffin at the Knights to start this season and Levi apparently wasn't overly happy with a lack of NRL footy. With Griffin starting and playing well for Newcastle, this had a direct impact of Levi’s chances of Kiwis selection for the Denver Test; Griffin was starting for Knights and got the Kiwis job.

Then Griffin gets injured and Levi is back starting, only for the Knights to chase Luke. However, the Knights appear to go cold on Luke with the shoulder surgery which not only opens the door for Levi to have a clear role at dummy half for Newcastle, but also Aotearoa. Given that a wider Kiwis squad was named, there is no real need to bring in another dummy half as cover for Luke. The wider squad was always going to be cut down and perhaps Smith may have been trimmed, without Luke though both Smith and Levi should survive the cut.

There is plenty of #KiwiNRL depth at hooker as Sione Katoa and Siliva Havili have enjoyed fantastic seasons, although they are aligned with Tonga. Manase Fainu wasn't named in Tonga's wider squad and was named in the Junior Kiwis wider squad, making him a low key option to keep an eye on after a slick debut season with Manly Sea Eagles. Fa'amanu Brown and Jeremy Marshall-King both played dummy half for the Bulldogs this season, along with a gang of fringe NRL lads who aren't quite in the mix.

International footy is all about combinations and ensuring that in a short time-frame, already established combinations can be relied upon to make up for that lack of training. Aotearoa are likely to roll out fresh combinations once again, having had to switch things up for the Denver Test and now without Luke, Aotearoa will need to suss out a dummy half rotation for consistent game time through the spring international window.

This will make it difficult to perform at a high level, with young dummy halves connecting with a new spine. There will be long-term benefits from this though as this could be the seed planted for settled hooking rotations that take Aotearoa to the next World Cup.

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Peace and love 27.