Aotearoa Kiwis Coach Michael Maguire Strikes Again As Wests Tigers Coach
Wests Tigers have signed Auckland's Starford To'a (Mt Wellington Warriors) from Newcastle Knights for an immediate move, which falls in line with a bunch of other Kiwi-NRL recruitment moves from Aotearoa Kiwis coach Michael Maguire. I planted this seed back in September as Aussie media were in their weird Tigers frenzy and as I break down all the Kiwi-NRL wrinkles here, it's clear that Maguire loves Aotearoa.
As noted in the previous yarn, Maguire is also building out a hefty Indigenous Australian culture at the Tigers. Keep this in mind as I yarn through this from my Kiwi-NRL bias and all the good vibes that reside in the appreciation of Kiwi-NRL talent also applies to the Indigenous side of things for Maguire and the Tigers.
To'a has been a high quality Kiwi-NRL junior, cracking a bunch of NZRL representative teams before moving to Australia as part of the Knights' Auckland recruitment drive. After moving to Australia, To'a made the Australian Schoolboys team (just like Marist Saints junior Deine Mariner last year) and To'a then wiggled into the Knights NRL team as well as the 2019 Junior Kiwis.
After playing in the Under 19 Junior Kiwis team, To'a was invited to Aotearoa Kiwis camp in 2019 as a development player and guess who brought To'a into the Kiwis mixer? Coach Maguire.
To'a and Asu Kepaoa (Sacred Heart College) are like many Kiwi-NRL juniors in that they grew up playing together in Auckland's rugby league circuit. Kepaoa was also part of the 2019 Junior Kiwis team and as soon as it became clear that someone needed to make way at Sydney Roosters for Sonny Bill Williams' arrival in 2020, Maguire pounced on signing Keapaoa.
This summer there was also the low key move of Christian Ma'anaima (Glenfield Greyhounds) from Newcastle into the Tigers wider NRL training squad. I wrote this about Newcastle Knights signing a bunch of lads from Auckland and another clear trend has been the Tigers sigining the vast majority of their Kiwi-NRL talent from other clubs (as opposed to recruiting out of Aotearoa). To'a, Kepaoa and Ma'anaima are easy examples to throw up, although there is no shortage of such example.
As soon as Ken Maumalo's (Papatoetoe Panthers) future at NZ Warriors became murky like the mangroves, Maguire pounced and Maumalo was soon starting on the wing for the Tigers.
North Queensland Cowboys sealed a deal with Rotorua's Tukimihia Simpkins (Rotorua Boys High School) while he was playing 1st 15/1st 13 and making all sorts of rep teams in both codes. Simpkins moved to Townsville and into the Cowboys system, then this time last year Simpkins moved to Tigers where he made his NRL debut last season.
Simpkins and To'a share a similar journey to the Tigers. Highly decorated NZRL juniors, recruited by a club (Knights/Cowboys) then lured to Tigers in January/February ahead of the NRL season.
Junior Pauga (Glenora Bears) was a NZ Warriors junior who wound up moving to Queensland's Wynnum Manly Seagulls to play reserve grade. Pauga battled away with Wynnum and then Maguire snapped Pauga up mid-season last year to make his NRL debut. Kelma Tuilagi (Glenora Bears) also made his debut last season after leaving the Melbourne Storm system.
Israel Ogden (Mangere East) and Joseph Taipari (Halswell Hornets - Christchurch) are also sniffing around Tigers NRL footy as part of the NSW Cup group. Once again, the key thing here is that both were signed by the Tigers under coach Maguire from other NRL clubs who had recruited them from Aotearoa. Ogden came up through NZ Warriors, while Taipari was recruited by Parramatta Eels and played alongside Dylan Brown (Hikurangi Stags - Whangarei) in the Eels juniors.
The Tigers Jersey Flegg squad features Tamehana Paruru, Jarney Proctor-Harwood and Tray Lolesio who all played in the 2020 NZ Warriors SG Ball team. Maguire recruited them to play Western Suburbs SG Ball last year and they'll move up a level this year, while Samuel Kamu (Ellerslie Eagles) is also in this Tigers Flegg squad and guess what!?
Kamu was signed from Newcastle Knights. Kamu won the 2018 'Auckland College Player of the Year' while at Mount Albert Grammar School before moving to Newcastle and then wound up, moving to the Tigers Flegg squad last year.
Junior Tupou is a name to note down as well after Tupou joined the Tigers NRL squad from ACT Brumbies late last year. Tupou was born and raised in Auckland before moving to Australia at 14-years-old and sliding into the Canberra Raiders system where he made NSW U16 and U18, before a move to Super Rugby which resulted in Tupou being named in the 2021 Junior Wallabies. This highlights video falls into the right time-frame and features a highly athletic young lad that resembles Tupou - although I’m not certain...
All of these Kiwi-NRL lads are in the wider Tigers squad for 2022. Based on everything that we know about Maguire's Kiwi-NRL recruitment, it is no surprise that Maguire and the Tigers sealed a deal for Isaiah Papali'i (Te Atatu Roosters) for 2023 and beyond. The beauty of Maguire's Kiwi-NRL recruitment is the combination of certified Aotearoa Kiwis like Papali'i and Maumalo, Kiwi-NRL youngsters like To'a, Kepaoa, Simpkins and Tuilagi as well as deep cuts in the junior ranks.
When rocking the Kiwi-NRL goggles, it's kinda funny how blatant coach Maguire is using his Kiwi-NRL mana to fill the Tigers roster with lads from Aotearoa. Much of this stems from Maguire's intention to build a diverse culture within the Tigers, celebrating Maori, Polynesian and Indigenous Australian culture. Value is also a factor here and Maguire is finding value in signings like Jackson Hastings and Oliver Gildart from England, as well as pouncing quickly on cheap talent such as their most recent signing Starford To'a.
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