The strength of rugby league in Aotearoa will be on display when Aotearoa A take on Tonga A with both squads full of Kiwi-NRL juniors. While NZ Warriors only have one player in the Aotearoa Kiwis squad there are plenty of NZW juniors across both squads with Rocco Berry, Kalani Going, Ali Leiataua, Paul Roache, Jacob Laban, Taine Tuaupiki and Tanner Stowers-Smith named for NZ. They will be joined by one of the best Kiwi-NRL prospects yet to play at the top level in Leka Halasima who played Under 19 SG Ball for NZW before quickly settling into NSW Cup.

This NZW cluster also has a regional flavour which is aligned with the squad selected for Aotearoa Kiwis. Leiataua (Papatoetoe), Roache (Richmond) and Halasima (Mangere East) are from Auckland. Going (Mid-Northern) represents his illustrious Northland whanau, Tuaupiki hails from Taharoa, Laban is a Randwick junior from Wellington and Berry played 1st 15 for St Pat's Silverstream via Greytown. Stowers-Smith has now been added to the squad and he represents Christchurch as a Halswell junior.

Kiwi-NRL juniors selected for the Kiwis A squad also include Zach Dockar-Clay (Bell Block), Asu Kepaoa (Sacred Heart College) and William Warbrick (Kawerau). Bailey Simonsson has hearty links to Tauranga having been in the wider Aotearoa Kiwis mixer since 2019.

2 tries for Jacob Laban (Randwick) in Redcliffe U21s finals win over Central Queensland#KiwiNRL #LetsGoneWarriors pic.twitter.com/3KUb3WPIA0
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Tonga A has plenty of Kiwi-NRL juniors led by Marist duo Delouise Hoeter and Peter Hola, as well as Otahuhu's Joseph Vuna who have all played NRL. Viliami Vailea left Tonga to play 1st 15 for Aorere College before being recruited for NZW and despite Vailea not being a rugby league junior, this highlights a funky pocket of rugby league talent. Aorere College is in the Papatoetoe/Mangere area and along with Halasima, Semisi Kioa and the Tongia brothers there is a hefty crew of Mangere East Hawks.

Keen Kiwi-NRL observers will be intrigued about youngsters rising through Australian systems selected for Tonga A. Salesi Foketi played SG Ball, Jersey Flegg and NSW Cup for Roosters this year as a Manurewa junior. Sione Moala is another Manurewa junior who spent most of this year in the Bulldogs Jersey Flegg team. Waitemata also has Sione Vaihu who played for Tigers Jersey Flegg and Chris Vea'ila who made a mid-season switch from Knights to Sharks where he settled in Jersey Flegg.

Salesi Foketi (Manurewa) try for Roosters in Jersey Flegg final#KiwiNRL pic.twitter.com/IP4UjIBtNB
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Sione Vaihu (Waitemata) try for Tigers Jersey Flegg #KiwiNRL pic.twitter.com/AHfNDXiCuE
— The Niche Cache (@thenichecache) August 7, 2023

The funkiest aspect of both squads is Aussie players selected for Aotearoa A. Raiders forward Pasami Saulo has played for Aotearoa Maori and only a few years ago he apparently opted not to represent Junior Kiwis to pursue the Australian route. Jack Howarth and Benjamin Te Kura have both represented Queensland Under 19s, playing against Trey Mooney who lined up for New South Wales Under 19 last year.

Te Kura outlined his passion for Queensland in February this year; “I love the Queensland culture. Representing the Maroons is a dream of mine in the future."

At least Joe Chan has an Aotearoa Kiwis link through his father Alex Chan. This whanau mana is shared with Scott Sorenson and Reimis Smith who are both from Australia but have or want to follow their uncles/fatehr in playing for Aotearoa Kiwis. Chan has spent plenty of time in France and could opt for various international eligibility pathways.

Perhaps State of Origin eligibility may change in the near future and Aotearoa Kiwis led by coach Michael Maguire have sussed this out. Aussies love their old school styles though and given the pakeha niggle of Origin players choosing to then play for Samoa, Tonga, Fiji or Papua New Guinea over Australia, it seems unlikely that this will change soon.

NZRL also have a history of casting their net far and wide, even though they don't need to. The 2017 Junior Kiwis team for example had Jarome Luai as captain with Siosifa Talakai, Manase Fainu and Moeaki Fotuaika also in the team. All four have ties to Aotearoa but were highly unlikely to ever represent Aotearoa Kiwis. This thirst from NZRL in trying to lure in Aussie talent frames the selections of Howarth, Te Kura and Mooney especially.

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Then again, none of us can predict who wants to play for what nation. Perhaps the Aotearoa Kiwis vibe is so immense that it can lure Howarth and Te Kura away from their Queensland futures which seem destined at this point given their talent. Selection for these A squads doesn't tie a player to any nation and that's amplified by the manner in which players can change nations each year. If players are changing nations at the highest level willy-nilly, that sets the tone for players at lower levels.

Maybe, just maybe Aotearoa Kiwis are building something so enticing that these lads want to be a part of it. We will need to want for Aotearoa Kiwis camp to start to hear from these players and find out more information. Selections for both Aotearoa and Tonga A teams should be designed as a pipeline of talent for both nations, so let's stay optimistic that players selected can develop with their respective nations.