Onwards & Upwards For New Zealand Rugby League
The Michael Maguire coaching era is over for Aotearoa Kiwis and after it all got a bit too niggly, we now embark onwards and upwards. Maguire chose to coach New South Wales in State of Origin ahead of continuing as NZ Kiwis coach and while doing both jobs is possible, the conflict of interest was already evident as Maguire oversaw the selection of two emerging Queenslanders in the Aotearoa A squad.
Don't worry about possible conflicts of interest with NSW and NZ Kiwis because it was already on display with Maguire as NZ Kiwis coach. Jack Howarth and Benjamin Te Kura have consistently featured in Queensland junior footy, with the NZ-A squad breakdown highlighting how Te Kura stated "I love the Queensland culture. Representing the Maroons is a dream of mine in the future" back in February this year.
Maguire wasn't NSW coach at the time, but the conflict of interest smacks one in the face with how Maguire could weaken Queensland as coach of NSW and NZ Kiwis. Let alone any other weird scenarios that could arise when one bloke is coaching an international team as well as a team that many in Australia still view as being part of the selection process for the Kangaroos.
Australia loves State of Origin, to the point that many believe SOO is a higher honour than representing Australia. Aussies seem to be confused about SOO though as there is an old school idea of SOO being integral in selecting Kangaroos squads which battles against a percepton of SOO being an entertainment product that needs the best players regardless of their connection to Australia. These two perspectives flow down to eligibility for SOO as one is focussed on supplying players for Kangaroos and the other is all about grabbing as much money as possible.
Australia's confusion about SOO frames how niggly it would be for a bloke to coach a SOO team and another international team. For someone who steadily celebrated NZ Kiwis and the international rugby league landscape, Maguire snapped up the NSW gig quickly. Maguire chose NSW over NZ Kiwis and that's his decision, which now allows Aotearoa rugby league fans to learn about the genuine standing of rugby league in this country.
Maguire oversaw a resurgence of NZ Kiwis and he played a role in establishing NZ Kiwis mana. Maguire also took over as NZ Kiwis coach at a time when Aotearoa is producing immense talent at the top-tier level as well as younger players who have dominated various levels in Australia. This is an enticing juncture for Aotearoa rugby league because we will learn whether Maguire was a coaching guru or if Aotearoa rugby league is thriving and the status of Aotearoa rugby league flowed into impressive results.
As The Niche Cache documents the rise of Aotearoa rugby league at all levels, we obviously believe that NZ Kiwis and Aotearoa rugby league will be fine without Maguire. Below is a basic celebration of rugby league in Aotearoa that now form the foundations of rugby league in this country...
NZ Kiwis have a core group of hearty leaders who are also among the best NRL players. James Fisher-Harris and Joseph Tapine lead the group, with support from Nelson Asofa-Solomona, Joseph Manu, Jahrome Hughes, Moses Leota and Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad. Leota and Nicoll-Klokstad are the only blokes from Auckland in that group, meaning that the best NZ Kiwis players come from Hokianga, Tokoroa and Wellington.
The growth of rugby league in Aotearoa is evident there, as well as lads like Dylan Brown and Wiremu Greig hailing from Northland or Griffin Neame and Jordan Riki coming from the South Island. Auckland still provides fantastic talent like Matthew Timoko, along with Naufahu Whyte and Keano Kini who were also in the NZ Kiwis squad.
There has been a few stories from Otago Daily Times in recent weeks that further highlight rugby league's growth in the South Island. Karius Booth from Balclutha will enter the NZ Warriors system and Torino Jackson from Dunedin will enter the Titans system, after playing for South Island in NZRL junior competitions. Neame is part of Greymouth rugby league slowly rebuilding. These yarns feature old heartlands being refreshed and new pockets of rugby league talent emerging.
The best NZ Kiwis players and emerging NZ Kiwis players have all performed well in Australia. Kiwi-NRL juniors are recruited by Australian teams because of a need for talent, they shine in Aussie junior systems and then command NZ Kiwis selection by excellent mahi in the NRL. The rise in quality and quantity of Kiwi-NRL juniors is a key element of Aotearoa rugby league optimism, especially because Australia isn't aware of how many youngsters from Aotearoa are dominating Australian competitions.
Over the last three years we have published a Kiwi-NRL Juniors Who Help Australian Teams Make Finals deep dive. This year Te Hurinui 'Apa' Twidle (Turangawaewae) played in SG Ball (Under 19) and Jersey Flegg (Under 21) finals for Eels at fullback. Roosters had lads like Cassius Tia (Marist), Salesi Foketi (Manurewa) and Benaiah Ioelu (Tangaroa College) played SG Ball and Jersey Flegg. Not to mention how Knights had a successful junior season with a bunch of Kiwi-NRL juniors; Jarome Falemoe, Elijah Salesa Leaumoana (Southern Cross/Manruewa), Jayden Harris (Kohukohu), Bailey Carmichael, Tamakaimoana Whareaorere (Te Puke).
Dolphins are the latest addition in NRL expansion, so how did they bolster their junior pipeline through Redcliffe? Lots of Kiwi-NRL talent. John Fineanganofo (Auckland Grammar) followed on from Deine Mariner (Marist) and Kini (Northcote) in swiftly cracking Australia Schoolboys rep footy after leaving Aotearoa for south east Queensland. Elijah Rasmussen (Westlake Boys) started this year in Mal Meninga Cup (U18) and finishes this year in the wider Dolphins NRL training mixer.
The Kiwi-NRL Train and Trial Breakdown highlights how Dophins are making the most of Peter O'Sullivan's 1st 15 recruitment prowess (Fineanganofo, Rasmussen, Valynce Te Whare, Patrick Kailahi, Tavita Naufahu). Rugby union is still supplying lots of Kiwi-NRL talent to bolster the stocks and 1st 15 rugby is still a productive recruitment zone for NRL teams, along with all levels of rugby union. Tavita Henare-Schuster (Kia Toa/Palmerston North Boys) made an immediate impact in Roosters U21s and NSW Cup after being recruited from rugby union, most recently playing for Hurricanes U20s.
Te Whare and Henare-Schuster weren't recruited from 1st 15 rugby, nor was Leo Thompson. All three played 1st 15 rugby and were then signed from a murky grey area of rugby union in Aotearoa; between 1st 15 and Super Rugby. Add this zone to the comprehensive recruitment of 1st 15 rugby and the Aotearoa talent stocks continue to be strengthened by rugby union.
All of this, among many more Kiwi-NRL wrinkles, flows into NZ Kiwis success. NZ Kiwi Ferns provided further evidence of Aotearoa rugby league's stature as they also defeated Australia this year. NZ Kiwi Ferns also had players who dominated NRLW in their first seasons. Abigail Roache and Laishon Albert-Jones helped Knights win their second championship in a row. Others like Annessa Biddle, Mele Hufanga, Alexis Tauaneai and Amelia Pasikala were among the best NRLW players in their debut campaigns.
Biddle, Tauaneai and Pasikala provide more insights. Biddle is a rugby league junior from Otara who genuinely dominated NRLW, while Tauaneai and Pasikala left rugby union in Aotearoa to pursue NRLW opportunities. Tauaneai is from Wellington and as an 18-year-old she was the best Dragons player this season, leading their physical mahi. Pasikala is a 19-year-old from Wairoa who was a consistent presence for Roosters before her epic try for Kiwi Ferns and then a horrible injury.
NZ Kiwi Ferns defeated Australia because they had just as much talent, if not more and Tauaneaui missed that series due to injury. Women's sport is booming and more young wahine from Aotearoa are already entering junior systems in Australia. NRLW continues to flex as a better professional pathway than Super Rugby Aupiki and NRLW expansion offers more opportunities to Aotearoa's best footy players.
Ponder how Aotearoa rugby league is thriving to the extent that this deep dive hasn't mentioned NZ Warriors yet. NZ Kiwis have won Tests with no players from NZ Warriors in recent years and the win over Australia featured Nicoll-Klokstad as the only NZ Warriors player. Wahine rugby league is flourishing in NRLW and for NZ Kiwi Ferns without an NZ Warriors women's team, all of which will soon change.
NZ Warriors have usually had an U20s/21s team below their reserve grade group. NZW offered an SG Ball team in 2020 before the pandemic destroyed the NZW junior pipeline. NZW juniors like Ali Leiataua, Demitric Sifakula, Zyon Maiu'u and Jacob Laban did dominate for Warriors-Redcliffe as an indicator of Aotearoa's talent though. NZW enter 2024 with a Harold Matthews (U17s), SG Ball (U19), Jersey Flegg (U21) and NSW Cup team below NRL. This has never happened before and it will be followed by an NRLW team along with women's development pipeline expansion.
NZW success this year isn't starting a rugby league wave in Aotearoa, no matter how infatuated Aussies were with the NZW buzz. NZW success this year stems from a rugby league community that is hungry and talent that is genuinely challenging Australian youngsters. While it seems like a hot take as we end 2023, Aotearoa is producing young men and women who are just as good as Aussie juniors. This won't stop, it's only going to increase and the best players for NZ Kiwis and Kiwi Ferns will lead the way.
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Peace and love.