While it's not Matariki just yet, the stars aligned for Deine Mariner and Xavier Willison to make their first appearance of the season in Aotearoa as Brisbane Broncos defeated NZ Warriors. Marist junior and hearty Aucklander Mariner may have preferred an encounter in front of his community at Mt Smart, however the win in Napier featured more than enough funk for Mariner.

Playing on the wing, Mariner scored two tries with 12 runs - 179m @ 14.9m/run and five tackle busts. A chunk of those run metres came for Mariner's first try as he pounced on a loose ball and scooted down the sideline. Mariner then glided past Warriors defenders to finish off a grubber from Tristan Sailor, with both tries showcasing Mariner's smooth running and footy instincts.

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All of which is aligned with Mariner's talent and his journey. The Niche Cache has whipped up a few yarns telling the Mariner story and given that his two games last season were two losses, plus he scored the first tries of his career, this return to Aotearoa serves as Mariner's best NRL performance.

Even elite Kiwi-NRL youngsters need to patiently weave through their journey. Mariner quickly dominated footy in Queensland after leaving Auckland and he scored four tries in his first game of Queensland Cup footy last year. Mariner finished school at Palm Beach Currumbin and scored eight tries in as many games in his first season against blokes.

In a strong Broncos squad with ample depth, Mariner also battled injury to only play two NRL games last season. While he's been a consistent figure for Wynnum in Queensland Cup with six tries and eight linebreaks in eight games, Mariner embraced patience.

Broncos have played 13 games this season and Mariner has been 18th-lad for eight of them. Mariner is sitting behind high quality centres in Kotoni Staggs and Herbie Farnworth, so his opportunities were and are unlikely to come in his favoured position. Having played all eight Q Cup games at centre, Mariner slotted in at wing for his return to Aotearoa.

Mariner had five tackle busts vs Warriors and this is a clear theme of his mahi. In Q Cup, Mariner has at least five tackle busts in six of his eight games, hitting over six tackle busts in four of those games. This is how Mariner operates and whether it's his effortless speed, sneaky size or pure instincts, Mariner is not easy to tackle. Many youngsters in Auckland would tell you that, as would many blokes playing Q Cup.

This fixture was a celebration of the Kiwi-NRL Broncos. Hornby junior Jordan Riki was instrumental in Broncos mana and energy, while Waikato's Xavier Willison played his first game of the season like Mariner. Willison only played 18 minutes off the bench, the fewest of Broncos bench players and still managed to showcase his size/mobility combo.

After playing three games in his debut 2021 season, Willison only managed one appearance last year due. Like Mariner, this is due to Broncos depth and injury. Willison is one of the best Kiwi-NRL forward youngsters with scope to elevate to a consistent NRL role like Leo Thompson (Napier - Knights) and Wiremu Greig (Whangarei - Eels).

Willison has played seven games of Q Cup with Norths Devils this season, starting all but one game at prop. This has resulted in Willison leaping up from 101m/game last season, to 146m/game this season. Prior to this NRL outing, Willison played 40+ minutes in four consecutive games for Norths and he has made 126 tackles @ 96% this season.

Willison is a year ahead of Mariner, but they played together at Palm Beach Currumbin High School team and appear to be the only players from the 2020 Allan Langer Trophy grand final team who have played NRL. Two young lads from Aotearoa who enjoyed swift success after moving to Queensland before patiently battling through Broncos depth and injuries. Mariner and Willison didn't just snap up their opportunity for their first NRL games this season, they did so in their first NRL games on Aotearoa soil.

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Peace and love.