Kiwi-NRL Finals Week Two Preview
More NRL Finals means more Kiwi-NRL juniors shining under the bright lights with Leo Thompson and Greg Marzhew returning to Aotearoa, while Storm vs Roosters is flush with funky Kiwi-NRL talent. Storm host Roosters with William Warbrick (Ngongotaha), Reimis Smith (Sydney), Jahrome Hughes (Harbour City), Nelson Asofa-Solomona (Upper Hutt) and Alec MacDonald (Auckland) in their team.
Roosters are led by the Waiheke Ram Brandon Smith coming up against his former team along with Fetalaiga Pauga (Glenora), Jaxson Paulo (Northcote) and Siua Wong (Burnham/Manurewa). Naufahu Whyte (Bay Roskill) is on the extended bench for Roosters and is unlikely to paly.
Paulo benefits from Roosters injuries to grab a spot on the wing, having last played in round 12. There was plenty of Paulo during a tough start to the season for Roosters and coach Trent Robinson made a tweak mid-season as he brought Pauga into the team to offer more speed and power. Paulo has been playing NSW Cup where he has started games at centre, fullback and the halves while also playing his favoured spot on the wing.
Pauga is now averaging 164m/game with five linebreaks this season. In two years with Tigers, Pauga peaked at 113m/game and he had one linebreak in his entire tenure with Tigers. Pauga also had one try and one try assist with Tigers, which has been parlayed into three tries and a try assist with Roosters. If you want to boost your Kiwi-NRL career, it's probably wise to leave Tigers.
Wong is showcasing the talent that made him a decorated youngster in the Roosters system and why Roosters invested so much in taking Wong from Aotearoa to Sydney. Wong has played nine games and lost the first two, now on a seven game winning streak. It's unlikely that Wong lines up against Eliesa Katoa (Tamaki College) which is a bummer, Wong will probably line up against Storm edge forward Trent Loiero.
After all the fuss about Smith earlier in the season, he has settled into a dummy half groove with Roosters. Smith has now played 60+ minutes in four consecutive wins and his selective scoots from dummy half often generate tempo for Roosters as they are followed by a pass to one of their halves, or an offload after he has lured in defenders. Smith has at least three tackle breaks or an offload in three of his last four games.
Warbrick and Reimis Smith provide an all Kiwi-NRL wing quartet in Storm vs Roosters. Pauga and Paulo are also eligible for Samoa, with Smith opting to follow his father Tyran into the Aotearoa Kiwis mixer. Of the eight wingers named for NRL Finals this weekend, six have Kiwi-NRL roots with connections to a grassroots club in Aotearoa or on the pathway to Aotearoa Kiwis footy.
Asofa-Solomona will come off the bench for Storm and will likely roll through the middle. After losing to Broncos, Storm coach Craig Bellamy has selected MacDonald on the bench and this offers an intriguing combo in the middle for Storm. MacDonald is a protoypical Storm player who has earned every NRL minute by doing gritty, niggly, dirty mahi in the Storm forward pack.
This mobility and energy balances Asofa-Solomona's workload, which wasn't the case against Broncos. MacDonald isn't a big metre-eater but he rips in defensively, averaging 21.6 tackles per game despite rarely playing over 40mins. This comes with 93.5% efficiency and while Asofa-Solomona's excellence includes his mobility and defensive mahi, the combo of Asofa-Solomona destruction and MacDonald's grit could be influential for Storm.
Thompson (Napier Marist) plays a similar role for Knights with more upside as he is a bigger lad, with better passing and a bit more aggression. Thompson is second for the most tackles made of Knights players and averages 30.2 tackles per game. In his two years of NRL footy with Knights, Thompson has tackled above 93% efficiency. Despite Thompson running with vigour, Knights have powerful runners like Marzhew (Mangere East) who help save energy for their forwards.
There is a sneaky streak of tackle breaks for Thompson with at least three in each of his last four games. This is headlined by six tackle breaks in wins over Bulldogs and Rabbitohs. Thompson will play a key role for Knights in trying to limit Addin Fonua-Blake's oomph through the middle and Thompson had a combined 67 tackles made with three missed tackles in the two games against Warriors earlier this season.
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