Kiwi-NRL Spotlight: Kalani Going Debut For NZ Warriors
The full moon was clearly not working in favour of NZ Warriors for their loss to Dolphins and yet many sprouts were illuminated, none more so that Northland's Kalani Going. Going played 35 minutes off the bench as a middle forward and while he chimed in with a few lapses, Going showed plenty of upside in a system that loves smaller/fast middle forwards.
Going is from an illustrious whanau with a hearty connection to the Mid-Northern club and he entered the Raiders system as a youngster. Going embarked on a slow grind through Raiders and then Tweed Heads before returning to rugby union. Going dabbled in footy for Northland and then popped up as one of many sneaky summer recruits for Warriors. This group features fellow debutant Paul Roache (MAGS) as well as other Kiwi-NRL juniors such as Setu Tu (Otahuhu), Moala Graham-Taufa (Marist), Maia Sands (Kia Ora) and Sanele Aukusitino (St Pat's Silverstream).
Rugby union midfielders pop up in all sorts of different roles when shifting to league. Leo Thompson (NBHS) played midfield in 1st 15 and is now a starting prop for Knights. Matthew Timoko (Otahuhu) played midfield for Auckland Grammar 1st 15 and is now starting centre for Raiders. Going blends all this together having played most positions in league before and after his stint with Northland, now operating simply as a 'forward'.
Going played through the middle against Dolphins with 6 runs - 67m @ 11.1m/run and 18 tackles @ 82%. Despite the tough outing that challenged Going's stamina and defence under pressure, Going's speed stood out every time he ran the footy. There were phases during Going's 35mins where he played in the middle alongside Dylan Walker as a double-banger of smaller forwards, other phases featured either Tom Ale or Bayley Sironen.
This has been a significant role for Warriors under Andrew Webster. As long as the smaller forwards can handle bigger bodies and offer oomph (10/run), they will get game time in Webster's system. One would expect any Going from Mid-Northern to be a capable passer and union midfielders need to be able to pass long distances either way. Going didn't register a pass against Dolphins though as he was operating more as a runner, while Dylan Walker had 16 passes for example and Ale grabbed four passes.
In NSW Cup last round, Going had three passes in 69mins. His last 80min performance was against Raiders a few weeks ago and he had five passes. The lineage and skill background, plus consistent NSW Cup mahi, suggests that Going has the ability to develop into the passing role of Tohu Harris and Walker. Add in Going averaging 116m/game and tackling at 92% efficiency in NSW Cup, playing 80mins in most games and 60+ minutes in all but one game, while covering edge and middle forward. This is a bloke who churns out hard mahi as a leader for the NSW Cup team every game.
Going fits snug into the Warriors system and given how he has earned this NRL debut against Dolphins, he is likely to progress nicely in another summer training block. If Warriors need to test their depth in finals, Going will be ready to do his job and he could emerge as the most reliable next-up forward in the depth chart.
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