The Best New Zealand Warriors Youngsters You May Not Know About
New Zealand Warriors have already flashed their production line of young talent with a bunch of debutants and emerging talent rolling into NRL footy during the two Andys era. Folks who are tapped in with The Niche Cache would have already known about Demitric Sifakula, Ali Leiataua, Jacob Laban and Zyon Maiu'u during their stint with Redcliffe Dolphins during the pandemic,, while Leka Halasima was already making waves when playing NSW Cup as a 17-year-old.
All five of those lads are under 21-years-old and they have all played NRL footy. Moala Graham-Taufa is 22yrs and he is one of the most consistent players for a strong NSW Cup Warriors team. Luke Hanson is still eligible for Under 21 Jersey Flegg but the former Penrith Panthers half is gathering NSW Cup experience and along with the freaky talents of 19-year-old Sio Kali, you should already know about these lads and how important they will be for NZW moving forward.
What about some sneaky undercover lads? Here are some youngsters who you may not know so much about...
Tanner Stowers-Smith is in his second season of NSW Cup footy and while he is probably the most known of these NZW youngsters, folks may not know that the Halswell junior from Christchurch was still eligible for Under 19 SG Ball this season. This means that Stowers-Smith is eligible for U21s as well and he's had one game at that level this season, but the win vs Bulldogs on Friday night was his 21st NSW Cup game of the season.
Add in his 13 games of NSW Cup footy from last season and Stowers-Smith has already churned out 34 games of reserve grade while being eligible for U19s. All of which has come as a prop and he has dabbled in 40+ minutes of footy as a starting prop throughout this season, not shabby for a winning NSW Cup team.
Coming out of Christchurch, Stowers-Smith is joined by Linwood junior Makaia Tafua who has snapped up opportunities as the starting hooker in NSW Cup. Tafua had a stint in Queensland where he played Mal Meninga Cup for Norths Devils (alongside Isaiah Iongi and Benjamin Te Kura, as well as Hornby junior Felix Fa'atili) but his return to Christchurch offered the most funk here as Tafua combined various representative honours with rugged mahi for Linwood Keas in the Canterbury Rugby League Men's Premiership.
Tafua was playing against grown blokes in Christchurch at a young age and he appears to have scored a try in the 2022 grand final win for Linwood. After moving up to Auckland to play SG Ball, Tafua was back at it battling against grown blokes with Otahuhu in Auckland's Fox Memorial competition.
Now Tafua has played 15 NSW Cup games and he's still eligible for U21s where he has played three games of Jersey Flegg. Tafua has commanded the starting dummy half role for the NSW Cup Warriors and aside from his running ability, the best thing about Tafua is how physical he is without the footy. Tafua is constantly whacking the opposition in defence and he was probably doing that for Linwood/Otahuhu at a grassroots level, which should allow for a nifty transition to higher levels.
Tafua is the best dummy half on the rise at NZW but don't overlook Jacob Auloa. The St Paul's College product and Pt Chevalier junior started this season in SG Ball, although he has also played Jersey Flegg and NSW Cup this season. Auloa made his NSW Cup debut in a finals game last season and he has added 10 games this season, even starting a few games despite being eligible for U19s.
This has been a funky pocket for NZW as Tafua and Auloa covered the absence of Paul Roache mid-season. Roache has started seven games at hooker and six games at halfback, which is made possible by NZW having two high quality hookers quickly progressing to NSW Cup. Auloa is named at hooker for the Jersey Flegg team this weekend after Roache had another start in the halves and Tafua registered 68mins as the starting dummy half.
Eddie Ieremia-Toeava is doing crazy things in NSW Cup and even the heartiest NZW fans aren't aware of his sneaky rise. After coming through De La Salle College where he appears to have zoned in on 1st 15 rugby, Ieremia-Toeava moved into the SG Ball squad last year. This was followed by stints of Fox Memorial footy with Otara and Howick, then playing four games of NSW Cup last season.
There isn't an age locked down for Ieremia-Toeava but he was apparently eligible for U19 SG Ball earlier this season, however he has only played NSW Cup. Playing up age grades is a key indicator of talent and yet Ieremia-Toeava is doing stuff that not many U19 players can do in NSW Cup by playing a variety of positions.
Ieremia-Toeava has started games at prop, edge forward and centre this season. While named to start at centre in the NSW Cup win vs Bulldogs on Friday night, Ieremia-Toeava came off the bench for his second game this season and he appeared to play though the middle. The fact that Ieremia-Toeava has played prop and centre this season in reserve grade as a youngster is a mark of his ability, add in how he has played less than 50mins in just two of his 23 games this season.
This makes Ieremia-Toeava an undercover bench option for next season. NZW have no shortage of youngsters who can cover multiple positions with the best example being Halasima who came off the bench to play middle forward in his NRL opportunities, only to switch to centre and edge forward to cover injuries. Ieremia-Toeava is also one of the biggest youngsters in the NZW system, taller than Halasima and Sifkula but shorter than Laban.
After leaving Tonga to impress with Liston College in 1st 15 rugby, Motu Pasikala has swiftly climbed through the NZW pipeline. Pasikala started this year in SG Ball and while he has featured in the Jersey Flegg team, Pasikala has played most of his footy in NSW Cup this season. Most of his NSW Cup appearances have been on the wing, however Pasikala has also started two games at fullback which includes the round 11 win vs Panthers: 1 try, 16 runs - 161m @ 10m/run, 1 linebreak assist, 7 tackle breaks and 3/4 conversions.
Pasikala wasn't part of the NZW mixer last year and he started this season as an SG Ball youngster. Now Pasikala is one of the best young outside backs in the NZW system and given how stinky NZW goal-kicking has been in the NRL, Pasikala's kicking ability adds another element to his footy.
The NSW Cup Warriors had a full strength back five in the win vs Bulldogs with Taine Tuaupiki, Setu Tu, Ali Leiataua, Moala Graham-Taufa and Edward Kosi. This bumps Pasikala down to Jersey Flegg but Pasikala is primed to step up and cover absences as NZW enter NSW Cup finals and the prospect of a summer training period with the wider NRL squad is on the horizon for the former Tongan football wizard.
Honourable mentions...
Rotorua's Harry Durbin has played 13 games of NSW Cup this season as a typical big bopper, as well as eight games of Jersey Flegg. Durbin left Aotearoa for a stint with Souths Logan U18s in 2022 and his return to Aotearoa saw him play SG Ball for NZW last year, which escalated to grown blokes footy with Pt Cheavlier, Auckland Vulcans and Aotearoa Maori.
Kayliss Fatialofa is another youngster from the De La Salle College rugby league system and he moved into the SG Ball team last year, while also playing Fox Memorial for Otara and Howick. Fatialofa played SG Ball again this year and he has since combined Jersey Flegg with NSW Cup mahi, where his versatility has added value to the NZW system. While U19 eligible, Fatialofa has played eight games of NSW Cup including a full-banger 80min effort at centre in round 12.
One last salute to Rodney Tuipulotu-Vea. The Mangere East/Manurewa and De La Salle College youngster started this year in SG Ball and he has since been a consistent starting prop for the Jersey Flegg team. Most notably though, Tuipulotu-Vea has played three games of NSW Cup with 20-25mins in each game with a try and two linebreaks. NZW just happened to win all three games that Tuipulotu-Vea played as well and he has quietly added to the impressive middle forward depth at Mt Smart.
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