The New Zealand Kiwis squad for the 2025 Pacific Championships only has one debutant in Xavier Willison and eight players who have played 10+ Tests for Aotearoa, offering the most experienced group during the Pacific Championships era. Two of the younger players who debuted for the 2023 tournament in Griffin Neame and Leo Thompson aren't in this squad, nor is 2024 debutant Jordan Riki which shows how much depth is in New Zealand's forward stocks.

All three could easily be selected in this year's squad and we don't know much about injuries etc, but the rise of Xavier Willison ensures that NZ Kiwis are well equipped for international rugby league. Willison has already represented Cook Islands and he is a like-for-like swap with Marata Niukore who played for NZ Kiwis last year but is now back in the Cook Islands squad.

Willison has more potential for Aotearoa than Niukore and he showed in the NRL championship run with Broncos that he could cover middle and edge forward roles at a high level. We probably won't get to see Xavier debut at the same time as his cousin Tenika as she is in the wider squad for Kiwi Ferns, but the Willison whanau is still in the spotlight here along with the Taharoa rugby league production farm which also features Te Maire Martin and Taine Tuaupiki.

Willison is the only player from Waikato in the NZ Kiwis squad as the spread of regions represented continues to show rugby league's growth in Aotearoa.

Northland: James Fisher-Harris, Dylan Brown
Auckland: Erin Clark, Kieran Foran, Keano Kini, Moses Leota, Ronaldo Mulitalo, Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad, Isaiah Papali’i, Matthew Timoko, Naufahu Whyte
Waikato: Xavier Willison
Bay of Plenty: Briton Nikora
Wellington: Joseph Tapine, Nelson Asofa-Solomona
Canterbury: Jamayne Isaako
Australia: Phoenix Crossland, Sebastian Kris, Casey McLean, Scott Sorenson

Sebastian Kris is the only player aside from Willison who has not played in the Pacific Championships. He played two Tests for Aotearoa during the 2022 World Cup and his return to NZ Kiwis is well deserved after a strong season for Raiders. Kris is yet to play for Aotearoa alongside Raiders homie Matthew Timoko so that's a funky wrinkle to watch out for, although the best centre combo for NZ Kiwis is Timoko/Casey McLean.

Versatility is an important attribute for international rugby league squads and Kris' ability to play multiple backline positions makes him an ideal squad member. This applies to Willison, as well as an established Aotearoa representative in Isaiah Papali'i who was sliding between edge and middle throughout the NRL season for Panthers.

Phoenix Crossland offers international calibre utility value as well. Crossland's best role will be on the bench where he can cover dummy half behind Jeremey Marshall-King, small forward duties and even the halves. While Kris' versatility won't lead to selection on the bench, having him cover the outside back roles and then the likes of Papali'i, Crossland and Willison means NZ Kiwis are well covered for all situations that can pop up during games.

Most Tests for Aotearoa in the current squad

Kieran Foran: 32
Joseph Tapine: 23
James Fisher-Harris: 18
Nelson Asofa-Solomona: 16
Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad: 14
Briton Nikora: 14
Isaiah Papali'i: 13
Jamayne Isaako: 11

Kieran Foran will be celebrated on his NZ Kiwis farewell tour and he will play an important role in the halves with Dylan Brown. Not only is Foran the most capped player in this squad, he actually spent the whole NRL season in the halves unlike Brown who showed his mana in how he worked through a niggly scenario for Eels.

Brown is joined by Nelson Asofa-Solomona as players hoping to absorb NZ Kiwis mana after goofy NRL seasons. Coach Stacey Jones obviously isn't bothered by their NRL mahi and while Brown hasn't played 10+ Tests like the others listed above, him and Asofa-Solomona have been important players in winning footy for NZ Kiwis.

Both Brown and Asofa-Solomona are well suited to international rugby league. Brown is already one of the two best halves along with Jahrome Hughes and his running/tackling combo is vital for Aotearoa, while Asofa-Solomona's size and passion for NZ Kiwis is perfect for this group of forwards.

The 2024 Pacific Championships was disappointing and many would view coach Jones negatively for how Aotearoa performed. Last year's squad was ravaged by injury though and NZ Kiwis did well to claw their way back against Tonga to suffer a narrow 24-25 loss, after a hearty battle against Australia in Christchurch with a variety of debutants involved.

One of those debutants was Casey McLean and coach Jones deserves to be praised for creating an environment that McLean wanted to be a part of. McLean was born and raised in Sydney which led to him play Under 19s for New South Wales last year before he debuted for Aotearoa. This is similar to Phoenix Crossland who had previously represented New South Wales in the junior ranks and he debuted last year under coach Jones.

Add in how almost half of this squad has Samoan heritage but chooses to represent Aotearoa, getting Willison under the NZ Kiwis umbrella and having a core group of senior players who are desperate to play Test footy for a perspective of coach Jones doing a good job of building out NZ Kiwis mana after the departure of Michael Maguire.

All of which is lovely, but all that matters for coach Jones and NZ Kiwis now are wins and losses. After losing the 2022 World Cup semi-final 14-16 vs Australia, Aotearoa went 80-0 through wins vs Samoa and Australia on home soil in 2024 to finish the Maguire era. Last year that flipped to two losses in Aotearoa and with a more experienced squad selected, the 2025 Pacific Championships will be a better phase to assess coach Jones as the leader of NZ Kiwis.

NZ Kiwis roles

Fullback: Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad, Keano Kini
Wingers: Jamayne Isaako, Ronaldo Mulitalo | Sebastian Kris
Centres: Matthew Timoko, Casey McLean | Sebastian Kris
Halves: Kieran Foran, Dylan Brown | Phoenix Crossland
Hooker: Jeremy Marshall-King | Phoenix Crossland
Middle: James Fisher-Harris, Joseph Tapine, Moses Leota, Nelson Asofa-Solomona, Naufahu Whyte, Erin Clark | Phonix Crossland
Edge: Briton Nikora, Scott Sorenson
Middle/Edge: Isaiah Papali'i, Xavier Willison

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