The quality and quantity of Kiwi-NRL juniors in Australia system increases every year, with a far more regions around Aotearoa represented by the young men on the rise. This group of 10 funky Kiwi-NRL juniors for 2026 isn't a ranking, it's just a list of 10 youngsters who best represent the Aotearoa rugby league ahead of the various seasons. It's also listed north to south and includes players from various levels from fringe NRL to Under 19s who could appear at this level over the next few weeks in Queensland and New South Wales.

Mason Barber - Kaikohe - North Queensland Cowboys

Barber left Northland and quickly established himself as one of the best outside backs in Australia, primarily as a fullback. While he didn't play any footy last year, Barber is part of the wider Cowboys NRL squad and he will be eager to find a consistent groove in Queensland Cup. Representing a few junior clubs in the Hokianga area, Barber is the best Kiwi-NRL junior from Northland simmering below the NRL level and as plenty of elite Northland talent to follow.

Antonio Verhoeven - Greymouth - Brisbane Broncos

Like Barber, Verhoeven swiftly dominated junior footy in Australia after leaving the South Island to enter the Broncos system. Verhoeven is a Cobden Kohinoor junior from Greymouth and also spent time in Christchurch at St Bede's College where he excelled in rugby union and basketball. Following on from Barber's 2024 Australian Schoolboys selection, Verhoeven made the 2025 team and progressed through the Under 19 Mal Meninga Cup competition to play in the U20 NRLQ series for Broncos. His best position is centre but Verhoeven's athletic ability could lead to opportunities on the wing and he will be aiming for a regular Queensland Cup role this season.

Marley Igasan - Otumoetai - Brisbane Broncos

The Broncos love of Aotearoa is evident across all levels of their system and along with Verhoeven, they have Igasan on the rise as a forward who mainly plays in the middle but can also cover edge forward. Coming out of the Tauranga area as an Otumoetai junior, Igasan has worked through the grades at Broncos in his three years in south east Queensland. Like Verhoeven, Igasan played U19s for Burleigh and U20s for Broncos in NRLQ as a goal-kicking forward. Igasan is named in the Souths Logan MMC squad so he may start the year at this level again and this frames his mahi for the NRLQ team as he has another year of U19 footy available to him.

Siale Faeamani - Auckland - Gold Coast Titans

Having been one of the best players in a talented St Peter's College 1st 15 group, Faeamani progressed through two years with NZ Warriors before moving to Panthers for the 2025 season. Now Faeamani has earned a greater opportunity with Titans where he is generating the kind of buzz that is aligned with his pedigree as a rugby union junior in Auckland where he made lots of Auckland Rugby/Blue representative teams alongside plenty of other Kiwi-NRL juniors. Most notably, Faeamani played 20+ games in two consecutive years of U21 Jersey Flegg Cup with NZ Warriors and Panthers which gives him solid foundations to progress the Titans system. Titans obviously appreciate Faeamani's talent because they gave him a promotion to their wider NRL squad and this suggests he may have an impact in their outside back group this year.

Torino Jackson - Dunedin - Gold Coast Titans

Titans also have Zingari-Richmond rugby union junior Jackson who is matching Igasan's progress with Broncos in the forwards. Jackson left Dunedin to enter the Titans system and while shining in the junior ranks on the Gold Coast, he played Queensland U18s alongside Verhoeven last year. Jackson has had two years in the Titans system but he's covered three different age groups with U17 mahi in 2024, followed by U19 and U20 NRLQ footy for Titans last year. Now Jackson adds middle forward depth to Titans and he is part of their wider NRL mixer to start 2026, with a chance that he demand Queensland Cup opportunities at some point.

Francis Manuleleua - Auckland - Newcastle Knights

Papatoetoe junior Manuelelua is the most likeliest NRL debutant of this group after playing 20 games of NSW Cup for Knights last year while still eligible for U21 Jersey Flegg Cup. Having started in the NZ Warriors system while playing 1st 15 for King's College in Auckland, Manuleleua had two years with Panthers where he played U19 and U21s before moving to Knights where the pathway to NRL footy was much clearer. While he had two games of U21 footy with Knights, Manueleleua spent most of the year playing 80 minutes at edge forward in NSW Cup and as long as he can impress the new Knights coach, expect Manuleleua to get a crack in the NRL this year.

Jackson Stewart - Christchurch - Sydney Roosters

After winning the U17 Harold Matthews Cup championship in 2024 with NZ Warriors, Stewart moved to Roosters for the 2025 season and continued to showcase his class as an outside back. Stewart started at fullback in the U19 SG Ball Cup final for Roosters and because they won that championship, the Hornby junior has won U17 and U19 NSWRL championships in two consecutive years for two different teams. Not only that, but Stewart played the same number of U21 games as U19 games (11) for Roosters and showed his versatility with appearances at fullback to go with his mahi at centre. The youngster from Christchurch also had 18th-lad duties for one game of NSW Cup last year and is now part of the wider NRL mix for Roosters, with a regular NSW Cup role his main goal for 2026.

Haami Loza - Auckland - Penrith Panthers

There has been lots of noise about the NZ Warriors players who have moved to Panthers and Loza hasn't been getting the same buzz as others, despite being one of the most talented junior play-makers from Aotearoa. Having been a dominant force in the De La Salle College rugby league system, Loza left Auckland to join Knights and spent three years in their system culminating in his epic 2025 campaign. Last year Loza played U19, U21 and NSW Cup as a half for Knights and that is usually the recipe for tremendous hype in Australia yet Loza's creeping under the radar. Loza departed Knights to join Panthers for the 2026 season and the Mangere East/Otara junior is most likely to start in U21s, but could rise quickly with a Panthers development boost.

Te Hurinui Apanui Twidle - Waikato - Parramatta Eels

Another Kiwi-NRL junior who is close to an NRL debut is Turangawaewae's Twidle who has rolled through U21 and NSW Cup levels since joining Eels. Otherwise known as 'Apa', Twidle played in his third season of U21s for Eels last year but soon settled in NSW Cup where he started all 18 games at fullback where he stacked up tackle breaks, linebreaks, offloads, try assists, kick metres and had some goal-kicking just to add to his funk. This came after Twidle dabbled in NRL trial footy early last year with some mahi in the halves, so it will interesting to see how Twidle moves through the 2026 season in NSW Cup as he has the play-making ability to cover both positions.

K-Ci Newton-Whare - Christchurch - Melbourne Storm

Joining Stewart (and NZ Warriors forwards Bishop Neal (U17) and Jason Salalio (NSW Cup)) as Christchurch juniors who won NSWRL championships last year is Riccarton junior Newton-Whare. In his third year of U21 footy for Storm, Newton-Whare was part of their Jersey Flegg Cup championship team and was a starting middle forward in the final win. Newton-Whare also played one game of NSW Cup for North Sydney Bears last year and having played 15+ games in each of his three seasons of U21 footy for Storm, it seems likely that he will be part of their reserve grade group for 2026. Given his progress in the Storm system, don't be surprised to see Newton-Whare in the Storm's NRL mix soon.

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