Kiwi-NRL Spotlight: Alekolasimi Jones Debut For Bulldogs
Alekolasimi Jones became the sixth Kiwi-NRL debut of 2026 when he came off the bench for Bulldogs in their loss vs Cowboys. The St Paul's College product mainly rolled through the middle with 8 runs - 77m @ 9.6m/run and 18 tackles @ 82% in his 29 minutes of action, joining Sitili Tupouniua (Marist) and Leo Thompson (Napier Boys High School) as the Kiwi-NRL players in the Bulldogs team.
While he was linked to Tigers in 2022, Jones left Auckland to join Bulldogs for the 2023 season. He started in their Under 19 SG Ball Cup team, before moving up to the U21 Jersey Flegg Cup team in the same year. From there he played in two more seasons of U21s which overlapped with NSW Cup game time starting in 2024 where he played two games and then nine games last year.
As a versatile forward who can play edge and middle, Jones seems to have settled as a middle forward at the moment. He played five games of NSW Cup prior to his NRL debut with four games starting in the middle and one on an edge. This fits the general theme of the Bulldogs forward pack and Jones' style has seen him overtake Zyon Maiu'u (Glenora) in the Bulldogs forward depth.
2026 Kiwi-NRL debuts
Alekolasimi Jones: St Paul's College
Jones played rugby league and rugby union at St Paul's College. He made the NZRL U18 Schools squad in 2022 via St Paul's College and had a stint with Mt Albert, as well as playing 1st 15 rugby union for St Paul's. This led to a salute for the Auckland Rugby Union Divisional Under 18s squad where Jones was specifically mentioned as 'unavailable for selection' for a squad that also featured St Paul's homie Sio Kali and Southern Cross Campus' Leka Halasima.
As the sixth Kiwi-NRL debutant of 2026, Jones is the fourth who played 1st 15 rugby in Aotearoa. Of those four, three juggled both codes while at school and this reflects the sporting landscape in Aotearoa. Jones is a fabulous example of this as he excelled in both codes at what is viewed as a 'rugby league' school and yet St Paul's College consistently has 1st 15 players elevating to representative rugby union squads.
Jones and Kali are joined by other examples like Waka Tate (Mt Albert), Ezekiel Davidson-Fa'aiuaso (Mt Albert) and Devante Hurrell-Epati (Te Atatu) as Kiwi-NRL juniors who played 1st 15 for St Paul's College. Tate is now with Sharks, Davidson-Fa'aiuaso is with NZ Warriors and Hurrell-Epati is with Knights.
This highlights the crossover rather than competition between rugby league and rugby union in Aotearoa. St Paul's College have maintained their rugby league production line with notable Kiwi-NRL juniors right now including the NZ Warriors trio of Jacob Auloa (Pt Chevalier), Gordon Afoa (Papatoetoe) and Albert Balchin (Papatoetoe).
While NZ Warriors seem hyper focused on celebrating their 1st 15 factor, nothing they are doing is unique. This is most evident in the Kiwi-NRL debuts so far in 2026 and the majority of Kiwi-NRL juniors who have moved to Australia played 1st 15. The beauty is how many play both codes and Jones was one of the best to play both codes for St Paul's in recent years.
The Bulldogs system is a bit quirky. They have invested heavily in young men and women from Aotearoa with most of their U19 women's squad coming from New Zealand for example. They also have a cluster of emerging talent from Christchurch but the much-hyped collaboration with Canterbury Rugby League hasn't led to anything crazy as many NRL teams are recruiting juniors from Christchurch.
NZ Warriors are on top of the South Island rugby league growth and have more Kiwi-NRL juniors from Christchurch than Bulldogs. Knights and Roosters are also active in the area, while many young women from Christchurch are scattered throughout NRLW systems as well as players like Olive Connolly (Linwood) who is with Panthers (who don't have an NRLW team).
Notable Kiwi-NRL juniors with Bulldogs
Sosaia Alatini: Hornby
Zyon Maiu'u: Glenora
Fahmy Toilalo: Otahuhu
Chelden Hayward: Linwood
Bronson Reuben: Kaiapoi
Kaawyn Patterson: Dargaville
Malachi Filipo: Mt Albert
Azariah Toki-Mautairi: Otahuhu
Jones is a shining star of the Bulldogs development system and a year ago, Bulldogs announced that he and Cassius Tia (Mt Albert) had locked in contracts until the end of 2026. Tia was awesome in a range of positions for Roosters and Bulldogs, before returning to Auckland last summer and popping up in NSW Cup for NZ Warriors.
Shaye Faa'aoga (Pt Chevalier) and Roy Tatupu (Mt Albert Grammar School) were both notable recruits for Bulldogs over the last few years, both have vanished from the Bulldogs system in 2026. West Coast duo Callum Donaldson and Jacob Lowe spent time with Bulldogs for a few years but haven't been spotted this year.
Asha Taumoepeau-Williams (Howick) dominated U17 women's footy for Bulldogs two years ago and she has since joined NZ Warriors as a development player. That follows Balchin departing Bulldogs after a few years to move into the NZ Warriors system earlier this year.
Then there is the fact that Jones has moved past Maiu'u who was a celebrated signing from NZ Warriors. Maiu'u is yet to play NRL for Bulldogs, while forwards like Tanner Stowers-Smith and Eddie Ieremia-Toeava have stepped up to NRL for NZ Warriors since his departure.
Maiu'u's NSW Cup mahi is well below what he dished up in two seasons with NZ Warriors and there doesn't seem to be a clear path for him to play NRL footy at Bulldogs. The same can be said for many Kiwi-NRL juniors in the Bulldogs system and they also have a habit of signing players who then dip out of high performance rugby league within a couple years.
Jones has brushed all that off to play NRL in his fourth year at Bulldogs. He seems likely to pursue international footy with Tonga having come through the Hakula Tonga pipeline in Aotearoa and could sneak into a World Cup squad later this year if the stars align.
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