Marist Saints junior Sitili Tupouniua was grinding through another Kiwi-NRL season with a starting edge forward spot for Tonga at the World Cup in his sights, before he suffered a major knee injury with Sydney Roosters.
Griffin Neame started this season as a low key North Queensland Cowboys trooper and apart from playing nearly every game since, nothing has changed for the Greymouth geezer.
Aotearoa Warriors now embark on the final stretch of pandemic niggle and like the elongated flu, pandemic niggle is a slow moving beast.
After starting this year in dominant fashion, perhaps even better fashion than his award-winning campaign last year, Isaiah Papali'i (Te Atatu) continues to embrace his potential with Parramatta Eels.
Kiwi-NRL mana doesn't get much more emphatic than Hornby junior Fa'amanu Brown back playing footy with Wests Tigers after a long injury break.
Marata Niukore has only played seven Kiwi-NRL games this season and those seven games have seen the Mangere East junior start in five different positions.
Xavier Willison and Deine Mariner have returned to reserve grade footy in Queensland over the past few weeks, before popping up in the Brisbane Broncos squad for this round of Kiwi-NRL footy.
The return of Aotearoa Warriors to Mt Smart was also the first time those poor ol' Aussie NRL teams had to travel outside their little bubbles and for Wests Tigers debutant Austin Dias, that's glorious Kiwi-NRL alignment.
Aotearoa Warriors return to Mt Smart to face Wests Tigers on Sunday and we all know better than to break down what might happen.
Christian Tuipulotu's debut for Tonga last weekend marked the arrival of a top notch Kiwi-NRL junior on the international rugby league scene.
There was little to learn from Aotearoa Kiwi Ferns' big win over Tonga other than the continuation of wahine rugby league's growth in Aotearoa, which is steaming towards a World Cup later this year.
Aotearoa Kiwis continue to lay down solid foundations after defeating Tonga 26-6 and the elevated level of Test footy puts Joseph Manu's performance in a whole different realm.
As part of the international rugby league extravaganza, Aotearoa Kiwi Ferns will take on Tonga and the Kiwi Ferns squad highlights the continued growth of wahine rugby league.
International rugby league serves as a celebration for Aotearoa grassroots footy as players who started with the club around the corner will lace up for Aotearoa, Samoa, Tonga and Cook Islands.
From round 10 onwards, Raiders are 4-2 and Joseph Tapine enters Aotearoa Kiwis camp fresh off his fourth consecutive game with 200+ metres.
After almost a three year absence, an Aotearoa Kiwis squad has been named and international rugby league is back to tell Australia to chill out.
Unfortunately for Shaun Johnson, his Kiwi-NRL mahi reflects the predicament Aotearoa Warriors find themselves in as they battle through the last stanza of almighty pandemic niggle.
A few weeks ago Ngaruawahia junior Morgan Harper was stuck in a niggly spot with Manly Sea Eagles and that tricky patch of adversity has seen Harper raise his mana as he settles back into starting centre mahi.
The latest NRL player to enjoy a post-Warriors glow up is North Queensland Cowboys centre Peta Hiku.
The reliability of nature is soothing and as Aotearoa enters another hearty winter, Aotearoa Warriors need a new coach.