Aotearoa Warriors have had plenty of turnover in their halves department this year and Aranui junior Daejarn Asi is not only battling for game time right now, he is hunting for future opportunities.

A young bloke from Tokoroa rolled out one of the greatest international rugby league performances a few weeks ago and since then, Joseph Manu has slotted straight back into hearty mahi with Sydney Roosters.

Brisbane Broncos were upset by Tigers this weekend and while that ruined the vibe a wee bit, Marist Saints junior Deine Mariner looked far too comfortable in his Kiwi-NRL debut.

Whether it was the alignment of stars over Aotearoa or an open minded god offering divine intervention, Otahuhu's Alfred Smalley was graced with a Kiwi-NRL debut for Manly Sea Eagles.

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.

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.

Christian Tuipulotu's debut for Tonga last weekend marked the arrival of a top notch Kiwi-NRL junior on the international rugby league scene.

From round 10 onwards, Raiders are 4-2 and Joseph Tapine enters Aotearoa Kiwis camp fresh off his fourth consecutive game with 200+ metres.