Penrith Panthers are in their third consecutive NRL Grand Final and are chasing back to back titles, a weekend after winning NSW Cup and Jersey Flegg championships.

Penrith Panthers are the dominant force of pandemic-era NRL and a young chap from Hokianga has been a leading figure in Panthers success.

Ever since Dylan Brown left Whangarei to join Parramatta Eels he been instrumental in Eels success and his consistent development now leads Brown to a Kiwi-NRL Grand Final.

Kiwi-NRL finals shifts into the last four teams and every team has blokes who played grassroots footy in Aotearoa.

After playing every game for Canberra Raiders this season at right centre, Otahuhu junior Matthew Timoko was bumped out of Kiwi-NRL finals by Eels.

The last Kiwi-NRL spotlight put on Marata Niukore came after the Mangere East junior made his Aotearoa Kiwis debut at centre and as Eels brushed aside Raiders in NRL Finals, Niukore again showcased his versatile class.

Eels face Raiders on Friday night followed by Sharks vs Rabbitohs on Saturday and all four teams have named at least three Kiwi-NRL players from Aotearoa.

As the majority of the recent Aotearoa Kiwis team is preparing to play finals footy, there are a bunch of funky match ups and elite Kiwi-NRL mahi to enjoy.

In his last game of the season and his first game back at Mt Smart since joining Gold Coast Titans, Paul Turner snatched a win away from his former team.

Manly Sea Eagles have graced two Auckland wingers with Kiwi-NRL debuts this season as Marist Saints junior Raymond Tuaimalo-Vaega grabbed his first NRL game in a hefty loss to Raiders.

Cronulla Sharks are quietly on the rise as a Kiwi-NRL club with the same development mahi evident in Ronaldo Mulitalo, Braden Hamlin-Uele and Briton Nikora flowing into the rise of Kayal Iro.

Earlier this year we dropped a Kiwi-NRL Spotlight about Dylan Brown's steady development and since then, Brown has settled into his best season of NRL footy.

Nelson Asofa-Solomona has been a middle forward monster for eight seasons with Melbourne Storm and as the Bromwich brothers are often overlooked as influential Storm figures, it is no surprise that Asofa-Solomona's excellence also creeps under the radar.

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.