The Kiwi-NRL umbrella includes all those who played junior footy in Aotearoa and many of them are eligible for Samoa or Tonga, so here are the best emerging players who come from Aotearoa but seem likely to represent Samoa or Tonga in international rugby league.
New Zealand Warriors have an intriguing weekend of NRL, NRLW, NSW Cup and Jersey Flegg Cup coming up and it's led by tricky encounters for the premier teams.
New Zealand Warriors have settled back into their gritty footy with consecutive wins vs Tigers and Knights.
Chris Vea'ila took the tally to 12 Kiwi-NRL debuts in 2025 playing at right centre for Cronulla Sharks in their win vs Sydney Roosters.
Tevita Naufahu was the 11th Kiwi-NRL debutant of 2025 when he played on the wing for Dolphins vs Sharks and he's backed it up with another appearance in the win vs Cowboys.
New Zealand Warriors were excellent with four wins across their top four grades last weekend and they now head to Newcastle for NRL/NRLW games, while the NSW Cup and Jersey Flegg Cup teams host their Melbourne Storm equivalents in Auckland.
Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs have started their first NRLW season with two wins and almost half of their team coming from Aotearoa.
New Zealand Warriors return to Mt Smart this weekend after three consecutive losses across NRL and NRLW, having not scored more than 20 points and conceded more than 20 points in each of these losses.
There have been 10 Kiwi-NRL debutants in 18 rounds of NRL footy and Temple Kalepo is the latest addition after playing 41 minutes for North Queensland Cowboys in their loss to Melbourne Storm.
New Zealand Warriors take a break this weekend which may shake off some of the stink from the two losses between two byes in the past month.
The 2025 NRLW season starts this week and while the return of NZ Warriors offers a hefty boost to women's rugby league in Aotearoa, Bulldogs will enter their first NRLW season with eight women from New Zealand in their team and there are plenty of new NRLWahine sprinkled among the other Australian teams.
The last game New Zealand Warriors won at Mt Smart was in round seven against Brisbane Broncos and after losing to Penrith Panthers at home, they are back on the road for a return game against Broncos.
Turangawaewae junior Aublix Tawha added himself to the list of 2025 Kiwi-NRL debutants with a hearty stint coming off the bench for Dolphins in their loss to Knights.
Kiwi-NRL juniors from Aotearoa continue to simmer their way through reserve grade footy in Queensland and New South Wales with a bunch of them on the cusp of NRL debuts.
New Zealand Warriors youngsters have been a staple of their strong start to the 2025 NRL season and with a bye this weekend, now is the perfect time to take stock of how it's all going.
Tukimihia Simpkins made his return to NRL footy with Gold Coast Titans in their win vs Manly Sea Eagles and the hearty Pikiao junior from Rotorua seems like the type of forward that coach Des Hasler would love.
As the trees release their leaves and winter sweeps across Aotearoa, we have a lovely sample size to take stock of the best emerging talent for New Zealand Warriors.
New Zealand Warriors bullied Cronulla Sharks in a 40-10 win and the NSW Cup Warriors also had a 22-16 win vs the Sharks' reserve grade outfit Newtown Jets, rolling out a combined 22-4 record this season across the top two grades.
Elijah Salesa-Leaumoana became the eighth Kiwi-NRL debutant of 2025 after coming off the bench for Newcastle Knights in their win over Manly Sea Eagles.
New Zealand Warriors had their second loss to Canberra Raiders of the NRL season last weekend and while that was a bummer, another Sunday outing against South Sydney Rabbitohs in Sydney will be a better gauge of how they are tracking through the winter grind.