Pacific Cup

[Manu Vatuvei]

The starting side is pretty close to full strength apart from hooker, there's just no depth. Will be some randoms on the bench and things will get desperate when injuries inevitably happen.

 

[Penrose Warrior]

Danny Levi is a Raiders reserve grade hooker, played for Samoa four years ago, and the Maori, and the Kiwis before that, and is now back in the Kiwis. Keano Kini has played 6 NRL games, Naufahu Whyte has played 9. What a sad indictment on where this side is at.

 

[Izz]

Cleary out of Kangaroos due to knee injury. Makes his effort in Grand Final even more impressive!

 

[Izz]

Personally I’d be remembering that when picking a kiwis side in the next couple of years and they’ll always be chosen ahead of SJ

We'll see if SJ even plays on after next season. He's probably thinking he's got one or perhaps 2 seasons left and wants to put everything towards winning a premiership

 

[Beavers Headgear]

 

[Bobby DIGital]

It's a depressing squad. Tbh I'd never heard of Whyte and Kini.

 

[Philip_Smith007]

We'll see if SJ even plays on after next season. He's probably thinking he's got one or perhaps 2 seasons left and wants to put everything towards winning a premiership

I think a couple of tactical injuries/rests during the season could help extend the career.

 

[Mr Angry]

For those unfamiliar with Kini, think Preston Campell or Ben Barba. Hey has to work his way into those boots, but you guys always give kids a go. I admire that.

Will of the wisp, naturally evasive, makes big fellas look silly and slow.

Probably won't get a run, be good for him.

I catch Qld cup games.

 

[jim_57]

It's a depressing squad. Tbh I'd never heard of Whyte and Kini.

Silver lining is if they make one of the 19 man match day squads in the tournament they are locked to Kiwis as their “tier 1”. They don’t even have to play. Kini played Australian schoolboys and is pretty highly rated so to lock him in could prove a masterstroke.

May be a tactic worth exploring in minor tournaments & games for promising young players who might be lured by Origin. Who knows what could have been with players like Nanai, Taulagi or Ponga if they’d been offered a kiwis squad spot at a young age.

It’s a sad it has to be considered as an option but playing Origin and Australia and/or Tonga/Samoa will be a very tempting career move going forward for NZ born players who move over early enough to qualify for Origin. Kiwis could even go for a warm up test each year against a tier 2 and select a handful of future prospects in the squad.

 

[Beavers Headgear]

Addo-Carr suspended for 2 games for getting knocked out last weekend, Dylan Edwards in for Aussie

 

[Brian potter]

Silver lining is if they make one of the 19 man match day squads in the tournament they are locked to Kiwis as their “tier 1”. They don’t even have to play. Kini played Australian schoolboys and is pretty highly rated so to lock him in could prove a masterstroke.

May be a tactic worth exploring in minor tournaments & games for promising young players who might be lured by Origin. Who knows what could have been with players like Nanai, Taulagi or Ponga if they’d been offered a kiwis squad spot at a young age.

It’s a sad it has to be considered as an option but playing Origin and Australia and/or Tonga/Samoa will be a very tempting career move going forward for NZ born players who move over early enough to qualify for Origin. Kiwis could even go for a warm up test each year against a tier 2 and select a handful of future prospects in the squad.

It’s not ideal but it’s why I believe that New Zealand should be Invited into a tournament alongside Queensland and NSW replacing state of origin.

play each other twice giving each side 4 games with either the team finishing top declared the winners or have the top 2 teams playoff in a final like the old tri-nations format.

 

[Philip_Smith007]

It’s not ideal but it’s why I believe that New Zealand should be Invited into a tournament alongside Queensland and NSW replacing state of origin.

play each other twice giving each side 4 games with either the team finishing top declared the winners or have the top 2 teams playoff in a final like the old tri-nations format.

People get a bit pissy as a country should beat a state, and heaven forbit SOO is messed with like Super League tried. NZ really needs to get a similar style game of Auckland vs the rest or something to that effect.

 

[Blair]

It’s not ideal but it’s why I believe that New Zealand should be Invited into a tournament alongside Queensland and NSW replacing state of origin.

play each other twice giving each side 4 games with either the team finishing top declared the winners or have the top 2 teams playoff in a final like the old tri-nations format.

The officials would never allow NZ in the final though. We saw that the last time this was possible.

 

[Bobby DIGital]

It’s not ideal but it’s why I believe that New Zealand should be Invited into a tournament alongside Queensland and NSW replacing state of origin.

play each other twice giving each side 4 games with either the team finishing top declared the winners or have the top 2 teams playoff in a final like the old tri-nations format.

Population wise it's always made sense but like you said it's not ideal. We need country vs country. International.

 

[Brian potter]

People get a bit pissy as a country should beat a state, and heaven forbit SOO is messed with like Super League tried. NZ really needs to get a similar style game of Auckland vs the rest or something to that effect.

I can’t stand origin so I’d be a hypocrite supporting a similar version for New Zealand.

in an ideal world there wouldn’t be a 3 match state of origin series but we are were we are and the only other next best thing which could tempt kiwi born or kiwi heritage Australian players to play for NZ would be for a tri-nations style tournament consisting of Queensland, NSW and NZ.

 

[Brian potter]

Population wise it's always made sense but like you said it's not ideal. We need country vs country. International.

RL is a game of “if onlys”. if only the powers that be had stuck with the fantastic 3 test trans-Tasman series and the Aussies and kiwis with players like SBW, benji Marshall, Ruben wiki , Nigel vagana, billy slater, Cameron smith, Jothathan thurston and Darren Lockyer etc had been slugging it out for the last 15-20 years the series would today be a must see event similar to state of origin.

even the tri-nations/4nations tournament could today have been huge.

 

[Matua]

Population wise it's always made sense but like you said it's not ideal. We need country vs country. International.

Yeah, adding NZ to Origin does nothing to help international league.

They just need to allow anybody who is eligible for Origin to play it and it not effect their international status. The current rules are always going to seem a little bit dodgy. But hey that's league for you, the Aussies are always going to stack the deck in favour of themselves.

 

[jim_57]

Yeah, adding NZ to Origin does nothing to help international league.

They just need to allow anybody who is eligible for Origin to play it and it not effect their international status. The current rules are always going to seem a little bit dodgy. But hey that's league for you, the Aussies are always going to stack the deck in favour of themselves.

Agree, should be nothing stopping players like Ponga or Nanai playing Origin and for NZ assuming they fit the criteria for both. If not Kiwis should maybe fight fire with fire and try and get players locked in early.

 

[Beavers Headgear]

 

[Matua]

I wonder what Jack Howarth's NZ background is? (Edit: He's Maori, a relative of JWH). Seems like we're taking a stab at nabbing a couple of Aussies.

Seems to be a few players who should be in an A team missing from that list.

Also, wonder when the Cooks are being named, they might be struggling to put together a team.