Chance for rookie duo to embrace step up
Zeb Taia will start his international career from the second row and Aaron Heremaia will make his debut off the bench with Alex Glenn looking to be the unlucky 18th man in the Kiwis for tomorrow night's Anzac test in Melbourne.
And blockbusting Adam Blair appears set to be given a roving role as loose forward, as coach Steve Kearney looks to maximise his available talent for this massive challenge.
Without Glenn, the Brisbane Broncos utility, it will likely mean a bench made up of four forwards, although Heremaia does have a background in the halves before successfully being converted to a hooker by the Warriors. Kearney described his team's preparations as spot-on despite limited time and resources in Melbourne.
The squad have just today's captain's run at the impressive new AAMI Park to finish things off.
Short of players through injuries and with kickoff having come around alarmingly quickly, Kearney was pushing the positives from what was a thorough and polished training session yesterday.
"It was a step up. I think that's going to happen by the time we get to this stage," Kearney said of the two-hour hitout.
"It's such an intense week, you have to be well prepared and I think we have done that fairly well.
"We're very fortunate that we have got 13 guys that came away to the Four Nations last year. They are familiar with each other and they get along very well."
Those players will form the nucleus of this side as was clear at training. Consistent Warrior Sam Rapira will be partnered at prop by Frank-Paul Nu'uausala with Taia's debut coming alongside Bronson Harrison in the second row.
That leaves Blair to run riot from a position he has had limited game time in but clearly has the power and skills to be a huge menace.
It also means a big bench with Heremaia set to spell Issac Luke at hooker and Kearney keeping his faith in Sika Manu's reputation rather than his current form.
The Kiwis haven't won an Anzac test in Australia, but Kearney is adamant they should still be able to make an impact at short notice. "As long as we give them a simple structure to play by and people fulfil their roles we should be competing to be in this game," he said.
Kiwis likely lineup : Lance Hohaia, Sam Perrett, Junior Sa'u, Steve Matai, Jason Nightingale, Benji Marshall, Kieran Foran, Sam Rapira, Issac Luke, Frank-Paul Nu'uausala, Bronson Harrison, Zeb Taia, Adam Blair. Interchange: Aaron Heremaia, Ben Matulino, Sika Manu, Jared Waerea-Hargreaves.
