Pick Your Team Potential Kiwis Team 2023

People struggle to understand a simple concept about eligibility.

Players are human beings, their hearts and minds are often times linked to their up bringing and culture, not their accident of birth having been born in a geographical location.

Just because your parents got a job in a motor factory in Auckland, doesn't make you exclusively one thing or the other.

This old thinking about where you are born is daft, it does not work and it smacks of colonization.



What about people that came here from countries that have no league team? when they live in an adoptive country are we excluding them by birth rules?

Country of birth rule automatically rules them out from a sport because of passports and the Artifact of 'Nation hood'.

After seeing this sport become exciting with the Island nations, I cannot understand why people would want to go back to the old system and basically return to the circus of three power sides and minnow joke sides.

That is not how you create competition.

Any way the horse has bolted.

League is an inclusive sport now with choice given where it belongs, in the hearts of people, not systems, not nationalism and borderline racist thinking.
 
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I wish SJ was playing, the Kiwis are more important to me than the Warriors, always have been.

Me too bro. Kiwis over everything.

The McKraken try/Blackmore assisted in the corner in 91 is burned in my brain and probably the earliest sporting memory I can recall.

Something about the rarity of Kiwis games and the underdog nature of NZ rugby league just makes it more special.

People say we underacheive. But relative to our finances and playing numbers, something like our 24% win rate against the Kangaroos is way better than the Wallabies 25% win rate against the ABs.
 
I haven't read all 5 pages, but has anyone mentioned the Kiwis A side that are scheduled to play Tonga A in a couple of weeks time? I'm pretty excited to see some young up and comers get a run in a black jersey.
 
Considering it sounds like Brandon Smith, Jeremy Marshall-King, Phoenix Crossland & Erin Clark won't by playing we're paper thin at #9/14.
Nikorima had a blinder in a Test at hooker against Great Britain in 2019 but he's hardly a guy you can rely on in the middle for multiple Tests.
Maybe Foran at #9 & Nikorima at #14?

NZ A will be lucky to form a first grade worthy spine won't they?
1. Tuaupiki
6. TMM
7. Karl Oloapu?
9. Ruatapu Ngatikaura?
13. Zach Dockar-Clay?
14. Paul Roache?
 
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NZ A will be lucky to form a first grade worthy spine won't they?
1. Tuaupiki
6. TMM
7. Karl Oloapu?
9. Ruatapu Ngatikaura?
13. Zach Dockar-Clay?
14. Paul Roache?
Rua Ngatikaura played for Cook Islands if I recall correctly?
 
I would be trying to keep combinations in key areas.

I would have Leota and Harris as starting props, that combo work so well together

Manu has to play centre for me, hes just too good in that position and with latrell out he will have a genuine shot at dominating that part of the field. Add Timoko and you have some really good strike on the edges that could prove valuable

Hughes and Brown has to play, I havent heard much bout Brown but its probably good for him to get in camp and get away from Parra.

Lock is a big call for me, I dont think Tapine is the answer in that position. Liu is a better distributor for mine.

I think if we can find a bigger body hooker like a billy walters or a mitch kenny that would be perfect for a more powerful pack. Erin Clarke wouldve been perfect but I hope we dont end up with a makeshift hooker like nikorima or foran, too small i think.

A dream pick would be for tohu to play his retirement series but i think that ship has sailed.

Gonna be an interesting series. Madge has to look to the future and it may be that we lose both games but you have to build towards 2026, who will be the next batch of Kiwi stars and who will be the captain? There are no quick fixes unfortunately but the international space has become so competitive and we are the nation suffering the most since the island nations and eligibility laws have adapted.

I can take a loss if the future looks promising. We will see
 
NZ A side
1. Bula 2. Issako 3. Berry 4. Pompey 5. Warbrick 6. TMM 7. Volkman 8. Bromwich 9. Roache 10. Thompson 11. Papali'i 12. Kbrom 13. Liu

14. Levi 15. Neame 16. JWH 17. Going
 
Reece Walsh might also be eligible through his father to play for Toa Samoa, it would still allow him to play Origin.
 
One guy it seems we've all overlooked for NZ A consideration is Daejarn Asi who should be in there. Eligible for Samoa too but I'd have Volkman, Milford & Stephen Crichton in their squad as halves before Asi. Fonua Pole another one not getting any attention in the forwards
 
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One guy it seems we've all overlooked for NZ A consideration is Daejarn Asi who should be in there. Eligible for Samoa too but I'd have Volkman, Milford & Stephen Crichton in their squad as halves before Asi. Fonua Pole another one not getting any attention in the forwards
Bit if a lack of depth if Samoa has 3 players rated above what would be our 3rd? best available half contender for NZ A?
 
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