Cronulla Sharks have been quietly building a hearty Kiwi-NRL crew and with new coach Craig Fitzgibbon now taking over, the Sharks will have two Otahuhu Leopards in Salesi Ataata and Semisi Sikei to keep close tabs on. Ataata's move to Sharks was announced a few weeks ago, while Sikei played SG Ball to start 2020, then SG Ball again and Jersey Flegg for Sharks this year with both lads gaining experience against men in Aotearoa before moving over to Australia.

2020 was a funky year for Aotearoa footy as pandemic antics forced some players to kick back in Aotearoa, resulting in a stacked Aotearoa Under 18 Clubs vs School game and plenty of talent in the NZRL National Premiership. Sikei played three games for Sharks SG Ball as a prop before the pandemic took over and then via Otahuhu Leopards, Sikei played on the wing for Counties Manukau in the National Premiership.

SG Ball went up to Under 19s this year and Sikei stacked up seven games in Sharks SG Ball before moving up to Jersey Flegg which was also bumped up to Under 21s. Sikei wasn't selected in the Flegg team until round six and went on to play seven Flegg games as a bench forward and starting as an edge forward. This is easy to gauge and glorious progression through Sharks junior teams, while it appears as though Sikei has played wing, middle and edge forward over the course of 12 months.

There aren't any official stats around of Sikei's size, but he didn't look out of place playing against blokes last year and his swift rise through Sharks suggests Sikei can handle himself in the forwards. The recent signing of Ataata came with notes about his size (191cm/111kg) and after playing a game for NZ Warriors SG Ball last year, Ataata started at centre for the NZRL Under 18 Clubs team.

Then Ataata played the NZRL National Under 20s competition for Auckland Blue where he was named to come off the bench for the final, before Ataata spent the bulk of the season playing centre for Otahuhu Leopards in Auckland's Fox Memorial. Ataata was then named in the Counties Manukau Premier squad that was meant to play in the NZRL National Premiership before the recent Auckland lockdowns.

Both will be looking to crack NSW Cup footy next season and will be eager to make a lovely impression with new coach Fitzgibbons. I'll keep tabs on how the Sharks junior squads take shape over the summer to suss out more Kiwi-NRL juniors in the Sharks system; Jensen Taumoepeau (New Plymouth - Western Suburbs Tigers) was in the Sharks Flegg team this year before getting extended bench selection for the Sharks NRL team to finish the season.

That's three high quality Kiwi-NRL prospects with Sharks, among undercover juniors. There is also a funky Otahuhu Leopards angle here as Taniela Otukolo was playing for Otahuhu in last year's Fox Memorial before making his NRL debut this year, while Semisi Tapa left Otahuhu for Canberra Raiders and hearty Otahuhu outside back William Fakatoumafi spent this season with Redcliffe Dolphins before being named in Penrith Panthers Jersey Flegg squad for next season. The latest junior off the Otahuhu production line is Demitric Sifakula who recently signed on with NZ Warriors.

My vibe is that Otahuhu doesn't quite have the Kiwi-NRL junior presence of Marist Saints, but Otahuhu is among the best producers of NRL talent in Aotearoa and this serves as a reminder of the difference between winning games in Auckland and producing NRL talent. There are plenty of Otahuhu juniors floating around NRL clubs and there's something lovely about Sikei and Ataata flipping between the sky blue of Otahuhu and the sky blue of Cronulla Sharks.

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