New Zealand Kiwis and Kiwi Ferns put on an admirable show in Christchurch but weren't good enough to get a win against Australia. Putting on an admirable show isn't usually something to measure how Aotearoa sports teams are tracking but rugby league is steadily building in New Zealand and after years of Kiwis/Kiwi Ferns lacking connection to local communities, that connection is now being established all around Aotearoa.

All the folks who showed up to watch these Tests in Christchurch wanted to see NZ Kiwis and Kiwi Ferns representing them with mana. While Kiwis and Kiwi Ferns struggled to provide sublime attacking entertainment, their attitude and effort in attack and defence offered plenty of hearty rugby league entertainment. That will rarely be enough to defeat Australia though and both teams will be eager to offer more cohesive performances against Tonga and Papua New Guinea respectively.

The Kiwis play against Tonga in Auckland and Leo Thompson is selected on the bench after missing the Test vs Australia due to suspension, replacing Jordan Riki. Aotearoa and Tonga have played against each other twice since the 2017 World Cup and Kiwis have won both games. In 2019, Kiwis won 34-14 and they followed it up with a 26-6 win in 2022 with both these Tests drawing in crowds of over 20,000 at Mt Smart.

Kiwis have only lost to Australia in recent years. Tonga enters this Test having lost five games in a row. Since the last World Cup they have three losses vs England followed by their loss vs Australia to start the Pacific Championships this year.

Tonga hasn't scored more than four points in their last three Tests. Aotearoa has scored 10+ points in 13 consecutive Tests streching back to the 2019 loss vs Australia and despite losing three of their last four games vs Kangaroos, Kiwis still hit that 10 point mark in defeats.

Having a spine of Keano Kini, Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad, Shaun Johnson and Phoenix Crossland makes it tricky to expect points for Kiwis against Tonga. These four hadn't played any footy together prior to the Test vs Australia and while there is an NZ Warriors halves combo, Nicoll-Klokstad's mahi in the halves for NZW this year didn't overlap with Johnson's game time.

Nicoll-Klokstad and Crossland are highly capable of playing these roles for Aotearoa, however Nicoll-Klokstad played most of the NRL season at fullback and Crossland was switched from hooker to halves for Knights this year. It probably won't be as crisp as previous Kiwis outings but this spine will benefit from the niggly loss to Australia and another week training together.

It's almost impossible to win a Test vs Australia with one bloke doing all the kicking. Johnson had 26 kicks vs Australia and did well to trade long kicks with Mitchell Moses, but that isn't a recipe for winning against the best team in the world. Kiwis could win against Tonga with Johnson taking all the kicking responsibility and they would be wise to mix the kicking up, especially with more running around the ruck.

Kiwis only had three dummy half runs against Australia. Crossland scooted once for 10m and Johnson grabbed 13m in his dummy half run (Nicoll-Klokstad had a 3m scoot too), which shows how effective these runs can be. Running around the ruck, whether from dummy half or off a short pass, is crucial in winning rugby league games because in rips the middle defence apart and opens up space out wide; Harry Grant is the best example and he had 5 DHR for 42m.

This was balanced by heaps of offloads for Kiwis. They had 15 offloads vs Australia and with Kini loitering as well as nimble forwards capable of getting between defenders, offloading should work well against Tonga. Balance is the key idea though as Kiwis need to offer more variety in how they kick and attack. Crossland was on point with his physicality and intent in his Test debut, now he should add a few more dummy half bursts to his mahi vs Tonga.

Crossland joins a delightful young core for Aotearoa, however he is the only one who didn't play junior footy in New Zealand. Kini, Wabrick, Naufahu Whyte and Riki made their debuts for Aotearoa last week and they join Matthew Timoko, Griffin Neame and Thompson who made their debuts last year. Here's what they did vs Tonga...

• Keano Kini (20yrs): 26 runs - 254m @ 9.7m/run, 5 tackle breaks, 1 offload, 2 tackles @ 33.3%

• Matthew Timoko (24yrs): 16 runs - 173m @ 10.8m/run, 3 tackle breaks, 9 tackles @ 69.2%

• Will Warbrick (26yrs): 1 try, 16 runs - 182m @ 11.3m/run, 2 linebreaks, 4 tackles @ 80%

• Phoenix Crossland (24yrs): 70mins, 1 run - 10m, 1 tackle break, 48 tackles @ 92.3%

• Naufahu Whyte (22yrs): 42mins, 15 runs - 147m @ 9.8m/run, 5 tackle breaks, 3 offloads, 29 tackles @ 100%

• Griffin Neame (23yrs): 47mins, 14 runs - 141m @ 10m/run, 3 tackle breaks, 31 tackles @ 96.8%

• Jordan Riki (24yrs): 26mins, 3 runs - 27m @ 9m/run, 2 tackle breaks, 1 offload, 14 tackles @ 100%

Leo Thompson (24yrs) last two NRL seasons…

• 2023: 25 games, 1 try, 3 offloads, 85m/game, 93.5% tackling

• 2024: 23 games, 1 try, 10 offloads, 104m/game, 93.2% tackling

Kiwi Ferns head to PNG and will benefit greatly from a few days on tour. Shanice Parker replaces Apii Nicholls at fullback with Mackenzie Wiki filling Parker's spot on the wing, while the forward pack has Alexis Tauaneai moving from bench to starting prop and Angelina Teakaraanga-Katoa moving back to the bench. Otesa Pule and debutant Brooke Talataina are promoted to the bench with Annessa Biddle and Tiana Davison dropping out along with Nicholls.

The most important aspect of Kiwi Ferns footy is the halves combination. Tyla King and Gayle Broughton have played lots of footy together but the Test vs Australia was their first outing as a halves combo. They did well to share the kicking mahi as King had five kicks and Broughton had eight, however they combined for 6 runs - 38m with just a single tackle bust.

Brooke Anderson was busy around the ruck (6 DHR - 37m @ 6.1m/run). Nicholls, Parker and Abigail Roache all had a DHR as well and one of Broughton's four runs came from dummy half. That's enough running around the ruck but a strong defensive team like Australia steadily slid sideways when King and Broughton had the footy, limiting the space for Kiwi Ferns out on the edges where the likes of Mele Hufanga and Hall were.

This is amplified by having Georgia Hale in the middle as she is an excellent passer. When mixed in with the King/Broughton combo finding their way and making sure others get the footy, there wasn't enough direct running to engage defenders in the middle. That's a detail that is crucial to defeating Australia but hopefully this won't be much of a factor in PNG where Kiwi Ferns should have too much power and skill.

A moment that defined the whole Aotearoa vs Australia game day was Alexis Tauaneai being monstered by Simaima Taufa and Millie Elliott just as Kiwi Ferns had got a penalty to start their set in Aussie territory. Tauaneai was on debut vs Australia and despite being the best young forward in NRLW, the Aussies introduced Tauaneai to international rugby league. This sets up the PNG Test as Kiwi Ferns will need to dominant their opposition physically, especially on their home turf and everything else should flow from there.

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