The annual check in with Kiwi-NRL Juniors Who Helped Australian Teams Make Finals is slightly different this year as there was no Under 21 Hastings Deering Colts competition in Queensland. This leaves Under 19 Mal Meninga Cup as the notable Queensland competition to cover as well as Under 19 SG Ball Cup and Under 21 Jersey Cup in New South Wales.

The Kiwi-NRL Juniors Who Helped Australian Teams Make Finals In 2021

The Kiwi-NRL Juniors Who Helped Australian Teams Make Finals In 2022

The Kiwi-NRL Juniors Who Helped Australian Teams Make Finals In 2023

Tweed Seagulls won the MMC final against Burleigh 36-12 and while these lads didn't score tries in the final, Tweed were well served by Kaikohe's Mason Barber at fullback and Marist junior Ryder Williams in the halves. Williams was the youngest player mentioned in this yarn for Gold Coast Titans about development players who were training with their NRL squad and this put Williams amongst the best young halves from Aotearoa.

Barber went on to represent Australian Schoolboys this year and this continues the theme of Kiwi-NRL juniors making the Aussie Schoolboys team in four consecutive years. Deine Mariner (Marist) made the 2021 squad after leaving Auckland, followed by Keano Kini (Northcote) in 2022 and then John Fineanganofo (Auckland Grammar School) last year.

All four of these Kiwi-NRL juniors who grew up in Aotearoa are outside backs, with Mariner (Broncos) and Kini (Titans) already slotting into regular NRL footy. Fineanganofo is with Dolphins and featured in the 2023 edition last year as a MMC player while also making his Queensland Cup debut, before he played six more Q Cup games this year.

There is a interesting gap between U19s and Queensland Cup now which sets up intrigue around Barber's progress next year with North Queensland Cowboys. Barber isn't alone as a talented Kiwi-NRL junior in the Cowboys system. Jeremiah Mata'utia (Otara) and Henry Teutau (Marist) featured in the last two versions of this yarn after leaving Auckland to join Cowboys and they are now training with the Cowboys NRL squad.

Disharne Tonihi also played on the wing for Burleigh in the MMC final and he has links back to Shirley in Christchurch. Brisbane Broncos listed Tonihi as one of their juniors playing in the MMC final and Tonihi went on to be selected in Queensland's Under 18 Emerging squad. We can’t predict what representative eligibility choices these youngsters will make and Tonihi's link to Shirley comes from this Canterbury Rugby League list in 2015.

We keep learning about all the young wahine from Aotearoa who have moved to Australia to pursue rugby league opportunities. While still in the learning process, I can't quite offer a comprehensive break down but there are a few notable wrinkles that deserve to be mentioned...

The Australian Schoolgirls squad this year had Seriah Palepale (Mangere East) and Trinity Tauaneai (Wainuiomata) after they both excelled at Bass High School. This is extra funky because they were both part of the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs team that won the Under 17 Lisa Fiola Cup, alongside a bunch of NRLWahine juniors from Aotearoa.

This yarn highlights the wider trend of Bulldogs investment in Kiwi-NRL/NRLWahine juniors from Aotearoa and it was followed by another break down of how Bulldogs will enter their first season of NRLW footy with strong links to Aotearoa. Given that Palepale and Tauaneai started as middle forwards in the 36-0 LFC final win vs Wests Tigers and then cracked the Aussie Schoolgirls team, they have quickly established themselves as top notch forwards in Australia.

Tauaneai was also playing NSW Women's Premiership for Illawara Steelers, who won the final 10-6 vs Newcastle Knights. The Steelers team also had fellow Wainuiomata junior Jessica Patea on the wing and she made her debut for Samoa in the Pacific Championships. While not in NRLWahine junior bracket, the Knights team had Isabella Waterman (Sydenham) and Grace Kukutai (Lynfield College) playing in that final while Otara's Fane Finau didn't play the final but was in the team for most of the season at edge forward or centre.

All of which reinforces the observation about Bulldogs loving Aotearoa. Bulldogs made the SG Ball final where they lost 18-40 to St George Dragons and they won the Jersey Flegg final 14-12 against Cronulla Sharks. Just like the U17 women's team, Bulldogs made both these finals with a bunch of Kiwi-NRL juniors.

The Bulldogs SG Ball team that played in the final had Roy Tatupu (Mt Albert Grammar) at fullback, Shaye Fa'aoga (Pt Chevalier) at centre, Sosaia Alatini (Hornby) at edge forward and Sione Siulua (Manurewa) on the bench. Along with Alatini, the Bulldogs connection to Christchurch was also evident in Cheldon Hayward (Linwood) playing SG Ball this year, while Bronson Reuben (Kaiapoi) was 18th-lad a few times and had one game of Jersey Flegg.

Bulldogs had Cassius Tia (Marist) at halfback, Fahmy Toilalo (Otahuhu) at lock and Callum Donaldson (West Coast) on the bench in their Jersey Flegg final win. Mt Albert junior Alekolasimi Jones also played for Bulldogs in Jersey Flegg this season and he had two games of NSW Cup, along with Tia and Donaldson who dabbled in NSW Cup footy this year.

Tia has featured in the last two editions of the Kiwi-NRL Juniors Who Helped Australian Teams Win, while he was with Roosters. The quality of young halves from Aotearoa is the best example of rugby league's growth in Aotearoa and Tia offers a crisp example of this quality as he played in the 2022 SG Ball final, 2023 Jersey Flegg final and now the 2024 Jersey Flegg final as a play-maker.

The Sharks team who lost the Jersey Flegg final to Bulldogs featured Salesi Ataata (Otahuhu) at starting prop and Felix Fa'atili (Hornby) on the bench. Richie Tupuailei (Halswell/Hornby) also played four games for Sharks U21s this year but didn't play in the final and as Ataata recently made a move to join Rabbitohs, Tupuailei could have more opportunities next season if he's still with Sharks.

Fa'atili will be pushing for more NSW Cup footy next season after playing one game of reserve grade this season. Sharks have a hearty crew of Kiwi-NRL juniors in their pipeline with the likes of Pharrell Gray (Victoria Hunters/Rongotai College), Cairo Rangihuna-Ruri (Linwood), Manako Piutau (St Paul's College) and Sione Latu (Palmerston North Boys/Scots College) playing SG Ball this season.