The Kiwi-NRL Summer Guide wanders around around Sydney to cover the emerging talent from Aotearoa with Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs, Wests Tigers, Parramatta Eels and Penrith Panthers. Check in with these yarns too…

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Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs

Sitili Tupouniua (Marist) joins the Bulldogs top-30 tier which doubles their Kiwi-NRL junior crew with Randwick junior Karl Oloapu still in the mix. Bulldogs rarely had a Kiwi-NRL junior in their team throughout the 2024 season but are one of the most active NRL teams in recruiting from Aotearoa, which is starting to flow into their fringe NRL squad.

Hornby junior Sosaia Alatini is on the supplementary list for Bulldogs after a strong season in Under 19 SG Ball this year. Alatini was a consistent presence at edge forward and scored 11 tries in his 12 games of U21s, also dabbling in Under 21 Jersey Flegg. Bulldogs have a strong connection to Canterbury Rugby League and Alatini is the leading Kiwi-NRL junior from Christchurch in the Bulldogs system right now.

Bulldogs also have Cassius Tia (Marist) and Alekolasimi Jones (Mt Albert) in the Train/Trial tier. Tia is a half who was initially recruited by Roosters from Auckland and after three seasons in their system, he switched to Bulldogs where he spent most of the season in U21s. Jones was a standout forward at St Paul's College and was recruited by Bulldogs where he has played two seasons of U19/U21.

Both stepped up to play a bit of NSW Cup this year and will benefit from a summer training block alongside Alatini. All three of these Kiwi-NRL juniors will be aiming for regular NSW Cup game time where they could be joined by West Coast junior Callum Donaldson if he is still with Bulldogs.

Donaldson played 24 games of U21s and three games of NSW Cup for Bulldogs as a smaller, gritty middle forward. This fits the profile of forwards who Bulldogs have signed for their NRL team along with Jones, so it will be interesting to track Donaldson's progress over the next six months.

Parramatta Eels

Haze Dunster (Rotorua) and Wiremu Greig (Whangarei) are competing for more NRL game time under new coach Jason Ryles, while Te Hurinui Apanui Twidle (Turangawaewae) is the most notable Kiwi-NRL junior in the tier below the top-30 group. Twidle is on a Train/Trial deal after a classy season of U21 footy for Eels in which he mainly played fullback but also rolled through halves mahi.

Twidle played 12 games of U19s in 2023 and mixed in 16 games of U21s, before slotting into the Eels U21s team this year with 19 games. While he is one of the best sneaky Kiwi-NRL juniors in Australia, Twidle will need to showcase his talent in NSW Cup and Eels have plenty of fullback/halves depth that will challenge the youngster from Waikato.

Wests Tigers

Despite making his debut and offering steady mahi at edge or middle forward last season, Reuben Porter (Te Atatu) is listed in the development/supplementary list. Tigers have added a few forwards to their top-30 group and like he has throughout his career since being recruited by Roosters from Auckland, Porter will need to earn any NRL opportunities that come his way.

Eiden Ackland (Mt Albert) is in the Tigers Train/Trial deal as he continues to grind in pursuit of an NRL debut. Ackland came up through the NZ Warriors system and had a NSW Cup stint with Sea Eagles before returning to Mt Smart to play reserve grade in 2023. As an older emerging half, Ackland is likely to stay in NSW Cup next year and along with Porter, these lads offer maturity to a young Tigers group.

Both seem to have connected well with coach Benji Marshall as well. Marshall gave Porter a crack at NRL footy last season and while he did play NSW Cup for NZ Warriors in 2023, Ackland was recruited to Sydney from Fox Memorial this year so he must have ticked the boxes that Marshall was looking for.

Sione Vaihu (Waitemata) has also been in the Tigers system for four seasons, playing three years in U19s and U21s. Last year Vaihu had a few pre-season appearances for Tigers and played more NSW Cup games (16) than U21 games (9), where he combined edge forward and centre mahi. Vaihu hasn’t appeared in any contract lists for Tigers but they have invested in recruiting him from Auckland as well as developing him so he could be a young forward to watch out for in reserve grade next season.

Penrith Panthers

Preston Riki (Mt Albert) is in the Panthers top-30 where he will be aiming to help plug the hole left by his Hokianga homie James Fisher-Harris. Having only played one game of NRL footy last season which was his debut, Riki is competing for a few more bench minutes this season. Panthers love to slowly develop players in NSW Cup, especially if they aren't local juniors who came through the Panthers pipeline and after leaving NZ Warriors, Riki seems primed to step up after three seasons at Panthers.

Panthers also middle forward have Austin Dias (Taniwharau) on a Train/Trial contract. Dias has had stints with Bulldogs, Magpies (Tigers) and Sea Eagles before joining Panthers during last season and this is aligned with Riki having multiple seasons of reserve grade experience before joining Panthers.

Dias sits behind Riki in the middle forward rankings for Panthers, yet both are well equipped to offer consistent bench mahi next season. The Panthers system has consistently produced strong role-players for a winning NRL team and these two serve as the latest experiment of how Panthers develop players, especially those who have been steady in NSW Cup.

Panthers also have David Fale (Marist) in their Train/Trial group. Fale played for Auckland U19s against a touring France team in 2019 alongside Sea Eagles winger and fellow Marist junior Raymond Tuaimalo-Vaega before moving to Australia. Fale appears to have first hit the Canberra area and then worked his way through the Panthers pipeline, starting with local footy for St Mary's.

Fale played three games of NSW Cup in 2023 and then 19 last season, switching between wing and centre. On top of the Riki/Dias development arc for Panthers, Fale's rise is similar to Trent Toelau who earned Aotearoa Kiwis selection this year. Toelau also came through St Mary's after moving from the Melbourne Storm system and this shows how Panthers use their affiliated clubs below NSW Cup to integrate new talent.

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