Alec MacDonald isn't a well known Aotearoa Kiwis prospect and for many Kiwi-NRL fans he isn't even a well known NRL trooper, but MacDonald is the prototypical Melbourne Storm player who has flourished under coach Craig Bellamy. MacDonald was born in Auckland and apparently he moved to Australia as a youngster where he came up through Ormeau Shearers which is located between Brisbane and Gold Coast.

Below are highlights of MacDonald playing for Ormeau and then in 2020 he had a stint playing rugby union in Brisbane. MacDonald apparently popped up for Under 21s footy with Wynnum in 2020 as well, before settling there in 2021 where he won their U21s Player of the Year. MacDonald dabbled in Queensland Cup footy for Wynnum that year and was scouted by Storm to join their summer training ahead of 2022.

In his first year with Storm, MacDonald played 12 NRL games and repeated that dose with 12 games in 2023. MacDonald has now played all six games in 2024 and the fact that MacDonald has quickly progressed in the Storm system, while other more high profile forwards have struggled for game time, provides insight into MacDonald's style as a Storm forward.

MacDonald rips in and any bloke who rips in to this level in the Storm system deserves a salute. Big enough to provide middle forward mahi in the NRL, MacDonald is also quick for a forward and is always a willing worker for Storm. This means that MacDonald loves to tackle, take tough runs and mop up anything by adding another defender to a tackling or making an extra effort to cover a hole.

The Storm angle is immense here because MacDonald is commanding game time through his mana for an NRL team that is well known for their 'effort areas'. MacDonald didn't just make his NRL debut after his first summer with Storm, he played 56mins on debut and averaged 33.5mins in his first season. This is amplified by averaging 33.8mins last season and 34.2mins this season, which aren't all that different to his debut season and highlights how MacDonald offered reliable Storm mahi sraight away.

MacDonald hasn't dipped below 95% tackling efficiency in his three seasons. This season MacDonald has missed just seven tackles in his total of 142 made tackles and while he isn't a big metre eater, MacDonald's relative speed for a forward ensures that he does his job with the footy. This season has seen MacDonald register four offloads already which is a career high and he's got four tackle breaks this year, which may see him overtake his previous best (12 and 10 tackle breaks).

Aotearoa Kiwis do not lack big boppers. Leo Thompson and Griffin Neame made their debuts for Aotearoa last year for example, while Cook Islands international Xavier Willison is from Waikato and he could be the next young Kiwis forward to play for Aotearoa. While less trendy than every other Aotearoa Kiwis young forward on the rise, MacDonald is the ideal bloke to at least have in a squad given that his effort and work has impressed at Storm.

There could be a role in any Aotearoa Kiwis squad coming up for a reliable worker like MacDonald. This is especially intriguing when balancing the size of various forwards and Nelson Asofa-Solomona provides a lovely example at Storm. MacDonald has demanded game time at Storm through his rugged mahi and if it's good enough for Storm, don't overlook the value MacDonald can offer Aotearoa Kiwis.

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