Something is brewing on the Gold Coast and it smells like the emerging stench of a Kiwi-NRL powerhouse.

There were never going to be winners or losers in the two Kiwi-NRL finals games over the weekend as high quality and quantity Kiwi-NRL teams Melbourne Storm and Manly Sea Eagles fell short against two teams who offer more specific fairytale yarns in Penrith Panthers and South Sydney Rabbitohs.

Kiwi-NRL veterans will be on show in the third week of NRL finals footy, although most of the funk sits with the golden crop of Kiwi-NRL talent with Rabbitohs vs Sea Eagles and Storm vs Panthers.

Two rounds of Kiwi-NRL finals footy tucked away and Morgan Harper's introduction to footy in September is providing a fun journey to follow.

In tracking all things Kiwi-NRL the mahi of Deine Mariner in Australia has caught my attention not only as Mariner's clearly a high quality Kiwi-NRL prospect but also because this falls into alignment with wider Kiwi-NRL ideas.

Expect a hearty bounce back from the Kiwi-NRL Sea Eagles, while James Fisher-Harris comes up against a ruthless Eels forward pack.

The first round of NRL finals footy dished up plenty of Kiwi-NRL intrigue as every base was covered. There were dominant performances commanding plenty off attention, more subtle Kiwi-NRL contributions and some low key deep cuts that reflect the Kiwi-NRL funk.

Monster weekend of Kiwi-NRL finals footy coming up. We’ve got a breakdown of the Kiwi-NRL players and notes on match ups, key players and stats.