NZ Residents 16s & 18s Teams Named

NZ Residents 16s & 18s Teams Named

Auckland, September 18, 2012 - Today’s announcement of the NZ Residents 16s and 18s teams to travel to Australia next month is another demonstration of the growing success of New Zealand Rugby League’s player development pathway.

Both teams include a number of players who have been involved with the NZRL’s National Competition, with players from all seven Zones making the NZ 16s. They will be lead by Kadince Christensen, who plays for the Northern Swords and recently represented Whangarei Boys High School at the National Secondary Schools Rugby League tournament.

When the selectors announced their initial 30 man train-on squads, they committed to considering players from outside the group if they played well during the national competition or at the National Secondary Schools tournament. Ariel Tusiane of Otahuhu College has benefited from this, not named in the train-on squad, he has been chosen for the NZ Residents 16s due his performances at the recent National Secondary Schools Rugby League tournament. Ken Maumalo, of the Counties Manukau Stingrays premiers has been chosen for the NZ Residents 18s due to his impressive performances in the Pirtek National Premiership.

Coach of the 16s Jeff Whittaker said, “The Coaching group are all really excited about the 19 boys we’ve chosen. It was a really hard job to cut the squad down and at least half a dozen boys missed out due to the depth of the talent available to us now.

“Thanks to the National Competition the standard across the country is much higher, and you can see that all the Zones are taking the development pathway seriously with all of them represented in our team. The selectors also saw some really good performances at the National Secondary Schools tournament, and it’s great to see Ariel benefiting from this.”

Ricky Henry, coach of the NZ Residents 18s agrees. ” We have chosen a really strong squad, with lots of players from last year who will provide experience. The hardest thing as a coach was selecting the team, knowing that a lot of good players have missed out because we have depth in their position. This tour will provide some great development opportunities for players like Reubenn Rennie and Tuimola Lolohea and I expect the selector’s job will only get harder in coming years.”

NZ Residents 16s Team 2012
Ahurei Winitana, Upper Central
Ariel Tusiane, Counties Manukau
Mafoaa'eata Hingano, Counties Manukau
Bunty Afoa (Vice Captain), Akarana
Christian Mika, Counties Manukau
Daniel Liddicoat, Akarana
Haimona Hiroti, Mid Central
Jacob Diaz, Counties Manukau
Jiordan Fidow-Kele, Southern
Kadince Christensen (Captain), Northern
Kalolo Saitaua, Akarana
Ken Tofilau, Southern
Kurt Bernard, Akarana
Losi Filipo, Wellington
Michael Uluakiol, Akarana
Ofahiki Ogden, Counties Manukau
Richard Timoti, Akarana
Semisi Vea, Akarana
Sheldon Pitama, Southern

NZ Residents 16s Staff:
Coach Jeff Whittaker, Southern
Assistant Coach Moehewa Armstrong, Upper Central
Manager Anita Smith-McKinnon, Akarana
Trainer Greg Davis, Mid Central

NZ Residents 18s Team 2012
Adam Tuimavave-Gerrard, Akarana
Afatasi Lio-Collins, Counties Manukau
Braxton Stanley, Akarana
Danny Levi, Wellington
David Fusitua, Akarana
Eric Newbigging, Counties Manukau
James Taylor, Akarana
Joseph Tapine, Wellington
Katimiro Atera, Counties Manukau
Ken Maumalo, Counties Manukau
Kouma Samson, Akarana
Kurt Robinson, Wellington
Mason Lino, Akarana
Ngataua Hukutai, Akarana
Reubenn Rennie, Counties Manukau
Sam Lisone, Counties Manukau
Tama Koopu, Upper Central
Tuimola Lolohea, Akarana
Viliami Kaveinga, Counties Manukau

NZ Residents 18s staff:
Coach Ricky Henry, Akarana
Assistant Coach Tom Ball, Southern
Manager Mel Rutene, Upper Central
Trainer Dave McDermott, Akarana

ENDS

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