DEBUTANT RIKI JOINS ISAAKO AND NEAME IN KIWIS’ PACIFIC CHAMPIONSHIPS SQUAD

Uncapped Hornby Panthers product Jordan Riki has been named alongside Aranui Eagles junior Jamayne Isaako and West Coast’s Griffin Neame, a Halswell Hornets junior player, for the Kiwis’ Pacific Championships title defence.

Isaako and Neame were heroes of the Kiwis’ stunning 30-0 rout of the Kangaroos in the 2023 final in Hamilton, while Brisbane Broncos second-rower Riki’s call-up for a potential Test debut follows his selection in New Zealand’s wider squad for the mid-season Test against Tonga in 2022.

Dolphins winger Isaako, recalled by the Kiwis after a four-year absence last season, scored two tries and kicked five goals in the momentous victory, and North Queensland Cowboys forward Neame capped his maiden international campaign with his first Kiwis try in the triumph.

Isaako and Neame will be hopeful of retaining their Test spots for New Zealand’s opening Pacific Championships assignment, a blockbuster against Australia as part of a double-header alongside the Kiwi Ferns v Jillaroos clash at Apollo Projects Stadium on Sunday, October 27.

The Test will be the Kiwis’ first in Ōtautahi Christchurch since 2019, when Isaako starred with five goals and a field goal in a 23-8 win over Great Britain.

The South Island trio weren’t yet born when New Zealand and Australia last squared off in the city, at QEII Stadium in 1989.

Isaako backed up his career-best 2023 season – in which he led the NRL with 244 points, scored 24 tries to earn the Dolphins’ inaugural Player of the Year award and was named as a winger in the Dally M Team of the Year – with another strong campaign for the premiership’s newest club.

The 28-year-old scored 12 tries among a season haul of 223 points, taking his career tallies to 63 tries and 1,041 points in 136 games since making his NRL debut in 2017.

Neame, 23, featured in every one of the Cowboys’ 26 matches in 2024 – including both finals games – to extend his number of first-grade appearances to 69 since earning his NRL spurs in 2021.

Griffin’s father, Chris, represented West Coast and Canterbury, as well as enjoying CRL premiership glory with the Hornets.

Junior Kiwis and Māori All Stars rep Riki debuted for the Broncos in 2020 and has been a mainstay of their pack in recent seasons, featuring in their 2023 NRL grand final loss and making 22 appearances this season for a total of 89 top-grade games for the club.