Two Dolphins stars will collide this weekend when the Kiwis take on the Kangaroos, with one relishing to take on his club teammate on the international stage.
Ready to take on teammate Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow on Saturday, Jamayne Isaako is looking to bring down the hammer on him as he looks to defeat him and his Kangaroos' teammates.
The two players have been inseparable this season and have continued their strong form in the Pacific Championships for their respective countries - Tabuai Fidow for Australia and Isaako for New Zealand.
"Definitely looking forward to it, there's been some banter between us leading up to this game," Isaako said when asked about facing Tabuai-Fidow viaย NRL.com.
"It's always special to see your teammates and how they are going, especially Hammer representing Australia.
"To see him and how he shone in the green and gold, I was pretty happy for him."
The Kiwis winger would also go on to recount his stellar 2023 season with The Dolphins that saw him become one of the best wingers in the competition and take out the 2023 Dally M Winger of the Year award.
He would also top the try-scoring and point-scoring leaderboard, as well as scoring a double against Samoa last weekend in a 50-0 demolition of their opponents.
Isaako was extremely impressed with the confidence that Wayne Bennett had in him that saw him transition from the Brisbane Broncos to the Gold Coast Titans to The Dolphins in the space of one year.
"The confidence that Wayne and the coaching staff at the Dolphins have been able to instill in me and bring back, obviously I haven't really been playing with too much confidence over the last couple of years," he added.
"I've spent a lot of time trying to get that confidence back over the pre-season.
"They've given me full confidence coming into this season and then obviously coming into camp with the Kiwis.
Former New Zealand Kiwis representative with 25 caps under his belt, Tony Kemp, spoke about what the Kangaroos need to watch out for when taking on the Kiwis and what impressed him in the match against Samoa.
Mainly, Kemp singled out the four players that played a huge difference in the side, giving massive props to the national team's spine - Charzne Nicoll-Klokstad, Dylan Brown, Jarome Hughes and Fa'amanu Brown.
โ(Jahrome Hughes and Dylan Brown) could be our halves pairing for years to come,โ Kemp toldย SEN 1170 Afternoons.
โThere was no Brandon Smith, Fa'amanu Brown playing at hooker for the first time (he) didn't miss a beat.
โThe spine was probably where the difference in the sides was going forward, they really sliced them up in the back.
โJahrome Huges is one hell of a player, Dylan Brown seems to be building some combination with him, I guess it's something the Kangaroos need to look out for.โ
โThe edges were really good yesterday, young (Matthew) Timoko besides arguably one of the best centres that New Zealand has ever produced (Joey Manu) is a real find,โ Kemp added.
โCharnze Nicoll-Klokstad from the back, taking over from Joey Manu who played fullback for New Zealand last year, played probably as hard out as well in that black jersey.
โIn today's age when you get limited Test time and limited games at the international level, when you can say the Kiwis pull off such a convincing win, you've got to question the international game and whether more games need to be played around Origin time.โ
The New Zealand Kiwis will take on the Australian Kangaroos on Saturday in Melbourne, Victoria, at AAMI Park.
