New Zealand's south island has produced another NRL contracted player, with Leini Fanua set to join the South Sydney Rabbitohs.
A rising star who has made his way through representative programmes on the south island, Fanua played his junior rugby league in Invercargill.
From there, he worked his way onto major teams, and then joined the New Zealand Warriors Southern Zone Academy.
That led to him moving to Auckland, and now, according to the Southland Tribune, Australia, where he has joined the South Sydney Rabbitohs.
The report suggests he has signed a two-year deal through to the end of the 2028 season, with both seasons to see him part of the development squad.
Fanua, a talented outside back, has caught the eye of talent scouts at every level he has played in New Zealand, and represented the Tongan under-15 side a few years ago.
The Southern Island of New Zealand has traditionally lagged behind the north in producing rugby league talent, but the Warriors have taken over the sporting landscape of the country in recent times.
Travelling around the country whether in season or in pre-season trials, the Auckland-based club have sold out games and attention is now reaching fever pitch as the season reaches the finals.
With the NRL now actively working towards announcing before the end of this year a 20th team to expand with in 2029, the Southern Orcas, to be based out of Christchurch are one of the favourites.
New Zealand, long a breeding ground for elite rugby league talent, will only become stronger with another club, and Orcas bid chief Andrew Chalmers told Zero Tackle earlier this year that the nation's ESP (Educational Sports Program) trust was making significant waves in the country.
"Building elite pathways is absolutely essential. From our perspective, one of the things the Orcas have done, and I'm sort of fortunate because I chair a trust, the ESP Trust, which is 'Education Sports Program' trust," Chalmers revealed.
"Just to give you a snapshot of the success of the ESP Trust, it's been running since 2020, and if I just focus on the first 5 years of the ESP trusts work, and the first five years, they've had 171 young boys come through that program, and their age between 13 and 14.
"Of the 171 that have come through that program, 69 of those players have signed pathways or development contracts with NRL clubs, 69 out of 171. And 29 of those actually went to the Warriors."
Fanua will link up with the Rabbitohs ahead of the 2027 season and work his way through the club's pathways over the coming 24 months.
