NZ Kiwis coach Michael Maguire has hinted at some tactical trickery tucked up his sleeve for Saturday's Pacific Championship showdown with Toa Samoa on Saturday, specifically in the way he'll use two of his most potent backline weapons.
Maguire has the luxury of both Sydney Roosters star Joseph Manu and NZ Warriors standout Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad to call upon at Eden Park, where he's chosen to start the former at fullback and the latter at centre - a role reversal to how they lined up at last year's World Cup.
But with both arguably equally adept at either position, Maguire says he plans to vary the way the pair are used during the course of the test, as he attempts to extract the most offensive impact possible.
Nicoll-Klokstad's sparkling form throughout the Warriors' run to the NRL finals was impossible to ignore and has forced Maguire into a rethink regarding his line-up.
"Charnze has had a really good year, building his combos, and building the habits of what it takes to be a fullback
"It will allow me to put [Manu] back there at some stages as well, giving me a bit of blend of how I can do things.
"But I've been really pleased with how [Nicoll-Klokstad] has gone this year and obviously off the back of a good year with the Warriors, he deserved the opportunity to start at fullback."
Manu has spent the majority of his tenure with the NRL's Roosters at centre, with one of the sport's best custodians, James Tedesco, at fullback.
He started almost every game at fullback for the Kiwis during last year's run to the semi-finals, earning the Golden Boot award as the tournament's best player.
While he wouldn’t delve into details, Maguire says he'll follow a blueprint laid by the Roosters to ensure Manu is still able to return his fair share of the ball from the backfield, operating in tandem with Nicoll-Klokstad.
"Joey plays clubland where he can have a bit of a blend of both as well, so you can mix it up," said Maguire.
"We've tinkered around with how we want to do things with Joey, to be able to get him going through the middle of the park. I'm sure he'll scare a few once he gets in there
"Charnze will start...but the blend of how we play - we'll that play out we've tinkered around with."
Both will need to be on song against a wounded Samoa team, who couldn't recover from an opening quarter blitz from the Kangaroos in their series opener in Townsville last weekend.
Although the team looks vastly different to that which took on the Australians in last year's World Cup final, Maguire believes Toa Samoa remain equally dangerous.
"Samoa obviously went through to the final, which is what we're after. They’ve got that experience," he noted.
"We'll look forward to what we have to do on the weekend – taking where we've been to where we want to get to
"They're a strong team. They've had a game now, so they'd have gelled together in a way that a bit of practice does.
The Kiwis outfit has also undergone an overhaul of its own, with four debutants on deck for their tournament opener – changes mostly forced through injury and players preferring to after a long NRL season.
"I've been really pleased how our boys have come into training. We've got to make sure we hone in on that and take that out on Saturday."
The sides haven't met since the 2017 World Cup, when New Zealand prevailed 38-8 at Mt Smart.
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