Fiji came out to play against the Kiwis and came desperately close to stunning Michael Maguire’s side, raising concerns in the New Zealand camp.
Meanwhile, both fullbacks Sunia Turuva and Joey Manu delivered and shone for their respective teams.
Read below for the three big talking points from the Kiwis’ quarterfinals win.
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KIWI CONCERNS EMERGE
While Michael Maguire’s side came away with a 24-18 victory over Fiji — New Zealand won’t be happy with their performance.
In the first half the Kiwis were dominated by the Bati and were unable to match their physicality.
The Kiwis stormed home late to steal victory from the grasps of Fiji, but Fox League’s Corey Parker raised concerns over their attack.
“The fluency we see so often in the NRL, it is not there, and it’s stop start, they need to get into that long game,” Parker said.
“Field position, don’t score off every play, they really need to get themselves into this one.”
Gun winger Jordan Rapana also said his side were “far from our best” as they point their focus towards a huge semi final against the Kangaroos.
“Credit to Fiji though, they came out hard and fast and we just couldn’t match it with them,” Rapana said.
“Some discipline let us down in the first 10 minutes, you do that to any team it is going to come back and bite you on the bum.”
“You give Australia a 12-point lead, it is hard to come back from that so we need to make sure our defence and attack is much better.”
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‘TERRIFIC’ TURUVA STUNS
Fijian flyer Sunia Turuva delivered a performance for the ages against New Zealand, turning up in attack and defence as the Bati plotted a huge upset.
While his side were unable to get the victory, the Fijian side can hold their heads high and their 20-year-old fullback left nothing out on the park.
Turuva orchestrated Fiji’s second try with an incisive pass for veteran Kevin Naqaima to score and hold a 12-6 lead going into halftime.
“He is a ball of energy, what he has been able to provide, his ability to pop up in all parts of the field,” Fox League’s Corey Parker said.
“Terrific player, we have seen him early on this year in rep round stand up for the Fijians, he is doing it again.
“He has had a terrific first half, nobody has given the Fijians a hope, yet it is 12-6.”
Fox League’s commentators went as far to say the young gun was having “the game of his life”.
Turuva finished the contest 165 running metres, four tackle breaks, a try assists and a linebreak assist in a valiant performance.
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MANU MAN OF THE MATCH
New Zealand fullback Joey Manu once again was the best player on the field with a stellar performance to edge out the Fijians.
The 26-year-old was everywhere and recorded a ridiculous statline — 304 running metres, 87 post-contact metres, 11 tackle breaks and a crucial try.
Trailing by six points with only 18 minutes left in the contest, Manu supported winger Ronaldo Mulitalo on the inside and charged over the tryline to level the score.
“The support of the fullback to score the try, he is all class isn’t he,” the commentator said.
“In the Dally M Team of the Year Manu, he is just so instinctive, any time there is half a break he is there.”
Manu earned the Man of the Match award “rightly so” according to Fox League’s Corey Parker, but pointed the praise back on the Fijian side’s performance post-match.
“They came out to play tonight, you have got to give Fiji credit and it ended up being a good match, it was nice,” Manu said.
“There is a lot of pride behind these jerseys, heritage, culture and particularly for the Pacific Island nations, that’s why Fiji turns up.
“It was always going to be a body on the line game, from a fans point of view it was nice to see a really close match.”
