"There will be no coming in under the radar this year."
He said a few players were missing from the team which won last year.
"The team is pretty different. There is a couple of senior guys who have been in the team for a long time that aren't available this year," he said.
"So it is a pretty youthful team. But in saying that the guys that have come in are at the top of their games."
The Te Arawa men's team will also be without a handful of current Rotorua Boys' High School players, who are heading to Auckland for the Condor National Sevens tournament.
The Te Arawa team will be led by New Zealand touch representative Shaquille Stone.
Maori Touch New Zealand president Carol Ngawati said the tournament had been running for 17 years, moving to Rotorua last year after being held in Waikato for 16 years.
She said it was a good chance for different iwi to get together and the level of touch was always good.
"It is one of the top-level tournaments in the country in terms of numbers and quality."
She said Te Arawa did a great job of hosting the tournament last year in Rotorua.
"It was fabulous last year. The accommodation and proximity to marae was excellent not to mention the venue and competition," Ngawati said.
A huge group of volunteers will help run the tournament including 60 referees and a group of 50 volunteer staff.
Teams from all over the North Island are taking part as well as a few teams from Queensland.
The divisions at the nationals include under-17s, under-21s, open, and seniors (over-30s). Pool play is tomorrow with finals on Sunday.
