Up and coming league players to play in Rotorua

Rotorua Boys' High School pupil Rayna Whakaari in action during a New Zealand Residents Under-16 trial game against Counties Manukau in Auckland earlier this month. Photo / Supplied

Some of New Zealand's best young league players will go head to head in Rotorua in what is sure to be a blockbuster.

Rotorua's Puketawhero Park is quickly becoming one of the country's premier rugby league grounds and on Saturday it will host a one-off match between the New Zealand Resident 16s and the New Zealand Maori 17s.

New Zealand Rugby League national talent manager David McMeeken said there would some talented athletes on display.

"A lot of these boys have been through our New Zealand pathways so it's quite a compliment of what New Zealand has to offer.

"The residents side has been selected from the national youth tournament held in Rotorua in September and the Maori side is the best players from the Queen's Birthday weekend rangatahi tournament.

"It will be a tough fixture, we didn't want them to have a fixture where they'll just roll over their opposition.

"I think both teams will go in evenly matched, a lot of the boys already have affiliations or contracts with NRL clubs - it's the best players New Zealand has to offer in these age groups," McMeeken said.

He said Rotorua was a hub of activity for rugby league.

"A lot of our tournaments are held there, it's the middle of the country and the culture there really promotes our game.

"Puketawhero is an outright rugby league ground, it's a fantastic venue and Bay of Plenty are fantastic hosts."

New Zealand Residents coach Andrew Auimatagi said he expected a tough battle.

"We're looking forward to it, we're pretty happy with the team we've assembled.

"We've got a good mix of boys in there and a few characters, so I'm looking forward to seeing what they can do," Auimatagi said.

He said they would talk a lot about what it meant to represent New Zealand.

"It's their first opportunity to represent New Zealand, so our three days together leading into the game there will be a lot of talk around what the jersey means and what it means to take the first step on that pathway.

"The big thing for us is bringing the boys together and getting them to connect and gel as a group, we're just looking for the boys to put their best foot forward and execute their roles as best they can."

Included in the New Zealand residents side is Rotorua Boys' High School pupil Rayna Whakaari, who will play on the wing.

The 16-year-old has had a stellar year having already represented the NZ Maori under-16 team, achieved Pasifika Youth Cup under-16s tournament team selection, attended an NZRL national high performance camp and signed a two-year contract with the Sydney Roosters.

Rayna said being selected in the New Zealand residents side was his proudest achievement to date.

"It's a big honour to be able to represent my country.

"I just want to do my role and be the best I can be," he said.

He said his main responsibilities as a winger would be getting under the high balls and communicating well.

The game kicks off at 1pm on Saturday.