Kevin Naiqama?

[shumbah]

Brothers and Fijian Test stars Wes and Kevin Naiqama are gearing up to sport the Penrith jumper for the final time this weekend.

With Wes moving over to England to play with the London Broncos and Kevin shifting over to Concord to play for the Wests Tigers in 2015, they will see out their time together at the foot of mountains against the Northern Pride in the inaugural NRL State Championship.

After extending their seasons by a week after winning the NSW Cup last weekend against their old club Newcastle, it will also be the end of the brothers spending their days at the same club, having shared time at the Dragons, Knights and Penrith.

Wes's move to the Hunter in 2008 encouraged his younger brother, almost seven years his junior, to follow suit two years later, allowing the eldest Naiqama the privilege to see his brother grow into the player and person he is today.

"When I first went to Newcastle he followed me as a young boy but then he came through and we played his first grade debut together and in the World Cup teams so it has been a dream come true for us," Wes tells NRL.com.

"I'm proud of him and so is the whole family. He has a big future ahead of him so hopefully he can go to the Tigers next year find his feet and cement himself a spot in the NRL where he deserves to be.

"He has a lot to offer to any club he is at so I'm hopefully he grabs his opportunities next year and performs on the NRL stage."

While 25-year-old Kevin has plenty of time to prosper, Wes has spent the season in NSW Cup, observing that its standard of footy has gone from strength to strength in recent years.

After giving the green light to the concept of having the best Queensland and New South Wales club teams playing off against one another on grand final day, Naiqama is now keen to go out with a flourish, with his brother by his side.

"Reserve grade has certainly come a long way in the past two or three years," Wes said.

"It died off there when the 20s came in – I'm not bagging the Holden Cup – but personally I think we need a step up from there before you go into the NRL.

"The standard is only going to get stronger especially with this new concept coming in."

While the former Fijian captain's time in the NRL may be coming to a close after 121 appearances, Wes insists he is still hungry to succeed in London.

After signing with the Broncos in August, he is eager to put his best foot forward for the ailing club.

"The Broncos were obviously relegated from the Super League this year so the big goal for the players will be to get promoted back for the 2016 season," Wes said. "I'm keen to put forward my best and contribute as much as I can when I get over there."

http://www.nrl.com/blood-thicker-than-water-for-naiqamas/tabid/10874/newsid/82341/default.aspx?cid=NRL_HP_Latest

That's good enough for me. Welcome to Wests Tigers Kev.

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[jirskyr]

I'M NOT CONVINCED!

 

[Snapper]

Good tough player.
Welcome to the Tigers.

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[westy81]

Funny how both Kevin N and brad T have both been said in the media that they have signed with the tigers, but still no official announcement from the Tigers still ?

They should just come out already and say they signed them its like the worse kept secret

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[TrueTiger]

Don't want to upset the conversation,however a die hard Panthers supporter who comes to my work told me Kev couldn't out play Watene-Zelezniak or Mansour for a first grade spot so they let him go,hopefully if he comes to us he can prove them wrong…....

 

[Snapper]

Funny how both Kevin N and brad T have both been said in the media that they have signed with the tigers, but still no official announcement from the Tigers still ?

They should just come out already and say they signed them its like the worse kept secret

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Player Movements have a look

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[Demps]

He;s defo better than Jon Sila.
Will excell if given a shot.

 

[Blake93]

I urge everyone to watch the nsw cup grand final and keep an eye on naiqama. He single-handedly set up at least 2 tries with offloads after getting on the outside of his opponent using speed and strength and seemed very solid in defence

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[fergiefurr]

Don't want to upset the conversation,however a die hard Panthers supporter who comes to my work told me Kev couldn't out play Watene-Zelezniak or Mansour for a first grade spot so they let him go,hopefully if he comes to us he can prove them wrong…....

Josh mansour was a bee's dick off playing for nsw this year and DWZ is one of the most hyped up winger/fullbacks since Greg inglis.

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[phil1986]

Don't want to upset the conversation,however a die hard Panthers supporter who comes to my work told me Kev couldn't out play Watene-Zelezniak or Mansour for a first grade spot so they let him go,hopefully if he comes to us he can prove them wrong…....

Your mates prob correct.

He has talent which is the main thing I am happy about.

Just remember Marty taupau couldn't get a start at the dogs either. He turned out pretty handy for us. Lol

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[brewster13]

Sorry to say phil 1986
Completely irrelevant to our needs
if any where close to them potential wise
He will go great

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[happy_tiger]

25 and hasn't cracked it in grade yet

What's going to change at the WT's ??

From what I saw with Hitchcox and to a lesser extent Fine and the limited viewing of Naiqama I'd stick with our boys

 

[stevetiger]

Don't want to upset the conversation,however a die hard Panthers supporter who comes to my work told me Kev couldn't out play Watene-Zelezniak or Mansour for a first grade spot so they let him go,hopefully if he comes to us he can prove them wrong…....

Josh mansour was a bee's d*** off playing for nsw this year and DWZ is one of the most hyped up winger/fullbacks since Greg inglis.

Its not exactly a negative to be behind those 2 is it. Mansour looks to me to be one of the best wingers in the comp and should be playing SOO and possibly for Australia. The other guy looks really good as well.

 

[851]

25 and hasn't cracked it in grade yet

What's going to change at the WT's ??

From what I saw with Hitchcox and to a lesser extent Fine and the limited viewing of Naiqama I'd stick with our boys

Kevin is way better than Hitchcox,and Fine didn;t impress me too much at NRL level,I would take the new boy over both them players,and Hitchcox is 25 also,and how many NRL games has he played.

 

[happy_tiger]

25 and hasn't cracked it in grade yet

What's going to change at the WT's ??

From what I saw with Hitchcox and to a lesser extent Fine and the limited viewing of Naiqama I'd stick with our boys

Kevin is way better than Hitchcox,and Fine didn;t impress me too much at NRL level,I would take the new boy over both them players,and Hitchcox is 25 also,and how many NRL games has he played.

The issue becomes how much we will have to pay Naiqama in comparison how much we pay Hitchcox or Fine ??

I think if we are patient we could pick up someone better

Just my opinion though

 

[king_sirro]

Happy, you have a point. I have always liked what I've seen in Naiqama but the fact he is 25 and still hasn't cracked it worries me. Sound like Geoff Daniela.

Still, I agree with his signing considering we lost Koro and Tegele

 

[Geo]

Some players are late bloomers….I doubt Naiqama would be costing the earth ,,,he has pace which is never a bad thing and something we lack....If indeed he has signed of course...

 

[tig_prmz]

Happy, you have a point. I have always liked what I've seen in Naiqama but the fact he is 25 and still hasn't cracked it worries me. Sound like Geoff Daniela.

Still, I agree with his signing considering we lost Koro and Tegele

There was nothing wrong with Daniela IMO. He never let us down and never played a bad game. Apart from the Warriors hat trick, I remember his defensive effort against souths a few years ago.

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[tig_prmz]

Happy, you have a point. I have always liked what I've seen in Naiqama but the fact he is 25 and still hasn't cracked it worries me. Sound like Geoff Daniela.

Still, I agree with his signing considering we lost Koro and Tegele

There was nothing wrong with Daniela IMO. He never let us down and never played a bad game. Apart from the Warriors hat trick, I remember his defensive effort against souths a few years ago.

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[AmericanHistoryX]

Happy, you have a point. I have always liked what I've seen in Naiqama but the fact he is 25 and still hasn't cracked it worries me. Sound like Geoff Daniela.

Still, I agree with his signing considering we lost Koro and Tegele

There was nothing wrong with Daniela IMO. He never let us down and never played a bad game. Apart from the Warriors hat trick, I remember his defensive effort against souths a few years ago.

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where is he now?

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