Northcote Tigers junior Keano Kini became one of the biggest Kiwis squad bolters of the modern era in 2023, called up for the Pacific Championships after just six NRL rookie-season appearances for Gold Coast Titans.
Kini moved from Auckland to the Gold Coast with his family and honed his craft at renowned rugby league nursery Palm Beach Currumbin State High School. The lightweight livewire was signed by the Titans and built up his senior football experience at Queensland Cup level with Burleigh Bears.
Less than a month after turning 19, Kini made his NRL debut off the bench in the Titans’ 2023 Magic Round victory over Parramatta Eels. He made two starts at fullback and another three interchange appearances before the end of the season.
Meanwhile, the versatile back won the Duncan Hall Medal as the player of the 2023 Queensland Cup grand final from the losing side, recognised for his dazzling display in the Bears’ defeat to Easts Tigers.
Kini missed out on a Test debut during the 2023 Pacific Championships, but he was a standout at fullback in Kiwis A’s win over Tonga A at Eden Park.
The 20-year-old exploded in 2024, forcing his way to the front of a stacked fullback queue on the Gold Coast and emerging as one of the NRL’s most exciting attacking players. In 16 games the quicksilver custodian scored six tries, made 10 line-breaks, recorded 66 tackle-breaks and seven try assists, and averaged over 212 metres per game to win the Paul Broughton Medal as the Titans’ Player of the Year.
Another Pacific Championships call-up predictably followed – and he was an immediate sensation in the No.1 jersey. Kini made 254 metres and five tackle-breaks on debut against Australia in Christchurch, scored a try, had 240 running metres and seven tackle-breaks against Tonga in Auckland, and ran for 302 metres, made two line-breaks and had a line-break assist in another blinder against Papua New Guinea in Sydney. The tyro was shortlisted for the 2024 Golden Boot award on the strength of his initial international appearances.
