As the 2023 Pacific Championships gets underway, Zero Tackle looks at all the players who are absent from the New Zealand Kiwis squad that represented them at last year's Rugby League World Cup.
The players absent included a three-time Penrith Panthers premiership winner, a former New Zealand Kiwis captain and the reigning Dally M Winger of the Year.
6Jeremy Marshall-King (The Dolphins)
Set to be chosen as the first-choice Kiwis hooker, Jeremy Marshall-King will be absent from the squad after enduring a shoulder injury at the backend of the season. Having not been chosen, it is understood that he will spend his time getting ready for the upcoming season and will not try and re-aggravate it during the Pacific Championships.
The hooker's move to The Dolphins from the Canterbury Bulldogs has been a revelation, and it has elevated him to the upper echelon of dummy halves in the NRL competition. Whilst not playing for the Kiwis this year, he will likely be a certain pick heading into the future.
After the Round 18 game in which Marshall-King injured his shoulder, Wayne Bennet stated he is unlikely to play again this season and will instead get ready for the 2024 season.
โHe did (make a difference) but he's still got a bit of a shoulder problem there so I don't know how long we'll have him back for," Bennett said at the time.
โLooks like it might be a bit ongoing that one. He's a wonderful player and we probably got him at about 75 per cent tonight.
โWe'll probably have to go the rest of the season without him.โ
It is understood that Kieran Foran or Danny Levi will take the reins of the number nine jersey after both Marshall-King and Sydney Rooster Brandon Smith are absent from the squad due to injuries.
Previous International Caps: 2 (2022)
