Former New Zealand winger Daryl Halligan believes the Kiwis could do worse than unleash in-form Canberra Raider Jordan Rapana against Australia when his confidence is at its peak.
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Rapana continued an outstanding start to the season with four tries in Canberra's 60-6 belting of Wests Tigers at Canberra Stadium on Saturday.
However the 26-year-old, who moved from Wellington to Gold Coast as a kid, has confirmed he is also eligible for Queensland.
He's a big outsider but if selected by the Kiwis for next Friday's Test in Newcastle, Rapana would face a similar dilemma which Raiders teammate Josh Papalii encountered early in his career.
Papalii eventually chose Queensland and Australia over New Zealand, and the back-rower is considered a strong chance of winning back his Kangaroos jersey when the team is named on Tuesday.
New Zealand's preparation took a huge hit when full-back Roger Tuivasa-Sheck suffered a season-ending knee injury earlier this month.
Young gun Tuimoala Lolohea, who has replaced Tuivasa-Sheck in the Warriors No.1 jersey, was favourite to do likewise for New Zealand, although he left the field with a knee injury against the Storm on Monday night.
Penrith's Peta Hiku played centres in the corresponding Test last year but is a full-back option, while Gold Coast centre Josh Hoffman has also played there in the past.
"He [Rapana] has hit the ground running this year, he's made every post a winner," Halligan said.
"Sometimes players take a bit of time to find their moment and he wouldn't be out of place [for New Zealand].
"With Roger out everyone's scanning for a full-back and I hadn't thought of Jordan so maybe he might be in the mix.
"If his name did come up in selection good luck to him, he's playing good footy.
"I was the goalkicking coach at the Western Force when he rocked up looking for a start after his [Mormon] mission.
"Even though he hadn't been training he still looked a class above everyone else."
Rapana has run for over 100 metres in his last seven games and remarkably for a winger, has four try assists to go with his six tries.
"It wasn't like he's been just on the end of things, he's creating bits and pieces as well and coming up with some really nice touches," Halligan said.
"I just like his speed and footwork at the moment. He seems like he's running the ball at the line a lot harder and is poking his nose through the other side of it.
"I didn't realise how quick he is either and his high ball work has been sound."
RAPANA'S LAST SEVEN GAMES
Round 8 v Wests Tigers
Tries: 4 Try assists: 1 Metres: 181 Tackle breaks: 6 Line breaks: 5
Round 7 v Cronulla
Tries: 1 Try assists: 1 Metres: 169 Tackle breaks: 8 Line breaks: 2
Round 6 v Parramatta
Tries: 0 Try assists: 1 Metres: 135 Tackle breaks: 4 Line breaks: 1
Round 5 v Canterbury
Tries: 0 Try assists: 0 Metres: 136 Tackle breaks: 7 Line breaks: 0
Round 4 v Gold Coast
Tries: 0 Try assists: 0 Metres: 141 Tackle breaks: 3 Line breaks: 0
Round 3 v Newcastle
Tries: 1 Try assists: 1 Metres: 100 Tackle breaks: 6 Line breaks: 1
Round 2 v Roosters
Tries: 0 Try assists: 0 Metres: 132 Tackle breaks: 4 Line breaks: 1
Source: NRL Stats
