How far can he go? The key to Kodi kicking on

Kodi Nikorima has secured his immediate Warriors future — now he is playing for his next NRL contact.

Last week, the Warriors half took up his option for 2022, recommitting to the Mt Smart club through next season.

But by the end of this year, Nikorima and his management team will start negotiating his next deal, which will ideally be long-term, as he turns 28 next April.

His versatility and various coaches’ opinions has meant Nikorima didn’t settle into a permanent halves role until relatively late in his career but he should be coming into his prime. So how far can he go?

At times this season, Nikorima has been sublime, with the first half against the Cowboys last week another fine example, but it’s what comes in between that leaves some lingering questions.

The Kiwis halfback has all the tools to be an elite playmaker, with vision, pace, footwork, ball skills and a varied kicking game.

At times, it feels he is ready to step into the top echelon of NRL halves and the only thing holding him back is inconsistency.

That’s what the Warriors hierarchy will need to see the next few months, starting with this afternoon’s clash at Manly, to be convinced that Nikorima can help transform them into a regular finals team.

The pre-season pursuit of the Storm’s Jahrome Hughes showed the Warriors were still hedging their bets in the halves, but every positive performance from Nikorima will lessen the need to look outside.

Nikorima hasn’t been helped by a rotating cast in 2021, with Chanel Harris-Tavita, Sean O’Sullivan, Bayley Sironen and Reece Walsh his halves partners the first third of the season.

“It is not ideal when the spine chops and changes but I’ve learnt over time it’s something you have to deal with,” said Nikorima. “As an experienced player, more of the pressure and everything falls back on my shoulders and I’m enjoying that.”

With the impending return of Harris-Tavita, the emergence of Walsh and a couple of steady displays from O’Sullivan, the Warriors have halves options, although there is no doubting the senior man.

“I played that role the back end of last year, especially when Greenie [Blake Green] left,” said Nikorima. “I don’t see it as anything [special], I just want to go there and play my game. It doesn’t really matter who’s inside me because I have every trust in whoever steps in to fill the role.”

Halves are often dependent on the foundation in front of them, and Nikorima is behind probably the most effective pack across his time at the Warriors.

“Playing off the back of my forwards here is only going to benefit me,” said Nikorima. “They attract so many bodies, which means there is going to be an overlap somewhere.”

Nikorima’s impressive goal kicking this year has revealed another string to his bow. He wasn’t used in that area in four seasons at the Broncos and was seen as a backup behind Harris-Tavita and Patrick Herbert the past two Warriors seasons. But he has blossomed off the tee in 2021, with just four misses from 28 attempts and a success rate (85.7 per cent) bettered only by Raiders sharpshooter Jarrod Croker.

The Warriors have scored many tries handy to the posts but Nikorima looks confident from any angle and his accuracy was the difference in recent wins over the Dragons and Cowboys.

His last stint as a regular kicker was “probably back in my junior days” but he has always enjoyed the challenge.

“At the Broncos, they had Jamayne [Isaako], so I didn’t need to do any goal kicking. Obviously just putting in the work out at training and having Daryl Halligan has helped me out a lot this year. “It’s just making sure, whatever I do, whenever I kick, whether it’s under fatigue, I just stick to my process and that’s what I’ve been trying to do.”

It is not ideal when the spine chops and changes but it’s something you have to deal with. Kodi Nikorima