Cronulla centre KL Iro has outlined plans to use the upcoming World Cup to establish development pathways for more Cook Islands youngsters to chase their NRL debut.<\/p>\n
There has been a long tradition of players of Cook Islands heritage but Iro is among a small group of NRL players to have grown up in the tiny Pacific Island nation.<\/p>\n
It’s a situation he’s desperate to change and this year’s World Cup looms as a unique opportunity to inspire the next generation of emerging players.<\/p>\n
\n 599″, “>809”, “>959″]”
\n data-eqio-prefix=”video-post-screen”
\n ref=”root”
\n ><\/p>\n
\n
\n Up Next
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n \/
\n
\n <\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n Replay
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n Play Next
\n
\n
\n <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
From the field: KL Iro<\/p>\n
“Everyone loves rugby league but it’s about the opportunities,” Iro told NRL.com. “Kids get stuck there. The kids I grew up with, all the talented ones, they just never left the country and never got their chance.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“We’ve got to start building pathways and let the parents know they need to move the kids away at younger ages and make that sacrifice for them to fulfil their dreams.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“It’s slowly changing but I’m hoping we can get more junior pathways. When they watch us Cook Islands boys playing in the World Cup, that gives them hope and they have a dream to be there as well.”<\/p>\n
Iro will represent his Cook Islands heritage when he takes to the field for Multicultural Round in Cronulla’s clash with the Dolphins.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The centre played a key role in the country’s successful bid to qualify for the World Cup and is set to line up alongside the likes of Valentine Holmes and\u00a0Davvy Moale for the tournament.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Qualification has already had a positive effect, with the team attracting new sponsors and hoping to reinvest that money into the grassroots.<\/p>\n
\n 599″, “>809”, “>959″]”
\n data-eqio-prefix=”video-post-screen”
\n ref=”root”
\n ><\/p>\n
\n
\n Up Next
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n \/
\n
\n <\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n Replay
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n Play Next
\n
\n
\n <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Brendan Piakura with some special footwork in space<\/p>\n
Talent and passion for the game are not in short supply in the Cook Islands, with NRL Immortal Andrew Johns attending the local competition’s grand final in 2024.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Knights legend was stunned by the quality and the fervent support for the game and expressed his desire for a Witzer Pre-Season Challenge game to be played there in the future.<\/p>\n
The biggest issue, however, is the lack of opportunities for talented youngsters to receive the elite training required to develop into an NRL player.\u00a0<\/p>\n
While he grew up in the Arorangi, Iro moved to New Zealand as a teenager for family reasons and was provided with the chance to chase his rugby league dream.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It’s a dream, he recognises, he likely would not have made reality if not for the decision to move away from his homeland.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“There was no way I would be here if I didn’t move,” Iro said. “I wanted to move earlier. I wanted to move when I was 12 and it would have been better if I came straight to Australia.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“New Zealand didn’t have the junior development back then, they didn’t have Harold Matthews, they just had under 20s and [NSW] Cup, so even I struggled with my development.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“I had a later start and I’m still developing my game now. That sweet age is around 10-12 when you need to move to develop and get better because there’s not much competition at home. There’s freakish players but they don’t get the chance to progress.”<\/p>\n
Iro has worked hard to provide more opportunities back home since breaking into the Sharks NRL side and regularly returns to the Cook Islands to visit his friends and family.\u00a0<\/p>\n
A trip home over Christmas carried additional meaning, when the 26-year-old proposed to his partner.<\/p>\n
\n 599″, “>809”, “>959″]”
\n data-eqio-prefix=”video-post-screen”
\n ref=”root”
\n ><\/p>\n
\n
\n Up Next
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n \/
\n
\n <\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n Replay
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n Play Next
\n
\n
\n <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
KL Iro’s 2025 try-scoring season<\/p>\n
While he enjoys returning home, Iro is also desperate to help youngsters travel to Australia to receive a taste of the NRL. The centre and his mother helped facilitate a visit by his junior club, the Arorangi Bears, to Cronulla last year, with the under 13 boys side playing Kurnell in a match before attending a Sharks game.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Plans are already advanced for two more tours this year, with a women’s team set to travel to Australia before a men’s team flies to Christchurch for the Cook Island’s World Cup clash with the Kiwis at the city’s state of the art new stadium.<\/p>\n
“My mum was huge with that, she ran all the fundraising to make it happen,” Iro said. “Instead of a kids team, they want to bring a women’s team over to play a local women’s team here.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“Then at the World Cup we have a game in Christchurch so they’re fundraising to get a men’s team there so they can play a men’s A-grade team in Christchurch.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“They’re trying to give everyone different opportunities and get them out of their local lifestyles. My mum’s been huge helping with that stuff, fundraising and getting it moving.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Cronulla centre KL Iro has outlined plans to use the upcoming World Cup to establish development pathways for…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":544884,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[568],"tags":[64,63,761,762,158,85],"class_list":["post-544883","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nrl","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-national-rugby-league","tag-nationalrugbyleague","tag-nrl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/544883","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=544883"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/544883\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/544884"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=544883"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=544883"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=544883"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}