KEY POINTS:
The Kangaroos are expecting the Wellington weather to turn Sunday's test into a gruelling grind in the forwards.
If that's the case, the Kiwis will be well-served by their new bench prop Jeff Lima, who blitzed the Manly forwards as the Storm steamrolled to the title in the
NRL grand final.
Lima made 205m; the whole of the Manly bench made 201m.
"I didn't know about that until someone pointed it out this week," he said. "I don't know what to say about that - I was given a job to do and I'm pleased I was able to do it."
At 26, Lima is like the other new faces in the Kiwis - he made rep teams when he was young, then drifted for a while.
"It's a big honour to make the Kiwis," said the former Mangere East junior. "I was in the [New Zealand] under-16s and the Junior Kiwis and I thought I was just going to progress on."
Instead, he struggled to break out of premier league during two years at Wests Tigers and eventually shifted off to play in France, thinking his NRL career might be over before it started. He was talent-spotted there for the Storm, who were running into problems with injuries to frontrowers.
Lima debuted for Melbourne against the Warriors in round 24 last season and has been a regular since. He credits weight loss for much of the reason for his success.
"I've dropped about 10 kilos [now 107kg]. My mobility has picked up and I'm staying on the field longer. I'm feeling better out there, too."
He played 42 minutes off the bench to get that big gain in the grand final and made four tackle breaks while doing it, plus 18 tackles of his own. He's proud of the performance.
"Obviously I hope I can do it again for the Kiwis, but it's not going to be easy."
The Storm have provided seven of the Kangaroos side, including tough defenders Michael Crocker, Dallas Johnson and Ryan Hoffman - and Lima agrees that points towards them expecting a bash-a-thon rather than a flash-a-thon.
"We're just going to have to grind it out, for the whole 80 minutes."
Personally, he's aiming for a performance that will keep him in the selectors' minds for a while.
* Former Wellington player John Te Reo is caught up in a police investigation of an assault involving Broncos teammate Ian Lacey following the club's prizegiving.
Witnesses reported seeing the Broncos pair running after a man who then fell to the ground after being struck. He has a suspected fractured skull and bleeding on the brain and remains in a Brisbane hospital.
Lacey has been charged with assault, and police are yet to interview Te Reo, who is in New Zealand on a pre-planned holiday.
