How winning 'chip, chase, keep the faith' play sums up Special K

The first time with his remarkable solo try in the 77th – running out of his own end of the field, chipping ahead for himself, gathering the ball cleanly from the desperate hands of opposition fullback Reece Walsh and running away.

The second time he won it was at the death, being in the right spot at the right time to send an Ezra Mam kick into touch, away from the chasing Grant Anderson.

“It just comes,” Kini said after the game when asked where he got confidence from to take the game into his own hands for the match-winner.

“Zano [halfback Zane Harrison] gave me the ball and gave me the trust.

“I guess you just sort of play off the cuff footy when you're chasing some points, so I'm just so blessed it came off.

“I'm not a senior player, but I'm a player that I consider myself as a leader in this team, so when those big moments come up, I'd like to think I can step up to it.”

While it has been another season dotted with headline moments for Kini this year, the Kiwis fullback said he was always looking to work on his game, but even in the tough times, backed his ability to get the job done.

Coming back from an injury-riddled 2025 season, Kini was always going to take some time to feel comfortable in every game, but said his confidence had never waivered. He also knew he had to continue to work hard to maintain his place in the team.  

“My confidence never left, it’s just probably the mistakes have been compounding this year a little bit and trying to iron that stuff out,” Kini said.

“But there's always going to be noise outside in the media and I just try and put that out.

“I know that if I just keep working hard on the basics of my game, then those things will work itself out.

“It's good to have high standards for yourself and there's always going to be people chasing my jersey.

“I don't own that jersey, so I just got to keep earning my spot.

“Josh has been awesome, man, he's very relaxed in his approach and he knows when the right time to come to come chat to you, so a lot of respect for Josh.”

For coach Josh Hannay, the work Kini put in overall to his game was something that made him the type of player who could win you a match.

“Special players do special things, right?” Hannay said after the win.

“We love that young lad because he might drop a ball early or whatever, it just doesn't stop him.

“He just doesn't pull out of the game, he just keeps going after the contest right and he went after it right to the very end and he came up with a special play.

“He’s special young player.

“(In defence) he does that most weeks.

“There was a game here against the Dolphins earlier in the year, he saved two tries (sith) last ditch tackles on the try line … he gets a lot of recognition for his attacking sort of flair, but he throws his body on the line and defends the try line like it matters.

“It means a lot to us.

“He's not just on one side of the ball, that kid.

“He plays tough on the other side of the ball as well.”