Gold Coast fullback Keano Kini is in contention for the prestigious Paul Broughton Medal as Titans player of the year after breaking two club records in a stunning first full season in the NRL.
In the process the 20-year-old, who stands at just 177cm and weighs 83kg, has taken a leaf out of the book of Penrith champion No.1 Dylan Edwards with his approach.
Kini ran for a stunning club record 344m in last week's 32-16 loss to St George Illawarra, breaking his own previous record mark of 321m in the 18-10 loss to Wests Tigers in round 15.
He is averaging 212m per match in his 15 games in 2024. For players who have contested more than 10 games in 2024 he is only behind Edwards (233.5m) and Warriors fullback Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad (212.7m) for that statistic.
Despite missing six games Kini has been such a star that he could pick up maximum Titans player of the year points in a majority of his games.
"Keano would be right up there for our player of the year," Titans assistant coach Jim Lenihan told AAP.
"He has surprised us all with how quickly he has come into NRL and been able to play as he did as a schoolboy.
"The modern fullbacks like Dylan Edwards are doing a lot of running, are very fit and can sustain speed throughout a whole 80 minutes.
"Keano has probably based his game a lot off Edwards where he does plenty of carries.
"He is certainly impressing everyone at the Titans at the moment with his workload and fitness."
Such is Kini's form that he has kept Queensland representative AJ Brimson on the bench or at centre in the past two games. Brimson has had an injury-riddled season and played just the 12 matches.
"We have another very good player who can play fullback in Brimmo but it is hard to take Keano out of there at the moment," Lenihan said.
"I am sure he will get his opportunity at some stage but Keano is playing so well he is picking himself. He is only a little guy but plays well above his weight."
Kini also plays the ball quickly and does not get pushed around by defenders.
"Being a little guy you don’t want to get stuck too high (in tackles) out of yardage because sides will pick you up and drive you backwards," Lenihan said.
"He is already low to the ground to start with and gets to ground so fast. He gives us a lot of quick play the balls and he does a lot of those plays before the fifth tackle where Keano plays the ball and the rest of the team does the kick-chase."
Kini will play fullback against Sydney Roosters on Sunday on the Gold Coast with Brimson named on the interchange bench.
