North Harbour captain James Parsons and coach Tom Coventry are all but certain that flanker Dillon Hunt will be among the 51-man squad for the All Blacks' end of year tour, after a shining provincial season.
Hunt, 23, is firming as a surefire selection for Steve Hansen's side, with injury seeing Sam Cane unavailable, while Matt Todd is currently playing overseas in Japan.
Having been selected on last year's end of year tour, Hunt has played once for the All Blacks - against a French Barbarians side - although is still waiting for a Test debut.
However, his Harbour colleagues are confident that he won't be left waiting too long.
"Fantastic bloke off the field, but he's exceptional on it," Parsons began.
"To me, it's a no brainer. He'll be there no doubt."
Coventry agreed over the prospects of his young star, talking up his quality as a player.
"He's really consistent, very strong over the ball - a real feature in the modern game," he said.
"We've been able to build a lot of our play around Dillon.
"I'd pick him. I hope Steve (Hansen) sees the same qualities that we all see in him."
The All Blacks' end of year tour squad is announced on Monday.
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