Nelson Marlborough Falcons players Atkin Kaua and Kevin Obed, both 18, will miss the last half of the ASB Youth League season as they are travelling back home to the Solomon Islands.
The Nelson Marlborough Falcons could be without Solomon Islands stars Atkin Kaua and Kevin Obed for the final five games of the season, with both players scheduled to return home next month.
The 18-year-olds, who study at Nelson College, have been two of the most exciting players in the Falcons squad, with Obed scoring twice in the first three games and Kaua providing most of the spark from midfield.
Both players have lived up to the high standards expected of them in their first season and Falcons coach Mark Johnston said the board was hoping to extend their stay by a month, until the end of the ASB Youth League season.
Obed and Kaua have flights booked to the Solomon Islands in the middle of next month because Obed needs to return home in order to renew his visa after spending two years in New Zealand.
"Our board have started the immigration process from New Zealand and if we can get that side of things squared away and get some money together to cover re-booking their flights it'd be amazing," he said.
"It's a tough one because I did know from the outset that this is the case and, if it turns out that they do go, then they will be missed because they have both been a huge part of what we're doing."
When asked what the duo add to the Falcons squad, Johnston said Obed is a player that can turn a game single-handedly.
"Players like that are one in a million. He certainly adds that X-factor that we haven't really had in the Falcons."
Kaua is a ball-playing midfielder, and in tandem with Bertie Fish, is the engine in the Falcons team. Johnston said he's got the full skill-set. "Atkin can bring players into the game. He can create a lot for other players as well. He's very tenacious and I guess he's more of an all-rounder."
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