Penrith's premiership winning prop Moses Leota has been called into New Zealand's 19-man squad for the semi-final against Australia, but Jared Waerea-Hargreaves has not been selected.
The Panthers front-rower is set make just his second World Cup appearance due to injuries.
Leota was named to line up in the Kiwis’ opening pool match against Lebanon on October 16 but was ruled out after picking up a slight groin injury in the team’s final training session.
He recovered to start a week later against Jamaica in Hull, only to be forced off the field early with a pectoral strain.
The 27-year-old joins the extended squad in place of Penrith club-mate Scott Sorensen, while Dallin Watene-Zelezniak returns after being scratched late with a hamstring issue last week.
Match: Australia v New Zealand
Semi Finals -
home Team
Australia
away Team
New Zealand
Venue: Elland Road, Leeds
Waerea-Hargreaves missed the match against Fiji due to suspension but he has also been troubled by a hamstring injury.
Apart from Sorensen and Waerea-Hargreaves, the other squad members not selected are Marata Niukore, Jeremy Marshall-King and Sebastian Kris.
The Kiwis are coming off a nailbiting 24-18 quarter-final win over Fiji following their pool match victories over the Lebanon Cedars (34-12), Jamaica’s Reggae Warriors (68-6) and the Ireland Wolfhounds (48-10).
The Kangaroos advanced to the semi-finals after eliminating Lebanon 48-4 last week.
NZ Kiwis squad: (Alphabetical)
Nelson Asofa-Solomona
Jesse Bromwich
Kenny Bromwich
Dylan Brown
James Fisher-Harris
Kieran Foran
Peta Hiku
Jahrome Hughes
Isaac Liu
Joseph Manu
Ronaldo Mulitalo
Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad
Briton Nikora
Isaiah Papali’i
Jordan Rapana
Brandon Smith
Joseph Tapine
Scott Sorensen
Dallin Watene-Zelezniak.
