All Blacks midfield and fullback utility Jordie Barrett had been spending time this week with NRL powerhouse the Melbourne Storm to add to his skill set, especially around his kicking from the ball in hand.

Hurricanes back coach Cory Jane said Barrett was a player who liked to work on improvements to his game to get better.

"He wants to learn and wants to grow which for somebody at the top of their game is awesome."

Barrett was world-class at fullback. He was starting to grow at second five-eighths, which Jane liked because he was big and physical, and being in the front line, and he could put his physicality on opposing sides.

"He seems to enjoy it, so the more he grows and the more he plays there, as you see with his career, the better."

Barrett was expected to be back to join the side for Saturday's game against Moana Pasifika in Auckland.

Being on the losing end against the competition newcomers last year meant the Hurricanes were well prepared for the challenge, but it was another chance to improve their Achilles heel this year, their starts.

Jane said while their performance against the Waratahs was improved after their loss a week earlier to the Blues, their starting was still an issue, despite their efforts to address it.

"It's important we don't start bad against Moana Pasifika and let them get their tails up because we went up there last year and did that, and they got excited and won the game. We've got to start better.

"As we've seen this year, if you don't get it right you could have an 'L' next to your name. We know what the Moana team can do, so we've got to be smart."

Identifying the cause of the slow starts was difficult, but they worked on it constantly because it was hard to keep coming back all the time when getting behind. Jane was hopeful they could avoid addressing the issue again at halftime this weekend.

Wing Kini Naholo made an impact in his first outing for the side with a brace of tries, and Jane welcomed the competitiveness it brought to the three-quarters. It was what the coaches wanted across the squad.

"If anyone dips in performance, you have got guys competing to try and take that spot, and he did well at the weekend. 

"He's had a few years where he's had a few niggles. He's trained well since he's been with us, and he got an opportunity to run around. Scoring a couple of tries is good, but he did a lot of hard work as well. It is important he keeps competing and the rest of the guys do it as well."

Jane said the competition had grown, and it was enjoyable having teams bringing different dynamics and producing good games every week.