International Pacific Championship

Shogun

Shogun

After this weekends final rounds games I'm gonna name my 24 players for the Kiwis. JWH's got himself banned out of it.
 

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JWH suspended, Kris will be. JMK injured.
Took into account incumbents, form & future.

FB J Manu
LW J Rapana
LC B Simonsson
RC M Timoko
RW DWZ
FE S Johnson
HB J Hughes
PR M Leota
HK B Smith
PR JFH
LE B Nikora
RE J Riki
LF J Tapine

HK K Nikorima
SR NAS
PR L Thompson
PR T Sipley

Squad Members
CNK
R Mulitalo
W Warbrick
D Brown
P Crossland
M Niukore
I Papali'i

On stand by
A Pompey
R Smith
K Foran
G Neame
W Greig
C Lemuelu
K Finefeuiaki
 
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My Samoan team

FB S Crichton
LW H Tabuai-Fidow
LC T Lafai
RC I Tago
RW B To'o
FE D Asi
HB J Luai
PR J Paulo
HK D Levi
PR R Hunt
LE L Sao
RE L Leilua
LF B Hamlin-Uele

HK F Brown
SR C Lemuelu
PR S Leniu
PR O Kaufusi

rest of squad
J Isaako
J Sua'ali'i
T May
H Ese'ese
B Afoa
H Luki
K Tuilagi
 
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Kangaroos reportedly name first 17 players in train on squad​

The 17 are all from eliminated NRL teams.​


Australian Kangaroos coach Mal Meninga and his selectors have reportedly named the first 17 players of their train-on squad ahead of the end of season tri-series to be held against Samoa and New Zealand.

The final squad, which will feature 20 players, won't be named until after the NRL grand final, with a two-week gap between the showpiece game of the season and the first international, which will see Australia take on Samoa in Townsville.

The Kangaroos then have a week off, before playing the Kiwis in Melbourne, with the final of the series to be played across the Tasman in Hamilton on the first Saturday in November.

As Australia did last year ahead of their trip to England for the Rugby League World Cup, a train-on squad filled with players from eliminated NRL clubs will be named over the coming weeks, with News Corp reporting the first 17 players have been locked in.

The biggest surprises in the squad are centres Jake Averillo and Zac Lomax. It's believed Averillo is almost no chance of remaining in the squad given his knee injury, but Lomax, who was at one point dropped by former coach Anthony Griffin at the St George Illawarra Dragons earlier this year, has failed to hit consistency at his potential in the NRL.

Reece Robson, who made his Origin debut for the Blues this year, has also been named in the squad.

Origin players Latrell Mitchell, Cody Walker, Cameron Murray, Daly Cherry-Evans, Jake Trbojevic, Ben Hunt, Josh Addo-Carr, Reagan Campbell-Gillard, Valentine Holmes, Reuben Cotter, Murray Taulagi and Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow have all been included.

The other players in the 17-man group are Parramatta lock forward J'maine Hopgood and South Sydney centre Campbell Graham, although it's believed both Mitchell and Graham are in a race against the clock with fitness a question.

While it's not a guarantee of being selected, missing out on the squad is almost a certain non-selection, meaning Canterbury Bulldogs utility Matt Burton and South Sydney Rabbitohs hooker Damien Cook won't be considered for Australia's 20-man group to take on the tri-series.

It's believed the likes of Jarome Luai and Apisai Koroisau will play for Pacific Island nations, while the non-selection of Tino Fa'asuamaleaui could also mean he has elected to represent Samoa after playing for Australia at the World Cup last year.

Under International Rugby League rules, players may switch between a Tier 1 and Tier 2 nation every year, with Australia, New Zealand and England the only Tier 1 outfits.

Any Tongan players may also hold out for selection in that squad given the men in red will head to England for a three-Test series at the end of the NRL season. The series could have a devastating impact on New Zealand's squad, who are yet to name any players for the tri-series.

Coach Mal Meninga has previously indicated both Nathan Cleary and Daly Cherry-Evans will be included, while captain James Tedesco is also set to hang onto the number one jersey despite a poor season and State of Origin campaign by his own usual standards.

Australia's train-on squad​

Per News Corp.
Josh Addo-Carr (Canterbury Bulldogs), Jake Averillo (Canterbury Bulldogs), Reagan Campbell-Gillard (Parramatta Eels), Daly Cherry-Evans (Manly Sea Eagles), Reuben Cotter (North Queensland Cowboys) Campbell Graham (South Sydney Rabbitohs), Valentine Holmes (North Queensland Cowboys) J'maine Hopgood (Parramatta Eels), Ben Hunt (St George Illawarra Dragons), Zac Lomax (St George Illawarra Dragons), Latrell Mitchell (South Sydney Rabbitohs), Cameron Murray (South Sydney Rabbitohs), Reece Robson (North Queensland Cowboys), Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow (The Dolphins), Murray Taulagi (North Queensland Cowboys), Jake Trbojevic (Manly Sea Eagles), Cody Walker (South Sydney Rabbitohs)
 

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'If China has a team I'll rep them too': Wong following in footsteps of SBW

Compared by Roosters insiders to Boyd Cordner because of his maturity and leadership qualities, Siua Wong grew up idolising another of the club’s greats, Sonny Bill Williams.
www.nrl.com www.nrl.com
If China has a team I'll rep them too': Wong following in footsteps of SBW
Rookie Roosters forward Siua Wong believes playing for Fiji at last year’s World Cup has helped prepare him for the NRL finals, but the 20-year-old hasn’t ruled out switching international allegiances.

Wong, who has commanded a starting second-row berth for the Roosters since making his NRL debut in Round 18, was born in New Zealand and has Fijian, Samoan and Tongan heritage – as well as Chinese.

The son of New Zealand peace-keepers, Wong honoured his paternal grandfather, who is Fijian-Chinese, by playing for the Bati at the World Cup in England.
However, his mother was born in Tonga, as were both his grandmothers, while his maternal grandfather is Samoan.

Before being scouted by the Roosters his only real league experience was playing for a Tonga under 14s team at a Pasifika carnival in Auckland.

“I am pretty close with all of my family, and I want to represent them all,” Wong said ahead of Friday night's semi-final against the Storm in Melbourne.

“I had always thought I had to be loyal to one but at the end of the day I am all four of those cultures and for me to give back to my family I would don any of those jerseys if they were available to me.

When I play it isn’t just to represent myself but to represent my family as well, and if China has a team, I’ll rep them one day too.

Compared by Roosters insiders to former captain Boyd Cordner because of his maturity and leadership qualities, Wong grew up idolising another of the club’s greats, Sonny Bill Williams, in whose footsteps he has followed.

Both went to Mt Albert Grammar School and were signed by Sydney-based NRL clubs at 14 years-of-age, with Williams becoming the youngest Bulldogs recruit after inking his first contract on the bonnet of John Ackland’s 1984 Nissan Centra.

That was before Wong was born in 2003 and his first NRL memory was of the 2013 grand final, in which Williams sparked a second half comeback by the Roosters to defeat Manly.

“I still remember watching with my dad and my sister,” Wong said. “Growing up I watched Sonny Bill and wanted to be like him.”

However, Wong's sporting background is the reverse of Williams, who had never played rugby union before walking out on the Bulldogs in 2008 to join the Tana Umaga-coached Toulon in France.

The Roosters spotted Wong playing schoolboy rugby union and invited him to academy-like training sessions in Auckland before offering him a scholarship at Scots College in Sydney.

After captaining the club’s SG Ball team, Wong earned selection in the Fiji squad for the World Cup, where he played every minute of the Bati’s campaign, which ended with a 24-18 quarter-final loss to the Kiwis.

“Playing for Fiji at the World Cup has helped me quite a bit because before the World Cup I hadn’t debuted in the NRL, so it was my first time going up against real first graders,” Wong said.

“I think that experience gave me confidence leading into this season and I learned so much off guys like Api Koroisau and especially Viliame Kikau, because I was playing in the backrow. They were great leaders.

“The Fijian culture is grounded on faith and humility. That's one thing that I always cherish.

“Every time you see Fijians play, and every time you see them off the field, they've just got that happiness about them, and I think it all comes down to how they present themselves and how the express themselves.”

Despite impressing at the World Cup, Wong had to bide his time in NSW Cup before Roosters coach Trent Robinson handed him an NRL debut in front of a large contingent of family and school friends from Scots College.

In his nine NRL appearances so far, Wong has spent time at second-row, lock, prop and centre - filling in for Joey Manu after he limped off against Wests Tigers and again in last Saturday night's 13-12 elimination final defeat of the Sharks.

Wong scored a try that enabled the Roosters to draw level at 12-12 and dived on a loose ball after Luke Keary's charge down of a late field goal attempt by Nicho Hynes to ensure the win.

“During the week we practice for scenarios like that and funnily enough I found myself there so I just had to do my part for the team," he said.

"This year has been a big learning for me; a lot of young boys when they come through the system the first thing they want to do is to debut and I think Robbo was right - I wasn't ready.

"I just focused on my Cup games and making sure I was able to perform my best out there, just to keep giving Robbo the idea that I'm ready for selection. It's pretty special to see how far I have come."

After winning their last six matches to reignite the club's premiership hopes, the Roosters are full of confidence and belief, despite a heavy injury toll, as they prepare to take on the Storm for a shot at Penrith in the preliminary final.

“We've just been taking it one week at a time and I think that's been the best for us to keep focusing on," Wong said.

“This week we've got Melbourne and we'll put all of our attention into this group of boys and the opposition we are coming up against, and then hopefully we get the chance to play again next week."
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It would be a touch disappointing to never see this guy with the Kiwis, but I like his attitude towards internationals; I do hope he sticks to Fiji for a while yet though.
 
Don't know how SBW's a roosters great only playing there for 2 years and a few games at the end of 2020 after Toronto folded.he can play for.webp
 
Kangaroos team announced..

J Addo-Carr
P Carrigan
D Cherry-Evans
N Cleary
S Cobbo
L Collins
R Cotter
T Fa'asuamaleaui
T Flegler
H Grant
P Haas
V Holmes
B Hunt
L Martin
C Munster
C Murray
K Staggs
H Tabuai-Fidow
J Tedesco
J Trobjevic
I Yeo
 

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Powerful back line.
Quality forwards.
Probably just lacking in the halves again

Stephen Crichton (Penrith Panthers)
Grey Marzhew (Newcastle Knights)
Murray Taulagi (North Queensland Cowboys)
Izack Tago (Penrith Panthers)
Brian To'o (Penrith Panthers)
Daejarn Asi (Parramatta Eels)
Karl Oloapu (Canterbury Bulldogs)
Spencer Leniu (Penrith Panthers)
Gordon Chan Kum Tong (Manly Sea Eagles)
Junior Paulo (Parramatta Eels)
Luciana Leilua (North Queensland Cowboys)
Connelly Lemuelu (Dolphins)
Stefano Utoikamanu (Wests Tigers)

Sualauvi Faalogo (Melbourne Storm)
Royce Hunt (Cronulla Sharks)
Keenan Palasia (Brisbane Broncos)
Heilum Luki (North Queensland Cowboys)

Justin Matamua (Wests Tigers)
Terrell May (Sydney Roosters)
Young Tonumaipea (Melbourne Storm)
Jesse Arthars (Brisbane Broncos)
 

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Wasn't there a Samoan winger in the Storm who had a blinder when the beat the Broncs before the Finals, in their second string team. Thought his last name was Anderson.
 

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sup42 said:
Beautiful team there, and to think they could have had two Penrith Props, the stars of GF from the kiwis line up.

So happy for our game to see Toa rise, my only sadness is the Tongan situation.

This must be the first ever Pacific in name tournament they have been excluded from in the history.

Hopefully they buck up their ideas and front next time.
Click to expand...
Huh?

Tonga have to buck up their ideas because they already had a 3 test series scheduled against England?
 
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