Tonga won't quite have the attacking class of Samoa, but like the usos, Tonga are going to flex their low key play-making muscle at the World Cup. We've seen Aotearoa's halves depth grow emphatically over the past few years and I doubt Samoa have ever had a halves combination as slick as Anthony Milford and Fa'amanu Brown, now Tonga will rely on two young halves to rally behind a typically brutal forward pack.

Tuimoala Lolohea's move to Wests Tigers could be highly influential for Tonga and the stars could align even further for the tokos if Kieran Foran is forced to miss a couple more games this season, thus allowing Ata Hingano crucial NRL minutes for the Warriors. Lolohea has settled into his running, razzle dazzle role alongside Luke Brooks at the Tigers and while they've already played a lot of footy together in Auckland, Hingano operates in a fairly similar fashion to Brooks which will flow into their Tonga halves combo.

Hingano is a left-sided half and is better suited to a halfback role in which he handles much of the organisational tasks and most of the kicking. I ain't saying Hingano is as good as Brooks (he could be though), just that Brooks and Hingano are both left-siders and they are both halfbacks. This will ensure that Lolohea's job for Tonga is the same job he does for the Tigers; run, run, run and suss out the right edge.

Loved the week and experience with my tokos 🇹🇴 #MMT

1,266 Likes, 18 Comments - William Hopoate (@will_hopoate) on Instagram: "Loved the week and experience with my tokos 🇹🇴 #MMT"

What I'm eagerly anticipating though is the influence of Will Hopoate, even though Hopoate is part of a crappy Bulldogs team. When you look at Samoa's halves pair, they have experience and leadership there in the form of Milford, meanwhile Tonga have two very young halves who will need a calm head to help them out. Tonga won't need Hopoate's play-making and that's not quite Hopoate's specialty, he'll be an immense figure throughout the World Cup camp and will drive the culture and execution of plans on the field.

Earlier this year Tonga rolled out an outside back group of Manu Vatuvei, Brenko Lee, Moses Suli and Daniel Tupou. That's pretty solid, but in a sign of Tonga's depth out wide they could bring in Konrad Hurrell, Michael Jennings and Jorge Taufua. Hurrell and Jennings should be starters given that they are both better than Lee and Suli, plus Lee has been in and out of the Bulldogs starting side and Suli is still super young.

Sosaia Feki is also a fantastic wing option who would deserve to start on the wing for Tonga thanks to his consistent form for Cronulla. There's been a buzz about Feki possibly being selected for Aotearoa, so that's a decision Feki would have to make and as there is no shortage of Kiwis wing options, I expect Feki to roll with Tonga. That'll give Tonga four very strong wingers to select from and if all are fit, it'd be a tough selection decision.

I'd love to see Vatuvei play in the World Cup, back in Aotearoa and we could be treated to a Vatuvei and Hurrell centre/wing pairing that would be super duper funky. There's options, yet this will probably depend on who is healthy as Hurrell, Tupou and Taufua are currently out injured and who knows what will happen between now and squad selection time.
My best backline is: Hopoate, Vatuvei, Hurrell, Jennings, Feki, Lolohea, Hingano.

And that is not including Solomone Kata and David Fusitua who have previously opted to play for Aotearoa. Neither were part of the mid-season squad either.

Issues will arise for Tonga if their depth is tested as they'll probably have to dive into reserve grade, or Super League. Samisoni Langi is a versatile back who is playing in the Super League who started at halfback last year for Tonga in a team that also included Feleti Mateo in the halves. That's the best example of the shift in halves depth for Tonga, Samoa and Aotearoa as the days of blokes playing out of position to cover a lack of depth in play-making roles are over. Tonga now have two genuine halves which is a massive leap forward from the last decade or so, next step is to build the level underneath that starting tier.

Siliva Havili and Sione Katoa will cover the dummy half spots. Katoa could have slid ahead of Havili as he's been getting game time with Penrith, although Katoa's versatility is nicely suited to a bench role.

Similar to Lolohea's Tigers move, Melbourne Storm have gifted Tonga an 80-minute edge forward in Felise Kaufusi. Last season - as the Storm made a Grand Final - Kaufusi was a middle forward and he played for Tonga at prop mid-season last year, with Kevin Proctor's departure though, Kaufusi has moved to right edge and looked at home. What Tonga do on the other edge will be interesting as Tony Williams is out for the season via injury, so Tonga will likely rely on veteran Sika Manu to do a job on the left.

Leivaha Pulu can play edge, as can Agnatius Paasi. They'll be edge depth options, who will looking to squeeze into a stacked Tongan forward pack where ever they can. Both play middle for Gold Coast and will join a top-tier Tongan middle forward group of Andrew Fifita, Leilani Latu, Addin Fonua-Blake, Joe Ofahengaue, Peni Terepo, Siosaia Vave and Albert Vete.

There will be plenty of interesting around Sio Siua Taukeiaho as well, who could opt for Aotearoa or Tonga. Like Fusitua and Kata, Taukeiaho has leaned towards Aotearoa in recent times and he's definitely in the mix for a Kiwis bench spot but would be a fantastic option to start at lock for Tonga. The same can be said for Fifita, who left Tonga hanging with Australia came calling earlier this year.

Fifita's form isn't quite doing enough to over-ride the niggle that we have seen from Australia's core, so I'd suggest that Fifita will go back and rep Tonga for the World Cup - that's a yarn for another day.

Tonga's forward pack could resemble: Latu, Havili, Fifita, Kaufusi, Manu, Ofahengaue.
Katoa would cover the dummy half spot on the bench, then I'd go with Pulu, Paasi and Fonua-Blake as the best bench options. It won't be that simple though and I'd rank the next best middle options in this order: Terepo, Vete, Vave, Patrick Kaufusi.

That will round off a Tongan squad that will offer a nice balance with some youthful energy but plenty of experience that has perhaps been lacking. Most of the forwards for example have moved beyond the 'young forwards' stage of their careers and are breaking into their peak NRL years. Sprinkle some veterans on top and you'll have a Tongan team that could offer more surprise than Samoa.

Peace and love 27.

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