The weeks leading up to squads for the Rugby League World Cup being officially announced are going to hold a fair amount of funk as players decide on their national allegiance. Some people don't like this aspect of rugby league, or more specifically RLWC as they see it as farcical that players can chop and change between nations. Rugby league simply isn't big enough to stop players representing Aotearoa and then going back to their Pacific Island nation for the RLWC, rugby league needs this sort of chopping and changing to level the playing field as best it can.

Earlier this week we got our first real piece of intrigue in the pre-RLWC eligibility stage as Solomone Kata and Tuimoala Lolohea put their names down to represent Tonga. Both have previously represented Tonga and both have previously represented Aotearoa, both are well within their rights to represent either nation. 

I don't have facts to back this up, however I'd suggest that there are more Polynesians born in Aotearoa and Australia now than there has ever been. Lolohea was born in Aotearoa, grew up in Aotearoa and obviously has strong ties to Tonga, a circumstance that many young Polynesian footy players find themselves in. There's no right or wrong here, you can't tell Lolohea that he can't represent one nation, it's just the way things are these days; Auckland's foundations are built with strong Polynesian support, as well as many other cultures.

Lolohea was already in my strongest Tongan RLWC team and regular readers will know that I'm rather excited to see Lolohea link up with his former Warriors comrade Ata Hingano in the halves for Tonga. Hingano was also born and bred in Auckland. Regular readers will also note that I keep repeating that a clear mark of rugby league's growth in Aotearoa is that the Kiwis, Samoa and Tonga all have young halves available for selection - not just the typical big forwards and wingers. 

Ponder that Lolohea is 22-years-old and Hingano is 20yrs. Two young Tongan halves who have the skill-set that is nicely suited to their robust forward pack and perhaps more importantly, these two will have the class of Will Hopoate at fullback to help them out. 

Anticipation around the Lolohea x Hingano combo only falls short to the anticipation of the possibility that Tonga could roll out Solomone Kata and Konrad Hurrell as their centres. Hurrell missed the back-end of the season and Michael Jennings will be lurking, so this may not happen, I damn sure hope it does though. Not only are Kata and Hurrell cut from the same cloth in terms of how they play the centre position, they share a similar rugby league yarn as both came to Aotearoa to play 1st XV rugby in Auckland and then linked up with the Warriors Under 20s.

Kata went down the Kiwis route last year and my haka-nerdness noted how passionately Kata represented Aotearoa, near the front of the haka. That's all I personally ask of someone like Kata when they do decide to represent Aotearoa, although with the bigger picture in mind and as I view rugby league as having the potential to overtake rugby union in the Pacific Islands, having Kata and Hurrell represent Tonga is crucial. They can both be Tongan rugby league legends, showcasing a clear path to sporting success from Tonga, inspiring other young Tongan athletes to pursue their favourite sport in similar fashion.

I don't really see the point in celebrating such decisions as Lolohea and Kata representing Tonga, or the 'Kata snubs Kiwis' narrative. There's no need when they are eligible for both and the depth of Tonga (and Samoa and Fiji) is such that if Lolohea did decide to only be eligible for Tonga, they'd still be all good. What is crucial in all of this is that Lolohea and Kata made the decision early, they held the power and executed that power instead of waiting for word on the Kiwis squad.

Things get weird when players don't make an Australia or Aotearoa squad and only then do they play for Tonga etc. In doing so, the players themselves are highlighting the perceived hierarchy, highlighting the disparity in money earned between the major nations and the next tier down. Kata for example could have waited to see how the Kiwis centre situation would play out as there's a slight opening for Kata there. Kata has instead laid his cards down early and has executed control of his situation, chur bro.

When players make such a decision early, they are setting a tone. There's a lot of talk about the difference in money earned between nations, which is applicable outside of a World Cup, yet for a World Cup, this should give a team like Tonga a boost. Players shouldn't be playing in a World Cup for money. By using their personal power and making an early decision, Kata and Lolohea have led by example and many other players in such a situation could learn a thing or two from these youngins'.

Peace and love 27.

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