After stumbling to make any progress, it appears as though we will be treated to more Tongan rugby league after the NRL season. A game against Australia, in Auckland looks likely to go ahead after NZRL got in their feelings and instead of everyone being in alignment towards the growth of international rugby league, some didn't want to help the cause.

At this point, it must be said that Samoa, Fiji and Papua New Guinea also deserve far more footy. All the buzz is around Tonga, any discussion about growing international rugby league though needs to include all nations in the South Pacific, heck all rugby league playing nations around the world. Right now things feel incredibly exclusive, borderline like the world of cricket where bigger nations making more money is the priority instead of a more competitive and global international landscape.

Step by step I guess and Tonga are leading us forward slowly. What has been slept on among the hype around Tonga's top-level talent, is that there is another wave of talent coming through the NRL and little to suggest that Tonga will be falling away from their perch any time soon.

The Tongan team that defeated Samoa earlier in the year didn't feature Tevita Pangai Junior. That's a great place to start, as adding Pangai Junior to an already dynamic Tongan forward pack is a scary thought. Pangai Junior will likely replace Manu Ma'u in the starting team, with Ma'u out injured for the rest of the season.

My focus is on the younger players though, those who will offer hope of sustained success. Both Tevita Tatola and Moeaki Fotuaika were selected in the squad for the Samoa game, with Tatola winning selection on the bench ahead of Fotuaika. Since then, Fotuaika has gone on to stamp his mark as one of the best young middle forwards in the NRL, adding plenty of impact through the middle for Gold Coast Titans.

Fotuaika should be in the mix for Tonga moving forward and given his NRL form, Fotuaika should join a forward pack of Jason Taumalolo, Andrew Fifita, Sio Siua Taukeiaho, Addin Fonua-Blake, Joe Ofahengaue and Peni Terepo. Fotuaika is of the same calibre as those forwards and could be a Tongan stalwart for years to come.

That's if Fotuaika sticks with Tonga and I'm just going to assume that any player who is eligible for Tonga and either Aotearoa or Australia, will stick with Tonga. There is a movement here, momentum and this should not only tempt players into chosing Tonga, but most importantly sticking with Tonga when selection for Aotearoa or Australia is up for grabs.

Fotuaika was a 2017 Junior Kiwi, coming off the bench along with Manly Sea Eagles hooker Manase Fainu. Despite Manly being a shambles, Fainu has benefited from those shambles as he earned a promotion to replace Apisai Koroisau ahead of Jackson Hastings. Fainu is lively out of dummy half and Tonga now have a rather crazy amount of dummy halves available to them; Siliva Havili and Sione Katoa are the current hooking duo.

Funnily enough, since Josh Hodgson has returned from injury for Canberra Raiders, Havili has become a middle forward for Canberra. This has only been possible because Havili has demanded selection through his strong form in Hodgson's absence and then through his powerful running and skills through the middle.

Ofahiki Ogden has also burst on to the NRL scene with Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs as a mobile, big middle forward. Ogden came through the Warriors as an edge forward but a shift to the middle has seen him shine and along with Lachlan Lewis and Reimis Smith, Ogden is one of the younger players at the Bulldogs who coach Dean Pay has got the best out of.

Like Ogden, Fainu and Fotuaika, Cronulla Sharks winger Sione Katoa is eligible for Tonga and Aotearoa having been selected in the 2017 JK squad. Katoa will have to first earn consistent selection for the Sharks, ahead of Sosaia Feki, who has previously represented Tonga and Junior Kiwis, but has fallen down the Tonga wing pecking-order.

Moses Suli's resurgence at Manly adds further depth to Tonga's outside back crop, with Suli already being a Tongan international. If you have any doubts about Tonga's depth, peep this list of outside backs who didn't play in the game vs Samoa but are eligible for Tonga: David Fusitu'a, Moses Suli, Sosaia Feki, Sione Katoa, Solomone Kata, George Jennings, Brenko Lee, Mahe Fonua, Michael Oldfield.

As for the forwards who could feature for Tonga soon enough, but didn't play for Tonga vs Samoa this year, here's another strong list: Moeaki Fotuaika, Ofahiki Ogden, Danny Fualalo, Patrick Kaufusi, Siosaia Vave, Moses Leota, Leivaha Pulu, Agnatius Paasi, Kelepi Tanginoa, Taniela Paseka, Albert Vete.

While there is plenty of Tongan depth, if they do play another game this year, they could be forced to re-jig their settled halves combination of Tuimoala Lolohea and Ata Hingano. Hingano has been ruled out for the season with an ankle injury for Canberra Raiders, which may come good by the time Tonga play, but the concern would be that neither he nor Lolohea has been playing NRL footy.

Tonga don't quite have the same depth in the halves as they do elsewhere and a major part of Tonga's recent success hasn't just been their star power; they've had a settled halves combo with Will Hopoate out the back. That spine is just as important as the power through the middle and how Tonga go about covering the potential absence of Hingano, along with Lolohea not playing NRL every week, will be of greater intrigue than the abundance of forwards available for selection.

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Peace and love 27.