The third edition of the Pacific Championships gets underway this weekend with one game apiece from the Pacific Cup (NZ v Samoa) and Pacific Bowl (Fiji v Cook Islands).
For the first time, there’s no Australia involved. The Kangaroos are in the UK for an Ashes Tour against England. Instead, New Zealand, Samoa and Tonga will battle it out with all three nations naming loaded squads.
Read on for all of the talking points for the 2025 Pacific Championships.
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STATE OF PLAY IN BOOMING INTERNATIONAL GAME
In years gone by, the Kangaroos and Kiwis were all but assured a spot in the Pacific Championships finals.
But this year the Australian side is touring England for a historic Ashes tour, and there’s never been a more even playing field in the international game.
Payne Haas and Jeremiah Nanai turned their back on the Kangaroos to represent Samoa, while the likes of Tino Fa’asuamaleaui and Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow were also considering an allegiance switch.
Previously, Jason Taumalolo switched from New Zealand to Tonga on the eve of the 2017 World Cup, in a move that sent ripples through the international game.
That move inspired the likes of Stephen Crichton, Brian To’o and Jarome Luai to represent Samoa at the 2022 World Cup, and more dominoes look set to fall in years to come.
Already, the 2025 Pacific Championships squads are the strongest we’ve seen, with every player named in Cup squads (NZ, Samoa and Tonga) being contracted to an NRL club.
So with the 2024 Cup winner Australia not featuring, the stage is set for a mouth-watering contest.
Will Haas’ presence lift Samoa to new heights; and might they even have triumphed in the 2022 World Cup final had he featured?
Could Tonga, who have one of rugby league’s scariest forward packs, charge over the top of their rivals?
Or will New Zealand flex their muscles and prove they sit atop the pecking order in this year’s competition?
It is anyone’s victory for the taking.
Meanwhile in the Bowl, the likes of Jahream Bula, Kurt Donoghoe, Tui Kamikamica, Jethro Rinakama and Sunia Turuva will feature for Fiji.
The Cook Islands boas KL Iro, Mason Teague, Marata Niukore, Davvy Moale and Brendan Piakura, who just won an NRL premiership with Brisbane.
And Papua New Guinea will be out to prove they can be a successful expansion franchise when they come into the NRL in 2028. A number of their stars will be looking to impress NRL clubs, not just the incoming PNG Chiefs.
So even in the Bowl competition, an abundance of first grade talent will give fans some tasty match-ups.
International rugby league is not only back.
It has never been stronger, and will only get better.
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TOIA HEADLINES ORIGIN NEXT-GEN HEADED STRAIGHT TO OTHER NATIONS
Robert Toia starred for Sydney Roosters, played every game in a State of Origin series win for Queensland and won NRL Rookie of the Year in an astonishing maiden first grade campaign.
The brilliant young centre is of a new breed to most of the stars named prior. In the past, many young guns would begin their Test careers with Tier 2 nations before graduating to represent Australia or another Tier 1 international side, but now representing the likes of Tonga and Samoa is the ultimate dream.
Having been born in New Zealand before moving to Australia at age six, and thus eligible for both nations, Toia has instead opted immediately to represent Tonga to honour his family heritage.
While he could light up the Origin arena for a decade, he may never wear green and gold. So too the likes of Tonga teammate Isaiya Katoa, while modern greats like To’o and Crichton have only ever represented Samoa.
The number of stars who play Origin without representing the Kangaroos will only increase, especially if the rules are clarified to enable such a move. As is stands, players are still meant to put Australian Test eligibility first and foremost, but the rules are conveniently rubbery for Tier 2 nations.
Pride in family heritage is immense among the booming generation of Pasifika origin and Toia is no exception. This was his first Tonga call-up and Toia was emotional when coach Kristian Woolf called. His family were in tears.
“I was pretty overwhelmed when Woolfy gave me the green light,” he told NRL.com.
“Words couldn’t (describe) my parents and how proud they were. Both parents were crying, my grandparents were crying. It just shows how much it means to them and obviously myself.
“Growing up, watching the boys putting on the red jersey, I’ve always wanted to put the jersey on, becoming a player.”
Camp has been in Tonga and it was Toia’s first visit to his ancestral homeland. He was given a marvellous welcome at the airport and already loves the fans he is representing.
“Everyone knows the Red Sea, there’s no other fanbase like that. The Red Sea is different and I’m just keen to experience that and play for them. Represent my people.”
BROWN’S CHANCE TO SHOW KNIGHTS HE’S WORTH $13M INVESTMENT
Dylan Brown will join the Knights after the Pacific Championships to begin his record $13 million, 10-year deal with the club.
Brown is coming off a quiet season by his standards. The Eels dropped him and used him in the centres amid their succession plan to replace the star playmaker in 2026.
The 25-year-old scored five tries in 19 games, taking his career tally to 37 in 142 games for the Eels since his debut in 2019, including the 2022 grand final appearance.
Brown has scored two tries in eight Tests for his country playing predominantly five-eighth, which is where he was picked in the New Zealand team to face Samoa in their Pacific Championships opener.
His halves partner will be Kieran Foran, in a swansong before retirement, after Jahrome Hughes was ruled out with the broken arm that hampered the end of his season with Melbourne.
Curiously, Brown told CODE Sports that Foran was the general and he was content to play the No. 6 role he has made his own at Test level in recent seasons.
“We have Kieran Foran here too, so he is the general,” Brown said. “I reckon I’ll be playing that six role, which I’m happy to do, and I’ve always done it for the Kiwis.”
However, the Knights might be nervous listening to those remarks, given they paid a small fortune for Brown to come and be their chief playmaker for the next decade.
With Jack Cogger returning to the Panthers and Jackson Hastings being moved on, Brown is expected to play No.7 alongside rising star Fletcher Sharpe in new coach Justin Holbrook’s halves next season. Many, including club icons Andrew and Matthew Johns, remain convinced he is a pure No.6, not an organising halfback.
Regardless of what number he prefers on his back for the Kiwis, Brown needs a big tournament to convince Knights fans he is worth his massive pay packet.
The Knights have Kalyn Ponga for the next two seasons, so Brown won’t have to do everything in attack, but he also can’t expect to come and play the same role he did at the Eels because Newcastle don’t have Mitchell Moses alongside him.
And Ponga’s future beyond his current deal (which expires in 2027) is uncertain, so Brown could be the lone superstar in the Knights’ spine in a couple of years.
Brown needs to show in the Pacific Championships that he can be the main man in attack and dominate at Test level, to give Newcastle fans hope for the future.
If a near-retired player in Foran outshines him and dominates the ball as the chief playmaker, or if Brown struggles to fire, noise about a potential disaster at Newcastle will only grow louder before his time in blue and red even begins..
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KATOA OUT TO CAPITALISE ON STUNNING NRL SEASON
Over the past few years, there has been a rugby league rejuvenation of Tonga at international level. For proof of that, you only have to look at the squad they’ve named for this year’s Pacific Championships.
There are a raft of superstars lining up for Tonga at essentially every position on the field. However, no player is more important in the country’s bid for a maiden Pacific Cup triumph than their halfback.
Isiaya Katoa was outstanding for the Dolphins in 2025, finishing third in the NRL for try assists and fifth in line break assists.
The Dolphins were lethal in attack, leading the NRL in points scored. Katoa was obviously a big reason why.
He just missed out on the Dally M Halfback of the Year award and there were many of the opinion he probably should have won it over former Panthers clubmate Nathan Cleary.
Katoa is still young, so there will be plenty of time for individual awards. His focus now is to lead Tonga to some historic silverware.
A reason behind Katoa’s improved 2025 campaign was the experience he took out of leading his national team around the park at this time last year. They went close to winning the trophy, reaching the Pacific Cup final against Australia, but fell just short with a 20-14 loss to the Kangaroos.
Speaking to foxsports.com.au back in pre-season, Katoa said that being given the opportunity of leading Tonga around last year was a career highlight. He also said that being tasked to guide a Tonga team full of world-class players against sides like Australia and New Zealand forced him to improve his leadership skills and his assertiveness.
He’s clearly a better player than he was 12 months ago and with all the talent outside him this time around, Tonga are poised to go one better in the Pacific Cup.
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HAAS TO LEAD NEW-LOOK, RED-HOT SAMOA SIDE
No forward in the world is in better form than Payne Haas.
The hulking Broncos prop was simply outstanding in 2025, especially in the finals series as Brisbane broke a 19-year premiership drought.
Before all of his finals heroics though, Haas made the stunning decision to switch international allegiance from Australia to Samoa, so that he could honour the heritage of his mother’s side of the family. The Kangaroos’ massive loss is Samoa’s gain and his addition in the middle of the park makes them a far more formidable team.
Samoa have all the ingredients for a title-winning side, with Roger Tuivasa-Sheck, Blaize Talagi and Jarome Luai forming a brilliant spine.
In Origin stars Murray Taulagi and Brian To’o, they have two of the best finishers in the game and even without Stephen Crichton due to injury, they have premiership players Izack Tago and Deine Mariner in the centres.
With the likes of Jeremiah Nanai and Jaydn Su’A in their back row and Josh Papali’i up front, Haas seems the final piece of the puzzle to make them a world-beating side.
Given Australia are in England for the Ashes, Haas has a real chance to lead Samoa to a first Pacific Championships title and we will get a real gauge of where they are at in their first game against the Kiwis on Sunday.
Haas’ future in the NRL is somewhat uncertain amid interest from R360, which is now under attack from an angry NRL armed with decade-long playing bans. Now that he has tasted premiership success, there is some chance Haas could go to the highest bidder and set up his family for life.
But playing for Samoa is not about the money for Haas and it is one of the final things to tick off on his rugby league bucket list to lead them to a title.
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TIME FOR EXCUSES OVER AS FIJI CHASE BIGGER THINGS
Fiji have been battling to keep up with Pacific heavyweights Samoa and Tonga in recent years, but the time for excuses is over after they named their strongest squad yet.
Fiji are a proud footballing nation and their rugby union counterparts have dominated in Rugby Sevens for years. However, their rugby league side has struggled to match the improvement of their south sea counterparts, who have risen to challenge the likes of Australia and New Zealand in the Pacific Championships Cup competition.
The Bati have been consigned to playing the Cook Islands and Papua New Guinea in the Bowl tournament and they haven’t exactly dominated those teams either.
They made the Pacific Cup final in 2023, losing to PNG 32-12. Last year, they finished second behind PNG, missing out on a chance to play NZ in the promotion/relegation playoff.
But when you look at the calibre of NRL players that are now in their team, Fiji can no longer be happy with making the Bowl competition each year. They must push ahead to try and beat the best teams in the Pacific Championships and at World Cups every four years.
Their back three of Tigers duo Jahream Bula and Sunia Turuva and Bulldogs flyer Jethro Rinakama have genuine class. They could be there for the next decade.
And with Tui Kamikamica, Kitione Kautoga and Caleb Navale in their pack, the Bati have the players up front to set the platform. Ideally, the likes of Api Koroisau and Viliame Kikau would also be on deck, but both were ruled out of the tournament with injury.
The knock on Fiji in recent seasons is that they haven’t had the fitness and class in the halves to match the top teams in the world. But in Dolphins star Kurt Donoghoe they have a player capable of being their long-term answer in the halves and Brandon Wakeham has NRL experience to do a job at No.7.
However, Fiji need to develop a harder edge because while they can score some amazing tries and have attacking players with speed to burn, they need to lock down in defence to one day have a chance of beating the elite teams in the international game.
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COOK ISLANDS AIMING TO BREAK DUCK IN PACIFIC BOWL
Since the inception of the Pacific Championships in 2023, the Cook Islands have failed to win a game from four attempts.
They went close to winning one in 2023, getting within four points of Fiji in a 22-18 defeat, but in their two fixtures last year they were beaten by a combined 72 points.
In the third edition of the Pacific Bowl the Cook Islands will field their most competitive side yet, with two NRL stars in KL Iro and Brendan Piakura out to help the Aitu reclaim some pride after a disappointing 2024 campaign.
Iro will captain the side in their opener against Fiji this Saturday afternoon. It’ll be his first game for the Aitu since 2023.
Meanwhile, Piakura hasn’t represented the Cook Islands since 2022. Coming off a stellar finals series to the Broncos, he’ll be full of confidence and out to set the tone early in Saturday’s fixture.
Out of the three teams in the Pacific Bowl, the Cook Islands still have the weakest side on paper, but they are closing the gap.
With Iro, Piakura and several other NRL contracted players such as Reuben Porter, Mason Teague and Makahesi Makatoa named for this weekend’s clash, it wouldn’t be a total shock to see the Cook Islands pull off an upset against a slightly undermanned Fijian outfit.
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