Tonga sparked the international shake-up of rugby league but are losing the arms race to Samoa, as their star halfback went missing last week.
Meanwhile, New Zealand can make a statement about the international pecking order in the next fortnight amid a player exodus to their Pacific Island counterparts.
And Tamika Upton’s injury gives a young star the chance to shine for the Jillaroos, whose dominance is becoming a problem.
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Read on for the Pacific Championships Talking Points.
HAS TONGA BEEN LEFT BEHIND IN THE ARMS RACE?
Tonga were responsibly for shaking up international rugby league when players started to defect from the powerhouses, but Samoa has overtaken them in the pecking order.
When Andrew Fifita defected from the Kangaroos and Jason Taumalolo from New Zealand, Tonga started an avalanche of players choosing their native Pacific Island heritage over Australia and the Kiwis.
The sea of red took over international rugby league and Tonga beat both Australia and New Zealand to announce themselves as a potential tier one nation.
However, that early success seems a distant memory with Samoa outshining them in the last World Cup to reach the final in 2022, before going on to tour England last year in a three Test series.
Last week Samoa dominated Tonga 34-6 a week after pushing the Kiwis all the way in a 24-18 loss, to show just how far they have come as an international force.
The defection of incumbent Australian stars Payne Haas and Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow has given Samoa the upper hand in the arms race for star NRL players amongst the Pacific teams.
Haas is the best forward in the game and arguably the best player, while Tabuai-Fidow is one of the best fullbacks in the game and has dominated at representative level as a centre.
With rumours incumbent Kangaroos prop Tino Fa’asuamaleaui could also defect before the next World Cup, Samoa suddenly have the makings of a genuine contender for best team in the world.
A quick look at the calibre of backline stars Samoa have at their disposal in the likes of Roger Tuivasa-Sheck, Brian To’o, Izack Tago, Deine Mariner, Murray Taulagi, Blaize Talagi and Jarome Luai, with Tabuai-Fidow to come in when he returns from injury, shows how good this team can be.
And with Haas, Josh Papalii, Jeremiah Nanai, Terrell May and Junior Paulo, with Fa’asuamaleaui to potentially come into their star-studded pack, they are a real chance of winning the next World Cup.
Tonga have their fair of stars including Robert Toia, Isaiya Katoa, Addin Fonua-Blake, Stefano Utoikamanu, Eliesa Katoa and Daniel Tupou, but they don’t quite match up with the formidable Samoa team.
Perhaps Tonga need to look at inspiring another crop of players to defect from Australia and New Zealand to give them a chance of carrying on the momentum sparked by Fifita and Taumalolo all those years ago or risk Samoa leaving them in their wake.
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WHAT HAPPENED TO TONGA’S STAR MAN?
Isaiya Katoa finished equal third in the 2025 Dally M Medal race with Payne Haas, with only winner James Tedesco and Nathan Cleary ahead of him, but he went missing in Tonga’s convincing defeat at the hands of Samoa.
The Dolphins halfback had a stunning 2025 season at club level to finish with the third most try assists with 23 and the fifth most linebreak assists (21) as the Dolphins narrowly fell short of a maiden finals appearance despite a horror injury toll.
Matty Johns and Cooper Cronk waxed lyrical over Katoa’s playmaking brilliance at such a young age, praising the young halfback countless times for his ability to draw defenders and set his flyers free with pinpoint passes and clinical decision making.
Such was his form throughout the season, Katoa was mentioned as an Origin bolter after injuries to Mitchell Moses and Nathan Cleary throughout the 2025 series and one feels it is a matter of when not if for him to debut for NSW.
However, Katoa was far from his best as Samoa stunned Tonga 34-6 last week to book themselves a place in the Pacific Championships final.
Katoa had just 16 run metres, one offload, one tackle bust and two linebreak assists, but he had zero try assists, an error, conceded two penalties and missed seven tackles against Samoa.
On the other side of the field Samoa’s Blaize Talagi and Jarome Luai had three try assists, three linebreak assists and over 100 run metres between them to outpoint Katoa and destroy Tonga.
Part of the problem for Katoa may have been he was playing with a new halves partner in Eels fullback Isaiah Iongi, but it was still a disappointing display given Tonga needed their chief playmaker to stand up.
Katoa now needs to inspire Tonga to an upset win over the in form Kiwis, which will take a much improved performance from the young playmaker than he produced last week.
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KIWIS’ CHANCE FOR REVENGE ON PACIFIC NEIGHBOURS AMID EXODUS
New Zealand have watched countless players defect from the Kiwis to Tonga and Samoa in recent years, but they can have the last laugh by beating both on route to the Pacific Championships final.
New Zealand beat Samoa 24-18 in a thriller in the opening weekend, with Dylan Brown and Casey McLean starring to lead the Kiwis to a nail-biting win.
Brown had two try assists, a try and over 100 run metres, while McLean finished with 119 metres and a classy double as the Kiwis got home by a converted try in a classic Test match.
Now they take on a Tonga side who are reeling after their 34-6 humiliation by Samoa for a chance to go undefeated into the final with Samoa next week.
New Zealand are somewhat the forgotten team of international rugby league after the rise of Samoa and Tonga, with the former making the World Cup final in 2022.
However, New Zealand only lost to champions Australia narrowly in the semi-final and thrashed the Kangaroos 30-0 in the 2023 Pacific Championships final a year later.
The Kiwis are still the only team other than Australia to taste success in the Men’s Pacific Championships and they can keep it that way with a victory over Tonga this week and Samoa in the final.
Tonga and Samoa might look formidable on paper these days, but so do New Zealand and they are the ones that are icing tournaments and winning trophies.
The likes of Charnze Nicoll-Klokstadd, James Fisher-Harris, Moses Leota, Joseph Tapine, Brown and McLean make this New Zealand team very dangerous and a real threat to win the World Cup in 2026.
And if they can make a statement against their Pacific Island neighbours in the next fortnight and clinch a second Pacific Championships title, they will show there is still a pecking order and they sit on top.
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STAR’S INJURY OPENS DOOR FOR JILLAROOS GUN TO SHINE
Australia will unleash a new fullback against New Zealand in the Pacific Championships this weekend.
Two-time Dally M winner Tamika Upton has been ruled out of this weekend’s clash with a calf injury, although she’s expected to be right as rain for the final on Sunday week.
“Tamika pulled up on Tuesday’s training with calf soreness, so our performance staff just took some precautionary actions and wanted to get that checked out,” Jillaroos coach Jess Skinner said.
“It’s been a really long season for Tamika, and she has had issues with the calf previously. She’s got a minor strain, so it’s best that we look after her and work towards getting her back for next week.”
In Upton’s place will be the talented Abbi Church, who plies her trade for the Eels during the NRLW season.
This will be Church’s first Test appearance, but she has represented the PM XII side on three occasions, scoring three tries.
While she’ll make way for Upton in the final, the call up is a well deserved achievement for Church.
She’s consistently been among the best backs in the women’s game over the last two to three years and thoroughly deserves her shot.
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IS JILLAROOS’ DOMINANCE A PROBLEM FOR WOMEN’S RUGBY LEAGUE?
The Jillaroos are a brilliant footy team, but their dominance of rugby league could be hurting the NRL’s bid to grow the internatrional women’s game.
Australia’s women’s team are full of some of the biggest stars in the game and it is not their fault they keep blowing their opponents away, but it might be the game’s problem.
The Jillaroos thrashed England in Las Vegas last season, with the NRL deciding to cut the women’s game from this year’s fixtures list for the season opening extravaganza.
Now they have destroyed Samoa in their opening Pacific Championships clash and if they do the same to New Zealand, it will set up a failry hollow replay in the decider.
The Jillaroos are one of the most dominant teams in world sport and their players are to be commended for continuing to improve and push the boundaires of what they can achieve as a team.
However, the onus is on the rest of the international teams to up their games and develop their players and improve their preparation, so that they can match this formidable Australian team and grow the international women’s game.
Fans want to see the Jillaroos players carving it up in all their glory, but they also want to see competitive rugby league and that is the only way the women’s international game continues to grow and thrive as a spectacle for supporters.
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