Pacific Cup 2024

[Thatwasnthighref]

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Nice, thanks for sharing.

Some good names there but are they missing anyone? I could be wrong but just expected a few more established first graders. At one stage it seemed like every club had a flying Fijian on their roster.

And seeing Kamikamica’s name reminds me, does anyone know if he injured himself in the GF? One 20min stint at the start with just 2 carries – including the very first run of the game - and he was never seen again. Seemed weird, especially with NAS out.

 

[Matua]

I know right... the pack is monstrous and with Katoa, Hopoate and Luke they have some genuine class in the spine. Fk me that team is stacked.

Other than maybe Dave Fifita, I'm struggling to think of a Tongan eligible player that's opted for either the Roos or Kiwis..? They seem to have successfully captured all their best players.

TBH looking through that Tongan side there aren't that many who have genuine NZ links and would have been selected by the Kiwis. The majority of them were born in NZ and then moved to Oz young or are Aussies. The few that actually came through the grades in NZ aren't good enough for the Kiwis. And then there's one Tongan Tongan (as in born and raised in Tonga) and one guy who's played for two national teams already.

 

[shinobi]

Samoa squad named:

 

[Matua]

I wonder if Mariner chose Samoa or if he went with them after being overlooked by the Kiwis?

 

[Wheeled Warrior]

I wonder if Mariner chose Samoa or if he went with them after being overlooked by the Kiwis?

Mariner wanted to play for the Kiwis. What a shame to been overlooked for Hiku lol

 

[Manu Vatuvei]

Yeah short as we are on centres, it's interesting that the likes of Hiku and McLean got picked over guys like Mariner, Arthars, Kris, and yes even Berry or Leiataua. Sure you could say they're not Kiwi standard, but they're no less so than an 18 year old rookie or an ageing ex-NRL player. Basically, a rookie and a guy from the past have been preferred over current, fairly regular NRL players.

 

[Matua]

Mariner wanted to play for the Kiwis. What a shame to been overlooked for Hiku lol

According to @Clarkent an NRL article said he turned the Kiwis down.

 

[Clarkent]

Mariner wanted to play for the Kiwis. What a shame to been overlooked for Hiku lol

 

[Wheeled Warrior]

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Luai and all the stars influencing the young ones over. Makes sense with the Hiku call-up.

 

[shinobi]

I saw Willison was named for the Kukis. Wonder if he knocked NZ back or didnt get selected. Would think he would be there ahead of Whyte. Or is he eligible for Origin and hedging his bets?

 

[JJ]

Liam Martin out for Straya, Hudson Young replaces him...

 

[Big Marn]

Fiji and Samoa teams shouldnt hold any fears for the Kiwis.
What was Khan-Pereiras eligibility status? I see he is in the Prime Ministers 13 vs PNG. Gunning for Australia and Queensland?
He has a Samoan/Maori father according to wiki.

sidenote ( Luke Metcalf trying to give himself opportunities to injure himself over the offseason by being included in the PM13 squad...)

 

[Thatwasnthighref]

I saw Willison was named for the Kukis. Wonder if he knocked NZ back or didnt get selected. Would think he would be there ahead of Whyte. Or is he eligible for Origin and hedging his bets?

There was a write up on him a few months back... from memory he moved to Aus at 15 which rules him out for Origin unless there's some other rule quirk that gets him in.

 

[JJ]

Hughes out now for us...

 

[Manu Vatuvei]

I tried to count and got up to 13 eligible halves or hookers unavailable for us. It's all a bit of a joke.

Ah well, now hoping for something along the lines of us beating Australia in 2003 with Faumuina and a barely 18 year old Leuluai in the halves.

 

[Matua]

Hughes out now for us...

Well, I guess we're screwed now.

 

[Meth]

Johnson is in.

So, yeah, we're screwed.

 

[Matua]

Johnson is in.

So, yeah, we're screwed.

But slightly less screwed than we were - we could have been running out at Nikorima/Hiku combo.

 

[Thatwasnthighref]

Is SJ really back in? Thought he ruled himself out after testing his achilles?

 

[Manu Vatuvei]

Busted, retired 2024 SJ is probably worse in reality than almost any other option we could have chosen. However, his name on the team sheet does give me more delusional cause for false hope than the other options, so that's nice.