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Eligibility rules under microscope
Fuifui Moimoi (L) and Taniela Tuiaki have represented the Kiwis but are now keen to play for Tonga. Photo / Greg Bowker
The international federation will review eligibility rules after this year's rugby league World Cup in an effort to clean up the image of the game.
At present it's a murky world that can only get foggier as more New Zealanders and Polynesians are born or live in Australia and there are numerous cases of players who switch allegiance seemingly at the drop of a hat.
Current international rules state that players who are eligible for more than one country can elect which one to represent for a minimum of two years or until the end of a World Cup.
But it's not always as simple as that. Taniela Tuiaki and Fuifui Moimoi, for example, both received dispensation from the international board to play for the Kiwis last year soon after representing Tonga, but are now keen to commit to Tonga for the World Cup.
A tug-of-war is also looming over Tonga's Feleti Mateo, who is being talked about as an outside chance for a place in the Kangaroos.
It's a bad look for the game and Australian Rugby League chief executive Geoff Carr said eligibility was on the agenda for talks after November's World Cup.
"There was a desire from the international federation to review things after the World Cup," he said. "Those rules were framed that way so players could represent the island nations at World Cups. That's the only time those countries play.
"One major issue is whether we can provide a satisfactory rep programme for the likes of Tonga and Samoa. We will see in this World Cup they will field pretty strong NRL-quality sides but the only way those players have been able to play rep footy in the past on a regular basis is to play for Australia or New Zealand."
One suggestion has been to include a Pacific Island side in the expanded Quad Nations when it is hosted in the Southern Hemisphere but even that isn't likely to be enough to persuade players to commit to an island nation.
The NZRL are keen to see players select their country of preference earlier in their career, especially with the likelihood of more junior internationals.
Last year's Junior Kiwis and Kangaroos match (under-20 level) will be repeated in 2009 and there are talks about introducing trans-Tasman fixtures at under-16 and under-18 level. Another suggestion mooted has been to introduce an under-20 Tri-Nations.
"Logically, if we are going to have Junior Kiwis and Junior Kangaroos this problem will only increase," Carr said. "We may have to get young players to select a country earlier.
"Depending on funding, we can start to play internationals at 16s and 18s and maybe 18 is not a bad time to at least ask players what their intentions may be.
"Down the track they can change but they may have to make applications to do that. Selection is going to be a nightmare if we all pick the same kid."
This happened last year when at least three players were initially picked for both the Junior Kiwis and Kangaroos. Two decided to play for New Zealand.
The prevalence of New Zealanders playing in Australia - the NZRL estimate 80 per cent of this country's players compete across the Tasman - has seen the national body undertake an extensive search to know the exact number eligible for the Kiwis.
Most of the attention has been aimed at junior level so both the NZRL and players themselves are aware of their options.
For last year's Junior Kiwis test, for example, 14 of the 18 picked thought they were ineligible to play for New Zealand.
NZRL high performance director Tony Kemp was charged with unearthing as many Kiwi players as possible and has reported some significant findings.
When he was asked to come up with a complete list last year, Kemp struggled to get one under-20 side on his whiteboard. He now has six. And counting.
It's become easier with the introduction of the Toyota Cup but there are plenty also playing in feeder grades like the SG Ball and Harold Matthews Cups.
"It's not new [what we're doing]," Kemp said. "The Australians have had a pretty easy ride to get players to align with them. I have just thrown a spanner in the works.
"We want the international game to prosper and the only way we can do that is to be competitive and the only way we can do that is by picking our own kids.
"We've set up an extensive network of people in NSW and Queensland and word is spreading through rugby league like wildfire. A lot of people who are mentoring these kids have heard about it and contacted me to make themselves known."
Someone in Sydney independent of the NZRL has even set up a Bebo site for New Zealand-eligible players to register on.
"I have gone so far to say to people at the NZRL that if we get our A into G in five years we will be world champions," Kemp said. "At the moment we are miles away from Australia because we don't have a meaningful high-performance programme."
