rugby league

Last week, two fans were given indefinite bans from attending matches by the NRL, after directing abuse at South Sydney star at the end of his team's round-two loss to the Panthers.

Inglis said he was now fine with the matter, but still didn't want to talk publicly about the incident, which he had reported immediately to South Sydney management.

"I'll speak about it when I'm ready," Inglis said on Tuesday. "It's just a very touchy subject - I'll speak when I'm ready to speak about it."

The first two clashes have been announced with Pacific rivals Tonga and Samoa going head-to-head, as well as a match between Papua New Guinea and Lebanon.

Cronulla Sharks prop Andrew Fifita recently pleaded his allegiance to Mate Ma'a Tonga (MMT), turning his back on the State of Origin series as well as any chances to play for Australia's Kangaroos.

MMT coach Kristian Woolf says he fully supports Fifita's decision and the huge sacrifice it comes with.

On March 10th 1995 a New Zealand rugby league legacy was born. The Warriors make history running through a lit Mount Smart Stadium tunnel for the very first time.

Among those who ran out on that historic day was a 23-year-old Stephen Kearney.

Now 23 years on, the team he now coaches will begin their season on the exact same date in Perth with an objective to get the club back to winning ways.

"Certainly the hard work that the boys have put in during the preseason is about putting it all together for round one." says Stephen Kearney.

But this has changed in the past years as more women have come out to take part.

At least 12 teams from these villages, including Pari, Hanuabada, Tatana and Baruni, were present yesterday to compete in the first weekend of at least three rounds in the tournament.

This will see best players from some of these teams chosen to play in the women’s Hawks team.

The winning teams from this weekend will go into tryouts next weekend.

Each team was given three sets to play off.

This isn’t your typical rugby league bad boy story. Suli never breached the NRL’s code of conduct. There was no wild bender. No off-field misdemeanour. He’s a good kid.

But to put it simply, his heart just wasn’t in it. He lacked the desire to uphold standards required to play in the NRL and now finds himself on the brink of being lost to the game for good despite enormous talent.

When he was sent packing from the Wests Tigers just a month ago, the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs did their due diligence. They had heard the stories.

“Rugby league is in our hearts. Our boys can play,” said Hame Laki.

“The players in the team must be selected from within Hela as well and not just outside.”

Obert Ondale added: “There must not be biased selection when picking the team.

“Rugby league is in our blood and keeps the youths away from trouble. Through sports, peace will come. Hela Wigmen is for Hela.”

Laki and Ondale have the backing of the President of Komo Rugby League, Max Malai, who shared the sentiments.

New Zealand Rugby League has received a draft copy of the review which will be presented to the board at the end of the month.

The Kiwis failed to make the semi finals of the tournament, beaten by Tonga in pool play and then eliminated by Fiji in the quarterfinals.

In a statement New Zealand Rugby League chair Reon Edwards said the panel's findings will be made public early in March 2018, however the Board has agreed to make two immediate changes.

Wing Savea appeared in the final Test against the British and Irish Lions on July 8 but was omitted by Steve Hansen for the Rugby Championship and the November internationals.

The 27-year-old has scored 46 tries in 54 Test appearances for the All Blacks – just four away from surpassing Douglas Howlett as the country's most prolific player.

Savea is contracted with New Zealand Rugby until the end of the 2019 Rugby World Cup, though he is seemingly open to switching codes with his place in the national team uncertain.

Damon Salesa, an associate professor of Pacific Studies at Auckland University, said rugby should have more Pacific people involved in its decision-making.

Fifty years ago there were 56,000 people described as Pacific living in New Zealand but by 2013 that figure had increased to almost 300,000.

In Auckland, more than one in four babies is Pasifika.

During the recent Rugby League World Cup, two Pacific nations, Tonga and Fiji, made the semi-finals, while the Kiwis missed out.

Six nations will compete during a three-match festival at Campbelltown Stadium on June 23. Tonga, Samoa, Lebanon and Papua New Guinea will be joined by two further teams to be confirmed in the coming weeks.