Tonga

Men:

Samoa - Nevo Ioane (62kg category)

Australia – Simplice Ribouem (94kg category)

New Zealand - Richard Patterson (85kg category)

Fiji - Manueli Tulo (56kg category)

Kiribati - David Katoatau (105kg category)

Nauru - Elson Brechtefeld (56kg category)

American Samoa: Tanumafili Jungblut (94kg category)

PNG -Morea Baru (62kg) category

Women:

Samoa - Mary Opeloge (75kg category)

Australia - Tia-Clair Toomey (58kg category)

New Zealand - Tracey Lambrechs (+75kg category)

Nearly 50 of the players involved are already on NRL rosters. 

Saturday’s blockbuster schedule will see the Junior Kangaroos take on their Kiwi counterparts, before Fiji and Papua New Guinea lock horns. 

Samoa will clash with Tonga in the second test. 

“It’s definitely going to be physical, no player is going to be holding back, it’s just the history of the two nations," Samoa captain Frank Pritchard told SBS News. 

"Come Saturday I’m sure there will be a lot of fans running on the ground at the end of the game.” 

Transcript

LEIGH SALES, PRESENTER: A group seasonal workers from Fiji and Tonga came to Australia with the promise of earning good money to send home to their families. But that's not how things have worked out.

Since they arrived last month under the official program, the fruit and vegetable pickers have been shocked and disappointed. Some of them earn just a few dollars a day after deductions.

This was confirmed to Radio Tonga News by the Director of the National Emergency Management Office, Leveni 'Aho after a government team completed its initial assessment of the island on Saturday.

The assessment found minor structural damages to some of the schools, Prince Ngu hospital and two causeways. 

Severe damage was inflicted on fruit trees such as breadfruits, bananas and coconuts.

More than 2,000 people were sheltered in town and district halls across the island during the cyclone.

Tech problems blamed for teacher pay woes

http://www.looppng.com/content/tech-problems-blamed-teacher-pay-woes

The Acting Secretary for Education, Dr Uke Kombra has advised that technical problems with the Alesco HRIS have affected the processing of salaries for teachers nationwide and the public servants paid under the Education Payroll.

Little Dalilah Peter recovering after heart surgery

The cyclone was downgraded to a category two on Monday afternoon as it moved towards Fiji's southern Lau group, but Misaeli Funaki, a forecaster at the Fiji Meteorological Service, said the storm still had damaging winds as high as 155 kilometres an hour.

A national clean up campaign in collaboration with Tonga Red Cross, HMAF military personnel and others has started to eliminate the breeding sites for the mosquitoes that spread the virus.

So far there are 542 suspected cases and seven confirmed cases of Zika. Of the seven cases, two were confirmed in Tonga and five were reported from New Zealand from people who had travelled to Tonga and became sick when they returned home where they tested positive for Zika.

“None of these seven confirmed cases are pregnant women,” he said, but these seven were mostly female.

A Papua New Guinea delegation flew home after spending four days in Nuku'alofa assessing the Kingdom's sporting facilities.

PNG, which hosted the 2015 Games, has offered to assist Tonga and will be involved in the refurbishment of the Teufaiva National Stadium.

China and New Zealand have also made significant financial contributions and Tonga's Sports Minister, Fe'ao Vakata, who chairs the facilities committee, said the venues will be delivered on time.

Health Minister Saia Piukala said three New Zealand-based Tongans who travelled to the islands for a holiday had returned home and also tested positive.

Dr Piukala said the 265 suspected cases were from those who had sought treatment for acute fever, skin rashes and flu-like symptoms.

He said 35 specimens had been sent overseas for further analysis.

The government had launched an awareness campaign and was trying to destroy potential mosquito breeding areas.

Dr Piukala said schools had been closing for one day at a time throughout the kingdom.

In a press conference in Tonga this week, Tkatchenko told Tonga Internal Affairs Minister,  Sosefo Fe'aomoeata Vakata that PNG will identify and assist Tonga in areas where it can.

"Three years is suitable enough time to prepare, compared to the amount of time Papua New Guinea had to prepare for the 2015 Games, and we want to be able to help start immediately," said Tkatchenko.

Tkatchenko said besides assistance with infrastructure and planning, PNG will also help Tonga athletes prepare under the High Performance Training Centre in Port Moresby.