'Rugby league can be a religion in Tonga': Legacy of 300-game stars

Isaiya Katoa admits he is still starstruck when he plays alongside Daniel Tupou and Jason Taumalolo but the legacy of the first Tongan players to reach the milestone of 300 NRL games goes beyond the Pacific nation.

Just three weeks after watching Taumalolo achieve the feat in North Queensland, Tonga Prime Minister Lord Fakafānua will again lead a delegation, which includes Princess Angelika Lātūfuipeka Tukuʻaho, to an NRL match as Tupou makes his 300th appearance for Sydney Roosters on Saturday night.

Like Taumalolo, Tupou chose to represent his heritage at the 2017 World Cup and was part of the Tonga side that changed the face of rugby league forever after they beat New Zealand and fell agonisingly short of a semi-final triumph against England.

The decision those players made and the success of Tonga inspired other players to represent their heritage, leading to the establishment of the Pacific Championships and the introduction of the PNG Chiefs as a Pasifika team in the NRL.

“Guys like Jason Taumalolo and Taniela Tupou started that movement and now we are all seeing how much that has changed the game,” Katoa said.

“They are my team-mates when I go play with them in the Tongan camp but before they were my team-mates I was looking up to them and idolising them because of what they do for our country and the joy that they bring back to our country.

They are true inspirations to young Tongan kids - myself included – and what they did is something that will never be forgotten.

“It is every kid’s dream to play one game in the NRL but for them to have the diligence, the resilience and the perseverance to play 300 games, I think it is pretty special that they did it a couple of weeks apart.”

Katoa attended the signing of the Pacific Rugby League Partnership in Brisbane on Wednesday, which was the first time four of the region’s Prime Ministers - Australia’s Anthony Albanese, PNG’s James Marape, Samoa’s Laʻaulialemalietoa Leuatea Polataivao Fosi Schmidt and Tonga’s Lord Fakafānua – had gathered outside of a political forum.

“The biggest thing that I took away from it was how rugby league brings us together, and the Prime Minister from PNG said that the PNG Chiefs is not only a PNG team, it’s a team for all of our Tongan, Samoan and Fijian players so that is a pathway they can go down," Katoa said.

Prime Minister Marape had earlier declared that the Chiefs would be “the team of the Pacific”.

“This is not just PNG concept. PNG Rugby League will embrace Tonga Rugby league, Samoa Rugby League and Fiji Rugby League, as well as Niue and Cook Islands,” he said.

Prime Minister Fakafānua responded: “There is a saying in Tonga: When the Chief has spoken there is nothing else to say. The Chiefs will be a platform and a pathway for players from Samoa, Fiji and also from Tonga, and we welcome that.

Rugby League can be a religion in Tonga, we definitely have the funding and the ambition and the will,

“The talent is there and what I am so proud of is the fact that the family of the Pacific has come together in a sport that is unifying people.

“This is the start of something great, this is something wonderful. The change and the difference that this is going to make to both boys and girls across the Pacific, particularly in Samoa, Tonga and Fiji, cannot be understated.”

He also paid tribute to the likes of Taumalolo, Tupou and others Tongan players for their role in starting the momentum that is now building for the game across the Pacific and will be showcased at Rugby League World Cup 2026.

“That was definitely the beginning of the movement; one that has served for the betterment of the sport and for the countries involved,” said Prime Minister Fakafānua, who is also Chair of Tonga Rugby League – a position he held before being elected to lead the country in 2025.

“Congratulations to Jason Taumalolo and also to Daniel Tupou, who have managed to achieve 300 games for their respective club. That is something we want to celebrate with them together.

“It is so inspiring and that is evident in the Red Sea - the supporters who turn up for Tonga, (with) the red flags and the red jerseys. Everyone is just so proud of them, from their families to their villages, the whole country is and the government is behind them.

“I'm so happy that we have talented boys and people like Jason Taumalolo and Daniel Tupou reach a milestone in their career. Not many players make it to 100 games or 200 games, and definitely less make it to 300 matches. I’m supporting Daniel Tupou all the way.”

Taumalolo and Tupou are set to line up together for Tonga in a World Cup for the last time later this year, with Kristian Woolf's team opening their campaign against England in Perth on October 17 before taking on Lebanon on October 23 and Samoa on November 1, both at CommBank Stadium.