Tonga Rugby League

The side is playing under the banner of "Invitational XIII" against Great Britain this weekend and against Australia on 2 November.

The situation arose after a Supreme Court ruled the Tonga National Rugby League was the only authority able to operate the official national representative side, Mate Ma'a Tonga, following a long-running dispute between coach Kristian Woolf and the TNRL.

Despite this ruling, the TNRL remains suspended by the International Rugby League governing body pending their own investigations into the matter.

The Salford ace has had one question running through his mind over recent months – what the hell is going on?

Tonga’s official board fell out with coaches and players, meaning boss Kristian Woolf was sacked and the top stars that committed to the Pacific island would have boycotted games.

Things were so bad, the International Rugby League board took action and brought in the ‘Tonga Invitational XIII’ to make sure the top talent played this Autumn, bossed by the new St Helens chief.

Lolohea, who enjoyed a new lease of life following his mid-season move from Leeds, was a key member of the Tongan team that reached the 2017 World Cup semi- finals and flew out to Auckland in June for the Test against New Zealand.

Kristian Woolf, who is delaying his arrival at St Helens after being restored as head coach, is able to field a virtual full-strength side for their first-ever match against the Lions, with Andrew Fifita, Ata Hingano and Michael Jennings available after missing the mid-season defeat by the Kiwis due to injury.

Tonga became the first second-tier nation to beat a tier-one side when they beat New Zealand 28-22 that day, and ahead of facing Great Britain on Saturday night Taukeiaho said the venue and city of Hamilton remained special to the squad.

"It is going to bring out some emotions for sure," Taukeiaho said.

"A lot of us love being here in Hamilton because of that memory, we have a lot of fans here as well and the atmosphere is awesome.

"It's good to be back in the colours again seeing familiar faces, as well as some new faces coming into the squad."

Woolf was sacked amid accusations from the current TNRL board that he misused team funds in a bank account.

His dismissal prompted the team’s senior players including Jason Taumalolo and Andrew Fifita to threaten to boycott end-of-season games.

“There has been some really poor allegations made suggesting that there is something going on financially,” Woolf told Tagata Pasifika.

“I think to understand why that is a ridiculous comment is you got to understand that before anyone can access any money from an account, it needs board approval in writing.”

Now the outspoken NRL star has set his sights on letting his football do the talking when the Tongan invitational team battle in the inaugural World Cup nines.

After enduring a rollercoaster season for Cronulla, which included a premature exit from the finals, Fifita can only see smooth times ahead.

"I'm sweet. I'm ready to go. I played (Koori) knockout last weekend, so I know my game fitness is pretty good," Fifita said.

"I missed one game through injury this year. That was caused by a very hairy knock. But other than that, suspensions got the better of me."

The ruling, issued on Friday, clashes with a recent suspension of the TNRL by the world governing body - Rugby League International Federation, (RLIF) - which came after Tonga's then-acting Prime Minister Semisi Sika declared the local body had lost the trust and support of the government, clubs and players.

Mr Sika has since lost a prime ministerial vote and finds himself on the outside of government, yet the RLIF still backed his call to place an interim administration in charge of the sport ahead of upcoming internationals against Great Britain and Australia.

Last night the Rugby League International Federation (RLIF) made the call which could see the Tonga's top players return to the fold in upcoming tests against Australia and Great Britain, after they initially threatened to boycott the games unless action was taken against the TNRL.

The international federation said the TNRL was suspended pending a full investigation into issues raised by a number of parties.

The decision was made after Tonga's Acting Prime Minister Semisi Sika told the federation the TNRL had lost the trust and support of its members, clubs and players.

Semisi Sika sent a letter to the global administrators, RLIF, saying the country's governing body, Tonga National Rugby League (TNRL), had lost the trust and support of local clubs and Tongan players.

Woolf was sensationally sacked earlier in the month by the TNRL after an increasingly public falling-out over disagreements around control and financial issues.

Brennan's decision comes ahead of an international federation meeting to discuss internal problems at Tonga rugby league, with two star players threatening to withdraw from the team, and a shock bid for sacked Wallaby Israel Folau.

The Tonga National Rugby League recently announced Brennan as World Cup 9s coach, while giving Kristian Woolf his marching orders after a bitter dispute over control.