Rugby league is continuing to gain further ground throughout the Pacific following the Australian government announcing a $600 million commitment over the next decade in the region.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's political announcement in 2024 ensured the newest National Rugby League venture in Papua New Guinea was seen as a strategic move on soft diplomacy for not only the country, but also for Fiji, Sāmoa and Tonga.
The commitment has been seen as part of a drive to encourage Pacific nations to align with Australia while China works to gain stronger influence in the region.
Anecdotal evidence suggests the implications of a committed $250 million from the total funding to be spent on the game's development is also having an impact on rugby union strongholds in the Pacific.
It has been reflected at the international level this year following Sāmoa and Tonga's two most recent poor union results each after an increase in the support for league from Australia amid the strong numbers of Pasifika-heritage players starring for NRL clubs.
While Fiji has been elevated into union's inaugural Nations Championship along with Japan to join Rugby Championship sides South Africa, New Zealand, Australia and Argentina, both Sāmoa and Tonga's fall from grace internationally in recent years has condemned the Polynesian pair to the second-tier World Rugby Nations Cup.
Sāmoa lost to Romania 38-37 on the weekend in the tournament, which follows a demoralising 33-12 defeat against Georgia a week earlier for the past two-time World Cup quarterfinalist.
Tonga also was beaten twice in successive weeks, losing 32-28 against Portugal on the back of a shock 32-19 defeat to Spain in what was almost inconceivable on past performances.
"For a Tongan player on the island, there's a massive gap now regarding the pathway," Tongan Rugby Union chief executive Aisea Aholelei told the Pacific Huddle.
"You just have high schools here, competitions in the club, and from there, you are pretty much on yourself - with just your talents."
That gap is under sharper focus after the downfall of Super Rugby Pacific side Moana Pasifika last month, whose owners pulled their financial backing last month from the key professional pathway for the Polynesian pursuit.
Both Tonga and Sāmoa are looking towards support from the Albanese government amid a possibility of having individual semi-professional sides in an Australian competition within three years in what would be another act of soft diplomacy.
Both countries have experienced a continued long-term drain of talented players to Aotearoa / New Zealand, Australian, European and Japanese teams.
"The biggest gaps that we have at the moment is that we are trying to hold our players back on the island," Lakapi Sāmoa chief executive Seumanu Douglas Ngau Chun added.
"There's a high turnover of players moving overseas through seasonal workers, through other schemes, and going onto play club rugby overseas.
"So, we tend to have a high number of players that are missing out at the development stage from the (under) 20s up to Manu Sāmoa level."
While the Australian government's rugby league commitment had been prompted by the Prime Minister's push for Papua New Guinea to be included in the NRL, the entire funding is not solely tied to the PNG Chiefs' entry in 2028.
The Pacific Rugby League Partnership investment covers the establishment and support of the PNG franchise, which is set to also represent a pathway for Pasifika players on the islands in addition to funding new player development programs and grassroots community initiatives that include schoolchildren across the region.
The future has been further boosted by the Australian Rugby League Commission securing a record-breaking $5.3 billion media rights deal for seven years from 2028.
The most substantial revenue increase in the code's history ensures the development of the game flows through to give rugby league the ability to invest more in the Pacific, with unspecified fixed percentages of TV revenue set out for PNG, Fiji, Sāmoa and Tonga.
Many former Australian diplomats and the government officials have previously described the Pacific NRL project as having a significant strategic purpose.
Mr Albanese added that rugby league was a vehicle to culturally deepen Australia's relationship with PNG amid the process of "contributing to regional security".
"It, of course, is a decision for the NRL; it's not a decision for government," he said after offering the funding.
"But it is something that could be, in terms of Australia's relationship with the region, we know we have a bit of competitive tension in the region and engagement, if you like, in soft diplomacy showing the relationship between Australia and our neighbours that is so important."
The NRL deal came after several Chinese diplomatic advances in the Pacific, including Beijing's increased financial lending and infrastructure projects, and attempts to negotiate wider security and policing arrangements throughout several of the region's national governments.
PNG Prime Minister James Marapae added that his country's NRL team has been proven to be "pivotal in anchoring the PNG-Australia relationship".
The Australian Rugby League Commission annual report this year had revealed participation across the Pacific has grown annually by 7.5 per cent.
The rise also comes on the back of the Chiefs' first signing after Jarome Luai, a man whose Sāmoan pride led to the four-time premiership player committing to the Pacific club.
"Investing in sport is also investing in stronger community, and more prosperity for our future and our region," Sāmoan Prime Minister Laaulialemalietoa Leuatea Polata'ivao Schmidt said.
"Rugby league is more than a game; it's a source of national pride, the way we bring community together."
