State of Origin eligibility: Samoa and Tonga’s NRL stars avoid NSW, Queensland lockout

State of Origin has received a 10-year talent boost following a huge decision on Samoa and Tonga’s international ‘tier’ status.

Jarome Luai and Brian To’o. Picture: Mark Kolbe/Getty

State of Origin has received a huge boost with emerging powerhouses Samoa and Tonga to remain as tier-two nations - stopping a host of NRL stars being banned from playing for NSW or Queensland.

News Corp can reveal International Rugby League bosses will not be elevating Samoa and Tonga to tier-one status despite their impressive performances in the past two World Cups.

Samoa and Tonga will realistically be classified as tier-two nations for the next 10 years - safeguarding State of Origin from a Pacific Islander talent drain until 2030 and beyond.

There has been a push for Tonga and Samoa to be placed on the same tier-one pedestal as Australia, New Zealand and England after the former qualified for the 2017 World Cup semi-final and the latter reached the tournament final last week.

Promoting Samoa and Tonga potentially has huge ramifications for State of Origin given that 18 NSW and Queensland players from this year’s series are eligible for tier-two nations, which also include Fiji and Papua New Guinea.

A staggering 11 of NSW’s 23 players this season were eligible for tier-two nations.

Samoa stars Jarome Luai and Brian To’o are free to represent NSW. Picture: Mark Kolbe/Getty

Under current eligibility rules, the likes of Brian To’o, Jarome Luai, Payne Haas, Junior Paulo, Stephen Crichton, Josh Papalii and Tino Fa’asuamaleaui risked being rubbed out of Origin if Samoa and Tonga were given tier-one status.

But International Rugby League chairman Troy Grant confirmed Tonga and Samoa, who lost to Australia in the World Cup final, are not ready for tier-one status ahead of an IRL board meeting next month.

“I don’t think that (Samoa and Tonga being upgraded) will change any time soon,” Grant said.

“We have a December board meeting where eligibility and tiering is on the agenda because of the interest and the lack of understanding.

“Tiering about nations is not just about on-field performance.

“It also takes into account domestic competitions, participation levels and governance arrangements.

“Whilst Samoa and Tonga’s on-field national teams are performing to a level of excellence, they have some work to do on the domestic front.

“It’s those performances that will hopefully drive the standards in their nations back at home and we’ll see where that takes us.

“The aspiration of Samoa and Tonga (to be tier-one nations) is terrific and we will do everything we can to support them because that’s our job, but we don’t want to set them up to fail either.

“You want to make a tier-one elevation based on a really strong framework so as countries their performances can be sustainable on and off the field.”

The ARL Commission will conduct a review of Origin eligibility rules to assess whether a player such as Roosters star Victor Radley, who turned out for tier-one nation England at the World Cup, can still remain eligible for NSW.

Should the rules be amended, Cowboys superstar Jason Taumalolo, who defected to Tonga from New Zealand in 2017, could potentially be eligible for Queensland, who approached him last year.

Grant said Samoa and Tonga remaining as tier-two nations is a huge fillip for rugby league’s $100 million showpiece event.

“The current situation is great for Origin football,” he said.

“Currently, Pacific guys such as Tino Fa’asuamaleaui (Queensland and Australia forward who has Samoan heritage) can go back and forth between nations.

“If Tino wasn’t selected for Australia by Mal Meninga (Kangaroos coach), he could still play for Samoa because they are a tier-two nation.

“That’s why the tier-one and tier-two system works well.”

Originally published as State of Origin eligibility: Samoa and Tonga’s NRL stars avoid NSW, Queensland lockout