Winterstein and Maitua return as Toa names team for Australia

Toa Samoa has named a very strong side to take on the Australian Kangaroos in the all-important Four Nations clash this Sunday.

Antonio Winterstein returns to the wing for Samoa replacing Tautau Moga, who has been relegated to the bench, while Reni Matua and Jesse Sene-Lefao will join the game off the bench.

Surprisingly the bookies have got Toa Samoa 8 to 1 ranked outsiders at pulling off a win, similar to last week’s odds against the Kiwis!

The Aussies are undoubtedly struggling in the Rugby League Four Nations tournament with a number of their staple test players missing.

They got pumped in their first test against the Kiwis and were pretty lucky to come away with a win against the unlucky Englishmen last week.

The Aussies are a far cry from their usually slick running and crisp ball playing side, while they’re clearly lacking size, strength and venom in the engine room. Their combined test experience has been reduced significantly with many of their regular test players undergoing necessary off-season tune ups.

Apart from some great individual attacking play by Tongan Michael Jennings and some spark through Greg Inglis, last week’s game against the

Englishmen was pretty average and almost boring.

Samoan Australian debutant Sione Mata’utia failed to establish himself and stamp his name on the game, and may struggle even more against a huge, fast and powerful Samoan side.

Fellow Samoan Australian player Josh Papali’i, who has played a handful of games for the Kangaroos, has probably been the Aussies best forward.

Interestingly New Zealand born Papali’i was quoted as saying earlier last month that he wanted to play for Samoa if he wasn’t selected for the

Australian squad. So, if Papali’i missed out on playing for Australia in this tournament, he would have been playing for Samoa against Australia this weekend.

Pacific Illustrated as well as the community no doubt continues to be proud of all Pacific players who represent their country, whether through birthplace or heritage.

Despite the odds and despite the lack of funding and administrative structure and professional experience, the Samoans are no longer the poor league cousins or a developing league nation.

All of the Toa Samoa test players are first grade NRL or Super League players, and are amongst a rapidly increasing NRL Pacific contingency.

Current data from NRL sources reveal that in the NRL’s first grade alone, up to 40 per cent of the players are from Pacific backgrounds. These stats alone are unreliable as there is no consistency or quality assurance with regard to how the data is collected or collated and even whether there is a question about where your parents were born or what your cultural identity is.

Our bet is that with the increasing emergence of Pacific superstar players in the top grade, so many more Samoans and other players from Pacific nations will prefer to play for their Pacific nation rather than their country of birth as that’s where their heart and passion lies.

How is this Australian side going to handle the might of the Toa Samoa when giants like Kiwi Manu Vatuvei are getting dragged over the side line like a half back, the backs are punching more holes in the oppositions defensive line than moths on your favourite jumper, and forward packs are being man handled like sheep in a shearing shed by the Toa forwards.

The Toa are playing better each game with Roberts and Stanley consolidating their partnership, while all players are learning more about their team mates playing nuances. They’ll need to work on their kicking game and goal conversions, reducing overlaps on their left side defense, protecting Simona during the high ball, wrapping the ball up to prevent second phase play, and some players like Tim Lafai need to lift their work rate.