NRLW superstar Evania Pelite was everywhere for Fetu Samoa last week and profiles as a deciding factor for Jamie Soward’s squad again here.
Tireless in yardage and a threat in good-ball, the key for Samoa is for halves Pauline Pilae-Rasabale and Tavarna Papalii to straighten the attack and pass Pelite into positive involvements on the edges.
She’ll convert one-on-one situations into points more often than not but we didn’t see Pelite with much room to move against Tonga in Week 1 (15 passes from 29 receipts confirms this).
Expect to see Pelite in a few more running involvements close to the line in this one.
Fiji on the other hand will be hoping to make serious improvements after producing a woeful display against the Cook Islands last week.
A very inexperienced Moana squad made a loss unlikely but the Bulikula did everything they could to hand Cook Islands the win with just 62% completions and 7 penalties in that game.
Fijiian winger Vitalina Naikore personifies the volatility of this Bulikula squad.
She finished up with a hattrick against the Cook Islands but some of her defensive reads and decisions under pressure very nearly cost Fiji the win last week.
Shaky under the highball and disconnected from her teammates on the inside, expect Naikore to be a spot for Samoa and their left edge attack here.
This is going to be an absolute cracker.
Two ascending rugby league nations, fresh off narrow – albeit disappointing – losses to the Kangaroos and both desperately fighting for a shot at the rematch.
There are a lot of parallels between these Tongan and New Zealand squads.
Both played a highly physical brand of football and defended exceptionally well against Australia to win more than enough good field position, but neither managed to consistently turn that field position into points.
Isaiya Katoa is one of the best half prospects in the NRL right now but he had a stinker against the Kangaroos.
If just a few of those kick errors produced the right result however, Week One could’ve been a very different story.
There are more repeatable actions through Katoa in this Tongan backline than we saw against Australia and I like them to present a little more clinically here.
Look for Haumole Olakau’atu and Eli Katoa in distributing roles, trying to isolate Shaun Johnson and Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad at three-man as they were by Australia last week.
Both Katoa and Olakau’atu can pop a pass at or through the line, and it’s an action that lends itself to the speed and support play of Lehi Hopoate in the red No.1 jumper.
For the Kiwis, they’ll be stinging after leaving too many points out there against the Kangaroos last weekend. Phoenix Crossland’s slow service crippled a lot of the half-chances New Zealand generated in that loss and he’s a surprise retention on paper as the starting dummy-half.
If the Kiwis can quickly get the ball wide of the ruck though, the spaces around Tui Lolohea will be a spot for Johnson, Isaiah Papali’i and Keano Kini.
The Orchids were hammered by the Jillaroos in Week 1 of the Pacific Championships and have made several changes – some forced by injuries – for this must-win clash with New Zealand.
As expected, PNG’s edges struggled to contain the best attacking outfit in the women’s game while their own systems relied too much on Essay Banu and Elsie Albert, both in yardage and good ball.
Experienced dummy-half Therese Aiton comes in at hooker and can give the Orchids a few different looks around the ruck while Belinda Gwasamun again shapes as PNG’s most likely outside back after coming close against Australia two weeks ago.
It’s all about the Kiwi Ferns here though, who will be looking to finetune their attack before a probable rematch against the Jillaroos next weekend.
Like the Orchids, New Zealand were kept scoreless by Australia but I’m tipping a few more productive looks through Gayle Broughton and her left edge in this one.
We cashed in on the Kumuls at a great price in Week One but we won’t get that sort of value for this PNG squad again.
Rhys Martin drops out for Dan Russell which gives the Cook Islands an area to target (Russell was a spot for Fiji when he was activated at 18th man) but otherwise, the Kumuls profile well to build on their upset win over the Bati last week.
Nene Macdonald was on another level in that game and profiles as a key player for PNG again here.
His ability to break the line on kick returns helped the Kumuls generate momentum early in sets and save their middles from working back behind the ball.
Those efforts can have a flow-on effect throughout this game – expect to see Macdonald trigger a long-range movement in the Kumuls attack at some point on Sunday night.
In good-ball, Lachlan Lam and Kyle Laybutt both straightened up nicely before passing to create space for Macdonald out the back.
Big enough to demand defensive attention but smooth enough to find the pass, Macdonald’s ability to ice three-on-two’s will also be a feature of the Kumuls attack.
The Aitu made a litany of errors against Fiji last week but even with improved discipline it’s difficult to see them going with this PNG outfit for long.
The Kumuls left a heap of points out there in Week One and I’m backing them to be a little more ruthless this time around.
Written by Oscar Pannifex | RLWAPPAREL.COM