League: They will be back – The confrontation between Tonga and Kiwis is confirmed in June

Lovers of the New Zealand League, get ready for the titans clash.

The Kiwis will face Tonga in June next year. New Zealand Rugby League confirmed today.

The game, described as the New Zealand version of the state of origin, will be presented on Saturday, June 22, although the venue remains to be confirmed.

Auckland will be the most likely city for the game, given the large Polynesian population, but the NZRL has announced that it will launch a competitive bidding process.

This should attract applications from several regions, interest in the conflict between kangaroos and Tonga Saturday being considerable.

The match was sold for days and Tongan fans flocked from all over the world.

Some have come from as far as California and Utah, from all over Australia, while flights between Nuku & alofa and Auckland are virtually complete since last Saturday .

There have been calls for a return match between the Kiwis and Tonga since the classic World Cup match in Hamilton last year, winning 28-22 by Tonga, who had a additional drama after several eligible players for Kiwis, including Jason Taumalolo. Sio Siua Taukeiaho and David Fusitu have made late changes to represent their country of origin.

Surprisingly, the NZRL chose to go to Denver last June, while Tonga was a logical option and the Pacific team desperately needed to organize the conflict, but that it is now finalized.

"It all starts next year, June 22," confirmed Greg Peters, CEO of NZRL. "We are about to launch a process of finding proposals for sites across the country that may be interested in the organization of the game. It is simply a question of creating an excellent business and marketing result. to organize a fantastic match with a packed house. "

Mate Ma's Tonga has high expectations on Saturday, but Kangaroos will still be favorites, despite their surprise defeat of 26-24 against the Kiwis last week.

"We have been exposed to this [expectation] Kristian Woolf, coach of Tonga, has enjoyed the past 12 months. This is our first time playing in Australia. the [crowd] is somewhere between 26,000 and 30,000 [and] I do not think many will be Australians. It will be a great opportunity and we just have to go out and enjoy it. If we take advantage of it, we will play our best. "

Tonga's lack of physical fitness at the match will be a challenge on Saturday: many of their players have not played for more than a month, while the Kangaroos team played two games (the Papua New Guinea and Kiwis) and that several players from Mal Meninga have gone deep into the NRL finals.

Australia will also target the two young Tongans, Tui Lolohea and Ata Hingano, but their formidable peloton, combined with the power and size of their bench, means that a victory for Tonga is far from being ruled out.