5 September, 2018. International rugby league has received a huge shot in the arm, with confirmation that World Cup giant killers Tonga will play Tests against Australia and New Zealand.

31 August, 2018. Australia players have agreed to take a significant pay-cut to make sure their one-off Test against Tonga is given the green light.

26 August, 2018. A desperate plea from the King of Tonga direct to NRL chief executive Todd Greenberg is set to help revive the end-of-season Test match against Australia.

The proposed Test between Tonga and Australia may have hit one roadblock too many and is dangerously close to falling through.

The latest hurdle emerged last week when the New Zealand Rugby League (NZRL) blocked a move to host the game at Mt Smart Stadium on October 20 because they did not want it to overshadow the Kiwis Test against the Kangaroos the week before.

Earlier plans to take the match to New York were shot down after the promoters pulled out.

The fate of the Test now rests on a last-ditch attempt to hold it at Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium.

On the back of Tonga’s giant-killing run at last year’s World Cup, a match between the Jason Taumalolo-led side and the world champion Kangaroos should be an easy sell.

But Tonga coach Kristian Woolf said they were quickly running out of time to get it across the line.

‘‘My biggest fear is that the longer this goes on, and the longer we’re waiting for someone to pull the trigger, that eventually we get to a point where it can’t happen,’’ Woolf said.

‘‘I think we need to know in the next couple of days. We’re less than nine weeks out at the moment. Just in terms of organising games and organising things around sponsorship . . . we’re really starting to push deadlines.’’

Woolf understood the NZRL’s reasons for not wanting to host the Test, but it did not make their decision any easier to take.

With the Kiwis rebuilding after last year’s World Cup debacle, the NZRL wanted to give prominence to their own clash against Australia at Mt Smart on October 13 — the Kangaroos’ first visit to New Zealand in four years.

But, after seeing the interest generated by Tonga’s World Cup semifinal against England in Auckland, Woolf feels they may have missed an opportunity to grow the sport.

‘‘It wasn’t just the Tongan population, it was the rugby league population in general that really got excited by that event and really wanted to be a part of things going forward,’’ he said. ‘‘That’s the disappointing thing for me.

‘‘I spoke to Todd Greenberg directly, who was very keen to have that game happen in New Zealand and thought that it could be successful there.’’

Tonga have been battling to organise a Test against a tier one nation since the end of the World Cup.

After stunning the Kiwis in pool play, they had initially set their sights on a rematch this year.

Once it became clear the NZRL was focusing on the Denver Test against England, they turned to Australia and Woolf was full of praise for the effort shown by coach Mal Meninga to try and make it happen.

The other big challenge facing the Test has been finding a third party to help with the costs.

Tonga are now waiting to hear from the Queensland government, who have shown some interest in supporting the fixture.

-The Sydney Morning Herald

12 August, 2018. A decision on whether the game goes ahead will be made in the next 48 hours, and it ultimately rests with the NZRL.

5 August, 2018. Top Australian rugby league referee Matt Cecchin announced on Friday he will retire at the end of the season after receiving a barrage of death threats following Tonga's nail-biting World Cup loss to England last year.

24 Siulai, 2018. Kuo tuku mai foki ‘e he ongoongo a e letio ‘Aositelelia ‘i he ‘aho ni ‘a e te’eki ai ke faile ‘e he Pule’anga Tonga ha taukapo (Statement of Defence) hili hono faka’ilo ‘e he Kosilio Sipoti ‘a e Pasifiki ‘a e Pule’anga Tonga ki he’enau maumau’i ‘a e aleapau ke fakahoko mai ‘a e Sipoti ‘a e Pasifiki ki Tonga ni ‘i he ta’u 2019.

13 July, 2018. The NRL is proposing a revamp of the international rugby league calendar over the next four years which looks set to finally reward Pacific Island countries for their growing success.