Nesian Footy

It's rugby league to the front today with Sala Togatuki taking us inside the victorious Blues camp after they won Origin game 1 in enemy territory in Brisbane. Will Hopoate is filling in for Tinirau and he gives us the must watch games and names for Magic Round. Plus, Sam and Toutai discuss the new Wallabies coach, the Kava Bowl game last week and if Moana can make finals.

After winning an NRLW premiership with the Roosters and tasting glory with Fetu Samoa, 19-year-old Tavarna Papalii is the latest addition to the Maroons squad. We hear about her quietest and staunchest supporter her Dad, her Irish Mum learning Samoan, how the State of Origin camp has been and the special experiences with Fetu Samoa last year. Elsewhere, Tinirau & Sam break down the impact of t...

The Detroit Lions player left his family in Tonga and moved to Canada as a kid but it's all paid off with his career in the NFL. Giovanni Manu chats about being 135kgs as a 12-year-old, the culture shock of moving to Canada and also has some advice for young Pasifika kids wanting to make it in the NFL. Plus, Tinirau gives love to two of his old clubs, Sam looks at another two losses for Moana and...

Raise the bat! Sam & Tinirau strap in for another big episode of Nesian Footy Friday with T analysing the Panthers losses, Sam tips his favourite team ahead of Super W Grand Final, Toutai shares his thoughts on Moana Pasifika's historic win last weekend and Sala ditches the footy boots for some cleats.

20-year-old Margaret Manase wasn't supposed to be a rugby union player, but she ended up becoming the first person in her family to represent Tonga. Manase talks to Sam & Tinirau about going against the expectations some had for her, her joy and learnings from the Penina Pasifika experience and why she cried when she first put the Tonga Lofa jersey to her face. Shellie Long also drops by to ch...

This week, Tinirau gets in on the big news that Payne and Tino are considering Samoa and what the eligibility rules look like, Sam talks new coaches for Samoa rugby, Toutai tells us whether Moana can build on their upset win last week and Sala can't wait for the Bunnies v Chooks and their traditional rivalry.

Ash Marsters is the only sibling in her family born in the Cook Islands and has had a close relationship with her culture all her life despite growing up in Melbourne. The former Melbourne Rebels captain now Western Force player holds the record for most Wallaroos games and we hear about growing up with her Dad as her coach, a sabbatical year and how she feels as a Pasifika and women's rugby role...

Sam put on his reporter hat to find out the latest news around Super Rugby's proposed Bula Round in Fiji, Toutai chats a potential call up for the Pasifika coaching role against the Lions, Tinirau gives us the latest rugby league player updates and Sala talks Origin prep. Jam packed!

If it wasn't for her brothers and friends in the team, Adiana Talakai's Wallaroos debut might have been missed by her own parents. Sam & Tinirau chat to the Tongan Australia star about how she avoided that big regret, growing up in a rugby mad family, her Tongan upbringing and what four words help her deal with performance anxiety in footy. Sam dissects a rough weekend for the Drua and Moana i...

The gang is back together again so you'll be treated to some NRL previews with Sala Togatuki and Super Rugby action with Toutai Kefu.  The Super W season is hotting up also so Sammy will run through that as well as some exciting news in the Pacific Rugby Hall Of Fame and news about an Indigenous and Pasifika team to play the Lions. And Tinirau will give you all the big takeaways from the Grand Fin...

Stefano Utoikamanu learned how precious footy can be after his brother's neck injury and wants to have more cracks in both the Samoa and NSW blue jerseys in the future. Sam & Tinirau hear about Utoikamanu's move to the Storm, his time representing his culture and his state, his Samoan and Tongan culture and more. Shellie Long also pops by with some great analysis on the Super W competition and...

The Las Vegas superstar Sala Togatuki is back in the house so we hear about that epic trip and going viral for her dancing skills. Toutai Kefu previews all the Super Rugby action after the wins for Drua and Moana and Sam & Tinirau add another couple of Nesian players to their all star line up.

Muliaga Geoff Brown helped create the Mana Pasifika bid to join the NRL, so we ask him all the questions you'd want to know about this potential team. Where will games be played, what's the benefit to kids in the islands, who do they want as a marquee signing, how will they unite the Pacific and plenty more. Sam's smiling from ear to ear with wins for Drua and Moana and Tinirau's declared two more...

Fresh off the plane and straight into the studio, we get the lowdown on the NRL in Las Vegas from Tinirau and a look forward to the rest of round one. Meanwhile Sam is about to hop on a jet and head to Fiji for his second Drua game of the year and with Drua and Moana winless, Sam predicts how they'll stand at the end of round four. Toutai Kefu is in the building plus can Sam get off the donut in h...

With Albert Hopoate's first born on the way and his wife encouraging him to go to Las Vegas to play with the Raiders, Hopoate went with his gut (and the advice of some senior players) and stayed home. We hear about the early injuries and mental challenges in his career, the BBQ incident from last year and his memories of the one and only John Hopoate. With Tinirau in Vegas, Will Hopoate gives us t...

Tinirau is in Las Vegas so his cousin Tupou Sopoaga steps in and we cross live to Sin City to see how the NRL opening round is shaping up. It's also 'Culture Round' in Super Rugby Pacific and The Super W is kicking off this weekend so there's plenty to dive into there with Toutai Kefu joining Sam & Tupou.

Loraini Senivutu is about to kick off another Super W season with the Fijian Drua as they look to avenge last year's Grand Final loss to the Waratahs. Senivutu gave rugby a crack after being inspired by her brother and is aware of the legacy she can be part of and dreams of representing her country at the 2025 Rugby World Cup. Before heading to Vegas, Tinirau rounds out his NRL predictions with so...

And we wouldn't be doing it right without the great Toutai Kefu dropping by for all the rugby union preview chat you'll ever need. Plus, Tinirau throws out some more NRL ladder predictions and tells us which pre-season games to look out for this weekend. There's also a new segment and the return of Sam's least favourite segment of 2024 - knockout tipping.

Life is moving fast for the NZ born, Samoan-Niuean-Tongan NRL player who is impressing plenty and hoping to head to Las Vegas with the Warriors. Signed to the club at age 15, Vaimauga left his family and girlfriend in NZ to live in Brisbane in the Warriors COVID bubble at 17 and just recently had his first child age 20. We hear how he went from street footy to the NRL and who might be winning the...

Nemani Nadolo went the long way around. Despite playing over 250 games of top-level rugby across the world and representing Fiji 30 times, his late bloomer story is one of rejection and perseverance.  Through hard work and an openness to take his skills overseas, Nadolo ended up becoming one of Fiji’s greatest international rugby players and was even compared to the great Jonah Lomu. We hear about...

He didn't play NRL and not many footy fans would know his name, but Tongan Michael Fualalo is the go to guy at the moment for fitness and speed training for some of the biggest names in Rugby League. We hear how he got his start, his strict rules for his athletes and what young Pasifika kids can do to reach the top level. There's only a few sleeps until the Super Rugby season kicks off so Sam deli...

Born in Port Moresby with Papua New Guinean and Samoan heritage, Keith Peters played for Penrith and represented PNG, rewarding all the sacrifices his parents had made. Sam & Tinirau hear from Keith about playing footy in PNG as a kid idolising the Panthers, finding his feet when they moved to Sydney plus being asked to present the Kumuls jerseys at the recent Pacific Championships.

With one year left of school, Onitoni Large is already signed to the Manly Sea Eagles and spent his Summer school holidays doing an NRL pre-season instead of hanging with mates. The Tongan, Indian, Australian is setting his sights on a footy career and so we hear about his dreams, what it was like training with Manly and what his last year of school entails before embarking on his rugby league jou...

Jade Coates has had to convince people she’s Fijian her whole life due to her fair skin, but all that matters is what she knows in her heart about her family and her Fijian culture which she is immensely proud of. Having won two Super W titles with the Fijian Drua team and represented Fiji on the international stage, Coates will forever be a history maker in women’s rugby in the Pacific nation.  W...

Sala Togatuki has gone from skipping church and sneaking behind her parents back to play footy to representing both Samoa and Australia at the highest level. Her story is one of perseverance, faith, resilience and selflessness. We hear about Togatuki’s Samoan pride, her visit to the motherland in 2019, dealing with the loss of her brother and being able to provide a home and a car for her parents....