Rejuvenated Tonga brace for RLWC pressure

The Tongans begin their Rugby League World Cup with a pool game against Papua New Guinea on Tuesday night (Wednesday AEDT) in St Helens.

They also face Wales in St Helens and the Cook Islands in Middlesbrough in Group D where they are heavily fancied to finish top.

Five years ago the Pacific nation rattled the international game to its core when five players headlined by captain Jason Taumalolo and Andrew Fifita withdrew their commitment to play for New Zealand or Australia.

It led to Tonga reaching the semi-finals in 2017 after knocking off the Kiwis off before beating Australia and the Great Britain Lions in Test matches in 2019.

"We know that there's a bit of expectation and we know that there's not going to be a surprise factor so to speak," Woolf told AAP.

"Teams will be prepared for us, and be ready for us to be a real player in the tournament.

"Over the course of the last few years, what we've been able to has helped us grow in confidence.

"We know what we're capable of and we're quite happy with that expectation because we've got a bit of confidence about us."

Woolf, who has left seasoned campaigners Fifita, Joe Ofahengaue and David Fusitua'a out of his squad, is preparing to create the next generation of Tongan stars.

Gold Coast forward David Fifita, Andrew's cousin, and the Manly duo of Tolotau Koula and Haumole Olakau'atu spearhead the fresh flavour in this Tongan side.

"It's a positive sign that we are enjoying the emergence of so many talented and experienced players," Woolf said.

"The fact the best Tongan players want to commit to Tonga is because of those guys like Andrew.

"He's not alone in that but he played a massive part in helping us get to where we are now.

"Now we have that new crew coming through who are the future of Tonga."

Australian Associated Press