5 days Ago
Samoa are in the box seat to sway a couple of gamebreaking props from the Kangaroos with Tino Fa’asuamaleaui the second star in recent days linked to a switch of international allegiances. In the wake of comments from Broncos star Payne Haas that he is “considering” a switch to Samoa, the agent of Fa’asuamaleaui has confirmed his client has been “approached” by the Pacific nation. “At the moment, Tino is coming back from his knee injury, he is fully focused on the Titans and he won’t be thinking about representative football until later in the season, if not post-season,” Fa’asuamaleaui’s agent Simon Mammino told CODE Sports.
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Limited-time offer. “But there’s definitely some interest there and if they (Samoa) get all the players they are chasing, it’s a very formidable team.” If Samoa are able to convince Haas and Fa’asuamaleaui to defect, it would be a massive shot in the arm for the Pacific nation, who would immediately become leading hopes in next year’s World Cup.
CODE Sports have reported that Samoa coach Ben Gardiner flew to Brisbane during the pre-season to meet with Fa’asuamaleaui. One of the selling points from Gardiner was showing what a full-strength Samoa team would look like including both Haas and Fa’asuamaleaui. Fa’asuamaleaui made his international debut for Samoa back in 2019, but has since represented Australia on seven occasions.
Barring injury, he has been a stalwart for the Maroons. Given the rules around tier-two nations like Samoa, if Fa’asuamaleaui switched nations, he’d still be eligible to play State of Origin. Meanwhile, Haas is reportedly much closer to making a decision with the Broncos star expected to walk away from the Kangaroos.
“I’m not really going to talk about it, but I will be transparent and honest,” he said on Wednesday. “I have been considering it, but I won’t make a decision until after Origin.”.
