Rugby league fans have been treated to another showcase of Pasifika brilliance, with three Tests showcasing the talent that will be on show at this year's World Cup in October and November
New Zealand got things rolling with a 26-6 win over Tonga in Auckland, marking rugby league's return to Auckland's Mt Smart Stadium.
The action then moved to Campbelltown in Sydney, with Samoa hammering Cook Islands 42-12, before Papua New Guinea showed their class to beat Fiji 24-14.
Check out how it all played out below.
Kiwis dominate Tonga as league returns to Mt Smart
Rugby league returned to Mt Smart Stadium for the first time since 2019, and the atmosphere was electric as New Zealand dominated Tonga.
Already fired up from the Kiwi Ferns' 50-12 demolition of Tonga's women's side, the Auckland crowd was electric as the Kiwis' Haka and Mate Ma'a Tonga's Sipi Tau opened proceedings in the men's game.
And while the side's matched each other's cultural offerings, New Zealand started hot and held on against the Tongan side, running out 26-6 winners.
With usual tenants the Warriors stranded in Australia since the pandemic-stricken 2020 NRL season, Mt Smart had not hosted top-flight rugby league since 2019, and the local fans got a chance to see their male stars shine immediately in their blockbuster clash with Tonga.
Halfback Jahrome Hughes flashed the hot-stepping that has brought him so many points for Melbourne, stepping in between Sitili Tupouniua and Addin Fonua-Blake and muscling the ball to the ground to open the scoring in the fourth minute.
The Storm connection continued to serve the Kiwis well when a Kenny Bromwich offload led to the following Jordan Rapana try, before winger Sione Katoa struck back for Tonga to settle the scoreline, but send the red-and-white-clad fans over the moon.
Katoa's Cronulla teammate, Ronaldo Mulitalo, hit back for the Kiwis on the half-hour mark, while Tonga floundered for the rest of the first half, struggling particularly with their fifth-tackle options as halves Kotoni Staggs and Talatau Amone often failed to get clean kicks away.
Finishing sets remained an issue after half-time, but New Zealand could not find a way through the staunch Tongan defence until Isaiah Papali'i caught a deft ball from James Fisher-Harris and stretched out to score on the hour.
From there, New Zealand did not give Tonga another look, although the rapturous fans did not seem to mind, with referee Grant Atkins admitting "I can't hear much at the moment" during a captain's challenge in the final minutes.
PNG takes down Fiji
Papua New Guinea has announced themselves as one of the heavy hitters for the Rugby League World Cup with a 24-14 win over Fiji, but Bati fullback Sunia Turuva may have been brightest light on the night.
The 19-year-old Fijian custodian scored two tries and ran for 250 metres (97 of which came after contact), broke through seven tackles and was rock solid defensively at the back, keeping Fiji in the game until the final minutes despite a rampant Kumuls side.
NRL rivals might have liked what they saw but NRL development player Turuva re-committed to the Panthers earlier this month and will join their top-30 squad for at least two more seasons from 2023.
PNG, meanwhile, were led by Storm centre Justin Olam and veteran captain David Mead, who signed off with a win and was chaired off the field by his teammates.
Fiji enjoyed the bulk of field position and possession but lacked inspiration in their fifth-tackle options and struggled to capitalise.
There seemed to be no breaking through the resolute PNG defence until Kevin Naiqama chased his grubber close to the line and grabbed the ball back for a try.
But PNG went into the break 12-6 ahead despite having only five play-the-balls inside their opposition's 20m zone, compared to Fiji's 24.
Turuva brought Fiji back into the contest with his first try in the second half but Mead helped the Kumuls hit back with a try he will remember for the rest of his life.
The PNG skipper announced his decision to retire from international duties earlier this week and when Lachlan Lam sent him over for a try after breaking the line, PNG closed in on the victory.
It would not have been a PNG win without some Olam magic.
The Melbourne fan favourite found Lam for his second try with an inch-perfect grubber that sealed the result for the Kumuls, having earlier laid one on for his half with a searing break down the left wing.
Samoa rides fast start to big win over Cook Islands
A searing first 20 minutes have powered Samoa to a 42-12 win over Cook Islands, with David Nofoaluma running in four tries.
Boasting 123 more games of NRL experience than their rivals, Samoa inflicted the damage in the opening and closing 20 minutes, when they were best able to capitalise on their dominance through the middle third.
Left-edge combination Izack Tago and Taylan May brought their chemistry from Penrith to the international arena and finished with three tries between them, while Wests Tigers winger Nofoaluma enhanced his try-scoring prowess at the south-west Sydney ground.
Nofoaluma has scored 17 tries from 24 club appearances for the Tigers at Campbelltown and added four more to that tally on Saturday night.
He picked off a Reece Joyce pass midway through the second half to lock in his hat-trick and chased down a long-range kick for his fourth try.
Manly can expect to be without Josh Aloiai for round 16 after the Samoan middle forward knocked himself out attempting to tackle Reubenn Rennie.
Aloiai was motionless on the ground for almost five minutes and officials ran a stretcher onto the field.
But Aloiai managed to walk off with assistance although he looks at long odds to be cleared for play in Thursday night's NRL clash against Melbourne.
If Manly coach Des Hasler needs consolation, though, he could find it on Josh Schuster's highlights reel.
Schuster is tipped to play five-eighth for the Sea Eagles from next season and proved he will be up to the task with two pin-point kicks that led to tries in the second half.
The Samoan national anthem brought Schuster to tears before the game in a potent reminder of just how much the return of international rugby league means to the players.
