CARL Manu had barely taken his footy boots off after the inaugural Newcastle Pasifika rugby charity match in 2022 when he was bombarded with players wanting in for future games.
The majority of those players were in the opposition and had helped lead the Wildfires to a 28-17 win over Newcastle Pasifika.
''It showed the importance culture plays for a lot of these boys," Manu said.
The Wildfires players have been granted their wish.
Phil Bradford, Leon Fukofuka, Teuiti Asi and Isaac Ulberg are among 11 Wildfires playing for the Newcastle Pasifika against Central Coast Pasifika at St John Oval on Saturday, kicking off at 2pm.
"Central Coast Pasifika reached out to us about four months ago," Manu said. "There is a strong Pasifika population down there, with a lot of guys who have moved up from Sydney.
"Last year was successful but we are always looking for ways to be better. We want to reach out to other Pasifika communities to be a part of it. It give us Pasifika boys a chance to come together and represent where we are from. This is our culture, this is our history, be proud of it."
The Wildfires remain involved and play Newcastle Pasifika 2nd XV at 12.15pm.
Newcastle Pasifika has drawn players with Samoan, Fijian, Tongan and Maori heritage.
"A lot of the Wildfires have been coming to training with us as well," said Manu, who will play in the second XV. "Wildfires coach Bubba Coleman has always been a big supporter of the Pasifika community.
"For someone like Cody Wetini it has been awesome. He is a young halfback from Maitland. Now he is mixing with Phil Bradford, Seva Rokobaro, Marlon Solufuti. He'd heard about them but never really met them. Now he is training alongside them and is loving it. Some of those kids have never had that chance."
Coleman said it be an opportunity to test some of the skills and plays they have been working on at training.
"We scrimmage against ourselves all the time, this is a chance to play against someone who doesn't know what we are doing," he said.
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