The rugby league season has officially come to an end and Australia will reign as kings of the Pacific after defeating Tonga 20-14 to cap a quadruple header at Western Sydney Stadium.

With Samoa and Australia claiming honors in the women’s matches and New Zealand taking big wins over Papua New Guinea in the final match of the day, here are five quick highlights from the action.

1: Tonga goes all the way, but Australia holds firm

It took everything Australia had, but in the end, their moments of skill managed to get them home amid a fast start and a strong finish from the Tongans.

The Kingdom is too accomplished, too decorated, and too dangerous to continue ambushing. Everyone knows exactly how good they are and exactly what they can do.

What they do is start games like demons and it was the same here, with some classic power football from Jason Taumalolo and Addin Fonua-Blake setting the tone and allowing space for Isaiya Katoa to create the first try for Sione Katoa, courtesy of a fine. game piece.

Once the match settled down, the Kangaroos’ speed and finesse came to the fore. The Tongans struggled in transitioning from attack to defense and whenever the ball was in play for prolonged periods, or when play began to break down due to fatigue, Australia found joy on the edges, especially through the crosses. Tom Trbojevic and Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow. .

At 20-4 to Australia, and with a couple of tries disallowed to boot, the game seemed over, but in reality it was just beginning. The fact that Tonga has risen again is proof of how far they have come.

Haumole Olakau’atu’s try gave the team and crowd the boost they needed and Eli Katoa’s effort, where he cut through a horde of green and gold shirts, was nothing short of powerful.

Tonga was definitely not spared as Australia held on for a well-deserved victory and it is all the more valuable because they had to fight for it.

Games like this are proof that Tonga playing Australia no longer seems like a far-reaching mission and that Tonga no longer needs miracles to compete with the best teams in the world.

2: Parramatta turns red after Tonga takeover

Australia was left in a curious situation because for one afternoon the Western Sydney stadium was transformed into island number 172 of Tonga.

The Kangaroos were strangers in their own country as the Kingdom’s sea of ​​red dominated the stands: during player introductions, each and every Australian player was booed long and loudly and selling Tongan flags in Sydney this week would have been a easy way to get it. rich.

What already promised to be a high-quality match turned into a true spectacle. The crowd’s excitement and connection was palpable, no matter what was happening on the field, and in Tonga’s best moments it seemed as if the sky had opened.

The current lineup is already packed, but it’s impossible to watch this and not want more. It’s not just Tonga either: Samoa could attract a similar crowd and if the two meet, as they will during next year’s Pacific Championships, it promises to be the kind of game you tell your grandchildren about.

International rugby league constantly seems to justify its own existence, but if scenes like those on Sunday don’t convince you of its value, nothing ever will.

3: Dearden holds firm to claim best-in-field honors

Tom Dearden is a footballer who has a couple of dangerous weapons and knows exactly how to use them.

His dummy is wicked, plays nice and straight and has good turn speed, enough to be able to find a gap and get past a defender like he did during the win over Tonga.

He’s still not the finished product as a half, but that’s what makes him so exciting – he’s already good enough to win man of the match in a Pacific Championship final and the best may yet be yet to come .

Dearden was excellent against the Tongans as he destroyed them with that excellent running game and managed the lead well.

He finished with three line breaks and three try assists to cap a strong inaugural campaign as Australia’s five-eighth.

4: Casey McLean enjoys dream Test debut

Casey McLean started the year playing in a Jersey Flegg trial for Penrith. He ended up scoring four tries on his Test debut.

It all happened very quickly, but when you are as talented as McLean, life happens very quickly.

The 18-year-old, a late replacement for Will Warbrick in the side, is the third-youngest debutant in Kiwi Test history, even if he doesn’t look like it.

His second attempt was the best of the bunch when he made a deft one-handed grab to catch Shaun Johnson’s kick from close range.

His celebration with Johnson was poetic. The veteran halfback was playing his final rugby league game in a career in which he has achieved much and dazzled to the end, cutting Papua New Guinea to pieces with a masterful touch.

McLean’s own journey is just beginning – he has played just seven NRL games for the Panthers – but in terms of the next generation of New Zealand stars, there are few brighter prospects.

5: Jillaroos widen gap with dominant win

Even the most faithful would have struggled to imagine the women’s final going anything other than an Australian victory, as Brad Donald’s team claimed a comprehensive 24-4 victory over New Zealand.

Australia were in control for the full 70 minutes and although the Silver Ferns were willing, a lack of execution meant they were unable to capitalize on the few opportunities they were given.

He completed as dominant a campaign as Australia could have asked for. The Jillaroos outscored their opponents 122-4 in their three matches and the only try came with 90 seconds left in the final with the match well under control.

They are by far the best team in the world and that gap will only increase as the NRLW continues to expand and more players are exposed to an elite environment.

Right now, New Zealand are the only team that can realistically challenge Australia (they beat them just last year), but that was the Jillaroos’ first loss in seven years and the wait for the next one could be even longer. .

The expansion of women’s international football will take time and must be a grassroots effort. The likes of Samoa, Papua New Guinea and Tonga all playing this year have been a good start.

But the Jillaroos were already well ahead and are pulling further and further away, with no signs of slowing down.