Mate Ma'a Tonga coach Kristian Woolf is excited for what the future holds for Tongan rugby league following their historic test against Australia in Auckland on Saturday.
Tonga put up a brave fight against the world champions but were ultimately outclassed 34-16, in front of 26,214 fans at Mt Smart Stadium.
It was the first time Tonga has played Australia in a test match.
It was an opportunity the players were desperate for due to Tonga's success at last year's Rugby League World Cup, which saw them reach the semi-final.
Tonga usually play one, maybe two tests a year if they're lucky - but things are likely to change moving forward. They are set to be awarded more tests against tier one nations next year, with Woolf confirming there are talks underway for matches against Samoa, Australia and the British Lions, and the New Zealand Kiwis in June.
"The more we can play the better and better we are going to get," Woolf said. "This game was the start of it, and New Zealand is the next step.
"The conversations we have had were all around other opportunities against a travelling British Lions and Australia again, obviously Samoa and a lot more tests, I guess, and a lot more big opportunities against tier-one nations.
"I've been involved for five years, and Tongan rugby league has lived game-by-game outside the World Cup.
"You never quite know when your next game is coming up and quite often when you do know it is coming it is six or seven weeks, so everything is a rush so that certainly helps in terms of preparation.
"That's what we want, that's how we are going to get better, and that's how we can become a real force on the international scene."
Australia dominated the first half, scoring five tries to race out to a 30-10 lead.
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But Tonga was a different side in the second half, outscoring the Roos 6-4, and they would have scored more if it wasn't for a lack of execution at crucial stages.
The match was Australia's third in three weeks, while Tonga headed into the fixture with some players not having played in the same timeframe.
Woolf said the match showed the difference between a side that had played three weeks in a row and a side that hadn't.
"That first half in particular was a bit of a lesson in terms of what standards you need to be at in terms of discipline.
"At times, it looked a bit like a team that hasn't played footy and a team that had played three games on the trot and was looking to fine-tune itself.
"Going forward, I think that is something that needs to be afforded to us if we are going to have these games, and obviously we want more of these opportunities, and I would like to think we can prepare properly.
"We certainly showed that we can be competitive and we certainly showed that we're physically up to that challenge.
"Even though we were not the winning team tonight, you still see how many people hang around, and they are all still happy, and they all want to congratulate us, and there is no disappointment from them at all."
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