Coco Talanoa — Sports / Page 44

Coco congrats to Billie Paea Dziah PT for taking out the Lightweight Bodybuilding Class and then the Overall Musclemania Australia Title for 2016.

Billie who is of Niuean descent and grew up in New Zealand is now based in Canberra as a Personal Trainer.  He was involved with a lot of sports in his early years from touch rugby, rugby and athletics and represented Niue at 3 Commonwealth Games and Pacific Games as a 100m sprinter.

His journey into the world of Bodybuilding was inspired by his Dad who also had a great physique and owned a gym in the 1980’s. Billie admired the likes of Arnold and Franco Columbo.

Billie presented a World-Class Physique topped with one of his truly epic crowd stopping posing routines.

He now has his eyes on Vegas for his debut in the Musclemania World Pro Ranks.

Watch out Vegas, this man is a class act, with the body, the moves and the style to top it off.…more

Huge crowds are expected in Apia for the first test ever in Samoa this afternoon between Toa Samoa and Fiji Bati.

The game is also special because it marks 30 years of rugby league in Samoa and will be the first time the national team has clashed with their rivals since they were beaten by Fiji at the Rugby League World Cup three years ago!  

Matt Parish, Head Coach of Toa Samoa said of his side "The team is full of young and exciting young players and they’ve got plenty of good football in front of them.  We have about five to six players playing for the Toa Samoa for the first time and we are very much looking forward to seeing them play on Saturday in a national arena.  We’ve also had some experienced players who played in the last World Cup and Four Nation’s tournaments and the Pacific Test.…more

The NRL will pay tribute to 26 retiring players during a star-studded build-up to the Grand Final between Melbourne Storm and Cronulla Sharks at ANZ Stadium in Sydney tonight.

Celebrations for the retirees started on Thursday at the NRL Grand Final lunch with the Retiring Players 2016 Official Class tribute – bronzed boot presentation.  Yesterdays events included the Wellbeing & Education “Play On!” transition workshop & Retired Players function as well as the NRL Grand Final Clubhouse Race Day. 

Tonight the NRL will honour the Class of 2016 retiring players by presenting the players on the field prior to the Grand Final kick off to honour the players and their achievements before they're invited to take a lap of honour around the Stadium.…more

JOSEPH PARKER VS ALEXANDER DIMITRENKO 

Heavyweight boxing champion Joseph Parker heads into what could be his hardest fight yet.  Parker who is used to being the talller fighter against his opponents gives away reach, height and weight to Dimitrenko in his fight tonight.

He puts his WBO Oriental Belt on the line and also risks losing his mandatory position for the coveted IBF belt held by Anthony Joshua and damaging his No 1 ranking in the WBO IF he loses.

Joseph said he wasn't focused on this pressure at all and feels relaxed going into the ring.  

"I feel quite relaxed and the reason I say I'm always relaxed is because I train hard. If you train hard and feel good, you are going to perform good.  This is the time to enjoy.…more

Jason Taumalolo who earlier this year won the Rugby League Players Association's Players' Champion can also add 'Player of the Year' at the Dally M Awards to his list of achievements.

Jason shares the Player of the Year award with Melbourne Storms Cooper Cronk and also took out Lock of the Year.  This is the first time a player of Tongan descent has won the Player of the Year award and only the second time a player of Pacific Island heritage has won.  Previously Jarryd Hayne had picked up the award in 2009 and 2014.

Other Pacific Islanders to win at the Dally M Awards this year are:

Anthony Milford (Samoan)  - Peter Frilingos Memorial Award 

Suliasi Vunivalu (Fijian)       - Top Tryscorer 

Joseph Leilua (Samoan)     - Best Centre 

Jesse Bromwich (Maori)     - Best Prop 

Suggested Links:

Jarryd Hayne - My World

The world of Roger Tuivasa-Sheck  

NRL PLAYERS SAY MY NAME 

Krit is at the Rugby League Players Association Awards and catches up with some of our island boys.

They give us a quick lesson on how their names should be pronounced! 

We also found this oldie but goodie with some of the OG Poly boys in the Rabbitohs giving lessons on how to pronounce their names - 

Suggested Links:

The Nitty Kritty:  Iron Squad

The Nitty Kritty:  Lance Savali 

Rieko Ioane has fancy footwork on the field and fancy footwear off it. The young Blues barnstormer takes us into his home, to check out his shoe collection.

Gimme Yo Shoes Bro!

Credits:

Director/Editor - Shimpal Lelisi 

Sound - Pesani Vi 

Cameraman - Jacob Farani-Whaanga 

International league is headed for one of the biggest shake-ups in the history of the sport.

A radical eligibility proposal - which will change the equation for the nations outside the big three of Australia, New Zealand and England - has been approved by the Rugby League International Federation.

The Herald on Sunday reported yesterday that:

• Eligible players can nominate one tier one nation to represent and one tier two nation.

• Players can switch between their two countries multiple times within a World Cup cycle.

• There is no stand-down between a change of allegiance.

• Players of Polynesian heritage can play State of Origin but still be available to turn out for their native island country.

It's a big move. League has always had a chequered history with eligibility - mainly due to the professional base of the sport being limited to two countries - but it feels like this is the best solution so far.

For the first time ever the Polynesian Bowl has been established - A new high school football all-star game which will feature the world's elite players of Polynesian heritage and other ancestries.

The Polynesian Football Hall of Fame announced yesterday that The Polynesian Bowl will be played Saturday, January 21, 2017, 6:00 pm at Aloha Stadium in O’ahu, Hawai’i as part of the Polynesian Football Hall of Fame Enshrinement Weekend.

The team captains for each team are Marcus Mariota who is of Samoan descent and plays Quarter Back for the Tennessee Titans and Ronnie Stanley who is of Tongan descent and plays Offensive Tackle for the Baltimore Ravens.  Both captains have been recipients of the Polynesian College Football Player of the Year Award in the last 2 years.

Marcus & his father Toa share a hug after one of his games.

“Honoring my heritage is very important to me,” Mariota said in a release. “I look forward to working with the Polynesian Football Hall of Fame to make this the best high school all-star game in the country.…more

Powerhouse lock forward Jason Taumalolo has been named Rugby League Players Association's Players' Champion for the first time in his career, ending teammate Johnathan Thurston's three-year grip on the trophy. 

The 23-year-old finished the 2016 regular season with 4,002 running metres, 553 tackles, 71 tackle breaks and six tries in his best year of NRL since making his first-grade debut in 2010. 

The Cowboys star was unable to attend the gala event at Sydney's Star Casino on Tuesday night, instead accepting the award via video link in Townsville. 

Rugby league Immortal Andrew Johns fooled everyone in attendance when he announced that 'JT' had won, before explaining that it was in fact Taumalolo and not Thurston who had received the top gong.

"First of all I'd like to thank my peers for voting," Taumalolo said. 

"Like 'Johnno' (Thurston) said before, this is right up there as the best or one of the biggest awards that you can win.…more