Coco Talanoa — Sports / Page 44

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 - 

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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

Carlos Ulberg recently returned from the WKG - World Kings Glory MMA tournament held in China where he had his first professional bout and came out on top.

We caught up with Carlos at the Pacific Fusion Fashion Show held in Auckland.

Check out Carlos' story on The Coconet TV.

Steven Adams tipped off the 1st of his 3 'Steven Adams Basketball Camps' this morning at the North Shore Events Centre in Auckland.

This is the 3rd year he's run the camps in NZ and he's extremely passionate about giving back to the sport and country that has given him so much.

Boys and girls of all skill levels aged between 7 - 17 have the opportunity at each of the camps to learn individual and team fundamentals from Adams and his Oklahoma City Thunder teammates and coaches, in an atmosphere where the young basketball players will have the opportunity to improve and have fun at the same time.

Each of the participants were also given a basketball and 'Steven Adams Basketball Camp' t.shirt as they walked through the doors.

We caught up with him at the Press Conference prior to the camp - here's what he had to say on a few subjects ....

On playing in the NBA Western Conference Playoffs

"Playoffs are just on a whole new level.…more

KRIT & THE IRON SQUAD 

Our roving correspondent Krit catches up with some well known faces from NRLs Cronulla Sharks & gets the low down on their 'Iron Squad' group.

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 NRL Must do more for Pacific Nations 

Redemption through Rugby League  

Carlos Ulberg grew up bouncing from foster home to foster home. Now he is about to travel to China for his first professional MMA fight. He tells us how his rough beginnings shaped him into the person he is today, as well as what it was like to train with Mark hunt in Las Vegas and what he hopes to achieve in the fight game.

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Carlos cooks up a meal for Pani & Pani on Mr Lavalava

Check out 11 year old Muay Thai fighter Rhyme 'THE RAGE' Loto

The world's Greatest Diver Ever!

Spectacular diving footage of Greg Louganis at the '84 Summer Games by legendary Olympic filmmaker Bud Greenspan.

Greg Louganis was born to parents of Samoan & Northern European ancestry.  They were both 15 yrs old and gave Greg up for adoption when he was 9 months old.   He started diving when he was 9yrs old winning his first championship at the Junior Olympics national competition at the age of 11yrs.

He had a troubled childhood but turned to diving as this was one area in his life which gave him self-confidence & success.

He went on to win numerous national & International Diving awards and is the only male & the 2nd diver in Olympic history to sweep the diving events in consecutive Olympic Games.  He won Gold at the 1984 & 1988 Olympics on both the Platform and Springboard.  In 1984, he received the James E. Sullivan Award from the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) as the most outstanding amateur athlete in the United States.…more