At a time when all the spotlight is on players defecting from Australia to rising Pacific powerhouses, South Sydney star Keaon Koloamatangi says he’d be open to playing for the Kangaroos in the Ashes if he’s selected.
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There’s a spot available in the middle after Payne Haas declared he’d represent Samoa at the Pacific Championships later this year, and no one deserves a spot like Koloamatangi, who has been outstanding for the Rabbitohs in 2025.
Koloamatangi worked tirelessly in the off-season to get in the best shape of his career, and it’s paid off with the 27-year-old starring on the edge and at prop where he’s had to fill in given how many injuries Souths have had.
And he hasn’t just filled in, with the one-time Blue cracking 200m three times and punching out big minutes this season, which is why so many people were shocked he didn’t earn an Origin recall.
He will be playing rep footy at the end of the year, but it’s just a question of whether he adds to his 10 Tongan caps or if he gets to travel to the UK and pull on the green and gold jersey for the first time.
“My mum is Australian and my dad is Tongan, so playing for the Kangaroos is a dream of mine, as was Tonga,” he said.
“If I was able to get the chance, I’d obviously give it a thought.
“But I’m just taking it a week at a time and I need to be picked first. I’m not too stressed about that.
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“I haven’t spoken to anyone (from the Kangaroos) so whatever happens, happens. I live day by day and everything happens for a reason, so I’m sure the right thing will come.”
International footy wasn’t even on Koloamatangi’s radar when he suffered a high-grade syndesmosis injury in round 20 that required surgery and was meant to keep him out for the rest of the season.
But Koloamatangi was desperate to get back given Souths were missing so many stars, with the mobile forward also wanting to be there when Alex Johnston broke Ken Irvine’s try-scoring record.
Koloamatangi returned in Thursday’s win over the Dragons and ran for more metres than any other forward, while Johnston grabbed a try to move within two of tying the record.
“With the year that we’ve had and the forwards that we’ve missed, I pride myself on being available each week,” he said after the game.
“I was upset when I got injured because I love playing for this team. I was upset, but I didn’t have too bad of an injury. I came back in a month, and there are lots of worse injuries out there, so I’m grateful for that.
“It’s a pretty easy (injury to rehab). As soon as you finish surgery, they want you moving it to get the range back because the injury tightens everything up.
“I got my range back pretty quickly, which I was grateful for, so everything went ahead of schedule. I don’t know how, but I’m grateful.
“I was pretty disappointed when I got injured and was told that I’d be out for the rest of the year, so I took that as a bit of a challenge and tried to come back.
“Obviously ‘AJ’ was one thing (motivating me) because I want to be part of history, so hopefully he gets it done this year.
“I don’t want to say that to him, but I think everyone wants to be a part of history because I don’t think it’ll ever be done again. It’s too hard to get too many tries.”
