Jason Taumalolo has left the door open for a controversial return to New Zealand after refusing to pledge his allegiance to the Kiwis or Tonga for the representative round later this month.
New Zealand coach Michael Maguire says he is resigned to being without the dual-eligible players who represented Tonga at last year’s World Cup when the Kiwis meet England in the US city of Denver on June 23.
Maguire’s told New Zealand’s Stuff website that the likes of Manu Mau, Sio Sui Taukeiaho, David Fusitu’a and Solomone Kata would play for Tonga in the Test against Samoa in Sydney on the same day.
“Those guys I think are going to stick with Tonga,” Maguire said.
“I’ve had bits of communication around that and for myself coming in, I want players who will go out and put their bodies on the line for that jersey.”
However, Taumalolo said his mind remains open on the issue.
“I haven’t spoken too much with anyone at the moment regarding representative stuff, purely because I’ve been trying to focus on trying to get (North Queensland) back on track,” he said.
“I’ve got a few more weeks so I’m sure you guys will find out soon.”
The Cowboys star turned in his best performance of the season in their 14-point win over Manly on Thursday, carrying the ball for 268m, busting 12 tackles and scoring a try.
Taumalolo, who turned 25 on Thursday, admitted dealing with some self-doubt issues after North Queensland’s poor start to the year.
“At the start there we were 3-4 losses, you start doubting yourself and start questioning why you’re still playing,” he said.
“I’ve slowly got myself out of that slump for a bit, just trying to find myself and not only better myself but better everyone else around me too.”
Meanwhile, Australian Ben Gardiner has been retained as one of Maguire’s assistant coaches, with a New Zealander still to be named to fill the other assistant role.