Multicultural round in the NRL gives the competition a chance to pause and realise the number of nations represented in this great sport.
Now more than ever, players with backgrounds from all around the world have become part of the NRL and make up the phenomenal sport we know and love.
The Pacific Islands are often first to be thought of when the international growth of the game is considered, with players representing those nations left, right and centre despite the lure of playing for either Australia or New Zealand.
Zero Tackle have, after plenty of internal debate, pieced together a list of the top ten multi-national players in the history of the game - that is, a player who has played Test match rugby league for more than one country.
There were plenty to pick from, and some very strong options who missed the list, including the likes of David Fifita and Tino Fa'asuamaleaui out of the current crop, and the likes of Brent Kite, Sika Manu, Michael Jennings, Roy Asotasi and Nigel Vagana alongside a host of others.
Here are our top ten.
With international rugby league seemingly dying, Fifita was one of the first players to take the plunge and switch away from a big nation to represent his heritage.
In 2017, Fifita switched allegiances to Tonga and remained there for the remainder of his career, helping turn the nation into a rugby league hot spot once again.
By the time he finished his career, he only played ten Tests and never crossed for a try, but his influence over the course of rugby league in the nation with Mate Ma'a can't be measured in appearances.
It can be measured in the continuing droves of players who are aiming to represent Tonga, Samoa, Fiji, or another Pacific Island nation.
In the modern game, the international representative rules stop players from playing for two Tier 1 countries in their career.
Once they represent either Australia, New Zealand or England, they can not represent another nation on that list.
But that wasn't the case when Tonie Carroll, a hard-nosed forward who could play a host of other positions, spent his entire NRL career on either side of a stint with the Leeds Rhinos, was at the peak of his powers.
He would play five matches for New Zealand in 2000, his final year before heading to England, and then another seven for Australia following his return to the NRL in 2003.
One of the only players in the game's history to represent the two nations, Carroll was born in Christchurch but grew up in Australia, allowing for the double eligibility.
Big Willie Mason, a larger than life character for his playing career, and now after it, played for both Australia and Tonga in the international arena.
Debuting for the Canterbury Bulldogs at NRL level in 2000, Mason was selected to make his international debut for Tonga in the same season.
From 2002 onwards, he was a permanent fixture of the Australian side through to the end of 2008, playing 24 Tests in green and gold, while also playing 13 State of Origins during that time period.
Born in Auckland, Mason grew up in Australia and was able to select the Kangaroos because of it.
One of the hardest-working dummy halves rugby league has ever seen, Farah played 15 Tests throughout his career, with eight coming for Australia despite the dominance of the number nine jersey by Cameron Smith, and another seven coming for Lebanon across a span of nearly two decades.
The hooker played 277 games at club level for the Wests Tigers across two stints, as well as 26 for the South Sydney Rabbitohs, and was a prominent figure for any growth of the game in Lebanon.
Debuting for Lebanon in 2002, Farah's return to play for the nation on the international stage to finish his career at the Rugby League World Cup was one of the stories of that tournament.
An elite sportsman, Tuqiri excelled in both rugby union and rugby league.
Born in Fiji, Tuqiri made his NRL debut with the Brisbane Broncos in 1999, and was selected to play for Fiji for the first time the following year.
He would waste no time getting into the Australian set up the following season, and played nine Tests in green and gold, to go with 67 for Australia in rugby union.
His switch back to rugby league in 2010 saw him move back into the Fijian system, where he finished with four Tests.
An old-fashioned, hard-nosed, combination forward, Frank Pritchard was one of the most consistent performers in the NRL for a long period of time.
Making his NRL debut in 2003 with the Penrith Panthers, the Sydney born forward with New Zealand and Samoan heritage made his debut for the Kiwis in 2005.
He would play 27 Tests over the next almost decade for the New Zealanders as an almost permanent starter.
At the end of 2010, he left the Panthers for the Canterbury Bulldogs, and just a few years later, made his debut for Samoa, where he played eight Tests between 2014 and 2017.
A champion for the game in the Pacific Islands, Civoniceva's post-playing career has seen him jump into numerous roles within Fijian rugby league.
Born in Suva, he was one of the great front-rowers of the early 2000s, representing Australia 45 times between 2001 and 2011, and playing 33 State of Origins in roughly the same time frame.
He played 235 matches for the Brisbane Broncos, and another 74 for the Penrith Panthers, but it was his six Tests for Fiji following his NRL retirement at the end of 2012 which stood out.
Still playing for the Redcliffe Dolphins in the QLD Cup, he put his best foot forward for Fiji, and will undoubtedly continue to work for the good of the game in the island nation moving forward.
When Jarryd Hayne's on-field achievements are viewed in isolation, he is one of the great fullbacks of the modern generation.
His representative resume is no small matter either.
During a decade-long career which included a break to try his hand at rugby sevens and the NFL, he played 21 Tests, with 11 of those coming for Australia where he scored 11 tries, and another ten for Fiji, where he scored five tries.
He played 214 NRL games across his career, represented New South Wales 23 times at State of Origin level, and will go down as one of the greats.
Like Fifita (who was named at number ten on this list), Taumalolo was part of the first crop of players in 2017 to turn their back on a big nation and represent Tonga instead.
Taumalolo features this high on the list because of his raw ability.
Long one of the best forwards in the NRL, Taumalolo, who is seeing out a ten-year-long deal at the North Queensland Cowboys, hasn't put a foot wrong during his time playing for Mate Ma'a.
He certainly isn't done yet, but he has, across his 16 Tests, been part of the charge for the nation to become a prominent force in rugby league, going as far as for some to suggest it's time to turn Tonga - alongside Samoa - into a Tier 1 nation.
At the end of 2024, Taumalolo has 16 Tests for Tonga under his belt, and there is little doubt he will add to that as they search for a maiden breakthrough at this year's Pacific Championships.
Tuivasa-Sheck has only played two Tests for Samoa, and so maybe some would argue he shouldn't be quite as high on this list, but the bottom line is his talent has all the potential to make the difference for the island nation in the coming years.
After playing for New Zealand between 2013 and 2019, he joined a growing list of players to make the switch to a Tier 2 nation, and adds the creative spark the Samoans need to challenge.
It seems evident he will now spend the rest of his international career with his birth nation, even though he could have taken the easy way out to keep pushing for a New Zealand jersey.
He certainly wasn't the player to spark the revolution, but he could be one who ensures it continues well into the future.
