THE Kangaroos took a well publicised pay cut to play in their 34-16 win over Tonga, but Mate Ma’a coach Kristian Woolf reminded everyone of his own players’ sacrifices.

Wolf was extremely grateful for Mal Meninga and his players’ commitment to the first historic clash between the teams, but it is worth noting that pay cuts are nothing new for Tongan players.

“One thing that needs to be said is it’s nothing new for our guys, who make that sacrifice every time they play,” Woolf said.

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“It is very difficult because we’ve lived game by game and we’ve never had a calendar, that sits in front of us and allows us to plan for the next 12 months or two years.

“Once we get that and the NRL and the RLIF are trying to do that at the moment, to set a calendar that does outline games for the next couple of years.

“Once we have that and we are not trying to round up sponsors in a six or seven week period, we can be a lot more organised and a lot more financially balanced.

“The biggest thing for us is not payment for players, although it is part of it because they want to be rewarded and respected, but it is about the conditions we can give them when they come into camp.”

Woolf was quick to pay tribute to the Tongan fans, who packed into Mt Smart Stadium and training sessions throughout the week to cheer on their team.

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“I can’t speak highly enough of the support we get, which is just outstanding,” Woolf said.

“Even though we were not the winning team tonight, you still see how many people hang around and they are all still happy and they all want to congratulate us and there is no disappointment from them at all.

“The more of these games that we get, the more competitive we are going to be and the better we are going to get.

“Tonight was a real start of that and we are looking for a lot more Tests in the future and a lot more opportunities against tier one nations.

“That’s what we want and that’s how we get better and become a real force on the international scene.”