Andrew Fifita has declared his allegiance to Tonga for life ahead of Saturday's Pacific Test against Samoa.
The often controversial and always forthright Cronulla prop said he would play out the rest of his representative career for Mate Ma'a, forgoing hundreds of thousands of dollars in the process.
Fifita did not close the door on playing State of Origin for NSW again one day, however the likelihood of that occurring seems slim after slipping down Blues coach Brad Fittler's pecking order.
But he confirmed he would not play for Australia again after kicking off the Pacific Islands revolution by being one of a handful of leading players, including Jason Taumalolo, to choose to play for a minnow nation over a tier one country during last year's Rugby League World Cup.
The presence of the likes of Fifita, Taumalolo and Michael Jennings has ensured there will be a full house at Campbelltown Stadium on Saturday night when Tonga take on traditional rivals Samoa.
Last year Fifita gave up tens of thousands of dollars after he pledged allegiance to Tonga - who paid $500 per game - over Australia - where he could have earned $20,000 per game in match fees.
Fifita said it was never about the money, rather he wanted to give back to his family.
"I'm Tonga for life," Fifita told AAP.
"There are rules where I can play Origin and that, I'll put my hand up for Origin.
"But when the NRL's put the schedule with Origin (on the same weekend as the Pacific Test), I just feel like the pinnacle for our game is representing your country and that's what I'm doing."
Tonga shocked the world when they beat New Zealand in the quarter-finals of last year's World Cup and went within one play of beating England in the semi-finals.
Asked what he would say if he could have the ears of NRL CEO Todd Greenberg and RLIF boss Nigel Wood, Fifita said he wanted to help grow Tonga and the international game.
And that means equal pay for Pacific nations such as Samoa, Fiji and Tonga and more matches against top tier nations.
An end-of-year Test between Australia and Tonga has been mooted and Fifita called for it to happen - not because it would give him a chance to play against his former Kangaroos teammates, but because the Mate Ma'a want a chance to prove themselves against the world's best.
"If you look back at the World Cup, no one is talking about how Australia won," Fifita said.
"No one is talking about how well they went, I think everyone is more asking 'when is Tonga going to play Australia?' For us, we want to play the world's best.
"I think we proved ourselves against England and New Zealand, that we can match it with the best. We just want to be known as a solid team."
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