Fresh Off The Field

It's another jam packed sports wrap from across the Pacific including interviews with Fijiana rugby union player Asinate Serevi and PNG sprinter Emmanuel Anis.

Lailanie Burnes and Jamie Haro join host Sam Wykes to chat through the big news in the worlds of tennis, football, athletics, rugby, cricket and preparations for the Palau Mini Games.

Grateful and joyful - those are the words Tongan teenage basketballer Taua Puloka used to describe playing for her culture at the Pacific Games in 2023. Puloka chats to Sam Wykes about growing up in America, keeping her Tongan culture strong a long way from the Islands, WNBA Polynesian inspirations and her basketball dreams.

Sam is also joined by Indra Singh who has plenty of Fijian news including Palau Mini Games prep plus Vanuatu's Melissa Fare with chats on cricket, football, athletics and more.

Pacific Islanders might be commonplace in Rugby Union and League but there's not many in the AFL and Josaia Delana is bucking the trend right now after being signed by the GWS Giants. Delana chats about his recent favourite visit back to Fiji to celebrate his 18th birthday, why Israel Folau inspired him to give the sport a crack and the emotion he and his family felt after being drafted.

Sam Wykes is also joined by Patricia Keamo with a new baby and plenty of PNG sports news in tow plus Kalo Manu-Moli who is brimming with Tongan sports news and whale tales too.

Fidelis Laia is from Bougainville but has spent many years in Papua New Guinea and wants to move to the Philippines or Australia to take the next step in his boxing journey. Alice Peter from PNG chats to Laia about his most memorable fights so far, his advice for young boxers and how he got the nickname 'The Bomber'.

Sam Wykes also welcomes Fijian Lailaine Burnes and Ni-Van Melissa Fare into the studio to bring us all the news from across the region including chats about the Fiji Tennis Open, a Vanuatu table tennis legend and so much more.

Despite not having much success on the field in terms of results during the PacificAus Four Nations tournament, Claudia Votu knows that the real wins for the Solomon Islands are the lessons learned. Votu chats to Sam Wykes about the experience of playing against Australia, the need for investment in the next generation and why it means everything to represent her country.

Indra Singh also has plenty of sporting news from Fiji, Lulu Laris the same from a very rainy Bougainville and PNG.

Linda Pulsan is a trailblazer for women in Papua New Guinea combining a powerlifting career well into her 50's with raising a family. Her son Ruben John has followed in his mother's footsteps and PNG journalist Rebecca Passingan talks to both about their amazing journey.

Jamie Haro from PNG also joins Sam Wykes to discuss the legacy of Justin Olam, local cricket and more plus Cynthia Seda from the Solomon Islands chats football, volleyball and more sports news in the region.

Switching sports isn't easy but for two Pasifika men, trying to make it in the NFL via a 10 week trial camp is a challenge and a chance worth taking. With backgrounds in rugby league and union, we chat to Samoan Laki Tasi and Fijian Jeneiro Wakeham who have given American Football a shot via the NFL International Player Pathway Program and will soon find out their fate.

Priestley Habru gives us plenty of news from the Solomon Islands as well as across the Pacific and from Kiribati, Teitirake Kabaua does the same to help keep you in the loop.

New Caledonian footballer Mickaël Partodikromo is lining up for some of the biggest matches in the Pacific nation's history this week in the World Cup qualifiers and chats to Sam Wykes about his journey from the islands to English football. We hear why his father wears Mickaël's jerseys to the shops, what it's like playing around the world and what food he misses from home.

Fiji's Lailanie Burnes also has news in football, basketball and a win for Fijian rugby players and Tonga's Kalo Manu-Moli chats rugby, local school sports, hockey and a big result for the U-19 women's footballers.

The Ikale Tahi had a disappointing campaign in 2024 on the field but with another year after the reset, TRU CEO Aisea Aholelei believes 2025 should see more positive results. Regular co-host Marian Kupu chats to Aholelei about coaching, player recruitment, home internationals and more.

Melissa Fare chatted to Ni-Van beach volleyball legend Miller Pata plus Jamie Haro talks to Nicky van de Bos about the WISA project supporting women in sport across the Pacific. There's also news in netball, cricket, darts, rugby union, football and more!

Without Pauline Dean, much of the football across the Pacific and in particular in the Cook Islands, wouldn't run as smoothly as it does. Dean recently helped host OFC fixtures in her homeland for the first time in nearly a decade, which saw Tupapa FC qualify for the Men's Champions League. We hear her story plus what it was like working at the Paris 2024 Olympics sharing her home with the world.

Indra Singh brings us all the latest from Fiji including a new football star on the rise, Tonga's Marian Kupu has news in rugby, netball and a table tennis story and Sam Wykes helps fill in the rest of the big news from across the Pacific.