Kangaroos rocked by ugly Xavier Coates drama ahead of Pacific Championships opener against Tonga

Xavier Coates' Kangaroos teammates have rallied around the exciting winger after social media trolls targeted the Australian debutant online after he switched his international allegiance. The Storm flyer made the difficult decision to represent the Kangaroos over the Kumuls ahead of the 2024 Pacific Championships, having made his debut for the second-tier Test nation in 2019.

Despite Papua New Guinea coach Jason Demetriou hoping Coates would be available for selection, he was instead called into Mal Meninga's squad and will make his Australian debut against Tonga on Friday. But the move hasn't gone down with many PNG fans, who in the lead-up to the Pacific Championships have relentlessly hurled abuse at Coates online.

And ahead of making his representative debut, his Kangaroos teammates have rallied around the winger. "He is going all right, he is a lovely bloke,” Harry Grant told The Daily Telegraph. "Hopefully the Papua New Guinea people can see where Xavier’s coming from and stand side-by-side with him and celebrate his journey with the Kangaroos in the Pacific Championships.

"I know how much PNG people love their rugby league. I’ve got a lot of supporters from PNG myself and I love and appreciate their support. It’s so special that Xavier has had the opportunity to represent his mum’s side. She’s a proud Papua New Guinean lady and now he gets to represent his father’s side. I’m hoping a lot of those PNG people can support Xavier on his journey in a Kangaroos jersey."

While Meninga urged PNG fans to be kind, stating he is just as proud of his PNG heritage as he is of his Australian background, growing up on the Gold Coast. “We all come from different backgrounds. We’re all multicultural. We all come from different parts,” Meninga said.

“Xavier is very proud of his Australian heritage on his father’s side. He has played 10 Origin games for Queensland and was brought up on the Gold Coast. He is passionate about Papua New Guinea but wants to put the green and gold jersey on. That’s something he’s aspired to his whole life. He is just as proud of his PNG culture as he is of his green and gold culture.”

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Jason Demetriou understands Xavier Coates' decision

Coates, whose younger brother Phillip played for the Junior Kumuls against the Australian Schoolboys in Port Moresby on Sunday, remains eligible to play for PNG at the 2026 World Cup. And Demetriou says while he hoped he would be available for PNG this year he accepts he has two heritages. "I wanted to pick him for the Pacific Championships, I know how much representing PNG means to him because I've spoken to him over the phone," Demetriou said last week.

"But I also know that Xavier has two heritages and it's a pretty special honour for him to represent Australia. He has done everything else but I suppose we'll let him do that (play for Australia), tick that box and then he can get back to the Kumuls before the World Cup."

with AAP