Amid the hunt for World Cup glory one of Tonga's greats is not done yet

As Tonga's World Cup campaign prepares to hit fever pitch, Tui Lolohea cannot stop smiling even when the young bulls give him stick.

After a training session in the lead-up to Friday's match against Lebanon it is rising prop Demetric Vaimauga, who is the kind of guy you hear before you see, that gees Lolohea up.

"Awwww yeah, it's Mr I Ain't Done Yet!" Vaimauga crows as he grabs Lolohea by the shoulders.

That's what they called Lolohea in an Instagram post after he came off the bench for an injured Latu Fainu to set up a try in Tonga's 30-12 win over England last week and he's been copping it ever since.

It was a cameo Lolohea, at 31 and with Tonga enjoying more depth and talent in the halves than ever before, thought would never come.

But once it did it added to an already sterling legacy in the red jersey, tacking an extra chapter on a story that, against all odds, is still being written.

Lolohea has already played for Tonga more times than any other player in history and against the Cedars he'll extend his own record with his 23rd cap.

Along with Jason Taumalolo, Lolohea is the only player to have appeared in each of Tonga's five wins over Tier 1 nations, making them the only two constant faces in every image of Tonga's greatest days.

Lolohea has been wearing these colours when those days were still just a dream. When he debuted for Tonga back in 2015, Fainu, the man he replaced last week and will partner in the halves on Friday, was only nine years old.

Vaimauga himself had just turned 11 and as the giant youngster runs away cackling, Lolohea fires back in Tongan through a grin and shakes his head.

"I knew I'd get stick for this. Mr I Ain't Done Yet — they're always taking the piss out of me," Lolohea said.

"I hope he gets banged next time he goes off the back fence, so I can go laugh at him.

"They joke around, but I am one of the oldest in the team and it's good to show you can run around with the young bucks."

Lolohea and Taumalolo are the elders this time around as the two longest-serving players in the team by a mile and while Taumalolo dragged Tonga into a new world, Lolohea is very much a product of the old.

Watching his debut from 11 years ago against Samoa on the Gold Coast is a measure of how far things have come.

When the two meet again next week it will be in front of a sold-out crowd at Parramatta Stadium, which they probably could have filled twice over, and both sides will boast some of the best players in the world.

Back on Lolohea's first day, a little over 12,000 came through the gates and both nations had to choose between grey beards, who wanted to give back to their community, journeymen who knew this would be as good as it got, or youngsters before their big futures came for them.

Lolohea was one of the latter and at the time he was counted as one of rugby league's brightest prospects, with feet so fast tackling him was like trying to grab a handful of smoke.

So much has transformed since those times but according to Lolohea, the most important things have stayed the same.

"Why you're doing it, what you're representing, that never changes," Lolohea said.

"We're a little dot on the map and there's always talk about financial stuff but the pride of our island nation, the proud culture we put out to the people, we've built that over the years and the support from the people is massive.

"That's what we want to represent, our people and our family names, where we come from.

"I was just a little kid back then. I remember the passion, for Tonga and Samoa, and we're on the big stage now but the passion is still there even though it was a long time ago."

Plenty of familiar faces from that night are still around. Kristian Woolf is still the coach, Sika Manu, Lolohea's first captain, is in camp as an assistant and Konrad Hurrell is the team's media manager.

But only Lolohea is still playing, making him the last son of the olden days before the heroes came back home.

He remembers frantically messaging Taumalolo in 2017, asking if he really was going to come back to Tonga and marvelling at what followed.

He cannot forget his intercept try in the win over New Zealand, head cocked back and laughing as he went over, or his late score in the semi-final against England that gave Tonga hope of a miracle, or of the trip back to the islands that followed, where the team was given medals of honour at the royal palace.

Amid a good NRL career for the Warriors and Wests Tigers before a lengthy stint in Super League, where he's spent the last eight seasons, including the last five with Huddersfield, Lolohea might never have fulfilled the club expectations he carried into his Tongan debut.

Instead, his finest hours have come for Tonga itself, for whom he is both pioneer and icon.

They've never won a big game without him and his reward has been honours that are usually bestowed on heroes of ancient wars.

His people have named trophies after him and he has been granted lands outside the family village of Lapaha by King Tupou VI.

The team's official nickname is Mate Ma' Tonga, which translates to "die for Tonga" but the memories Lolohea has helped create for his nation are immortal, like the win over Great Britain in 2019 or the breakthrough victory over Australia the following week.

On the back of those glories a whole new generation of stars chose Tonga and players like Isaiya Katoa, Robert Toia, Leka Halasima and Tolu Koula have not just become part of the cause, they have taken it further.

They beat New Zealand again in the Pacific Championships two years ago and pushed Australia to the limit in the final. Lolohea, of course, played in both and set up a try in the latter.

Tonga are not here to compete anymore, they are here to win — against Australia, New Zealand, England, Samoa or anybody else who wants some.

Taking the World Cup itself back to Nuku'alofa is not an idle fantasy. It's a dream Tonga can hammer into reality as part of a new world order Lolohea and his generation helped create and somehow, he is still part of it.

Apart from Taumalolo, his only fellow survivor from 2017, the other legends from the old days are done.

Between Katoa, Fainu and Junior Amone, Tonga have more class and options in the halves and the nation had every right to move on from Lolohea years ago. 

But Lolohea himself is still here, refusing to be swept away, a lot older and a bit slower but as he showed against England, still capable of making a difference for the better.

"To still be here after all this time, I'm fortunate to be here again and running around with the young guys and some of the superstars of our game," Lolohea said.

"It's an honour, every time.

"It's crazy to think, because I watch these guys every week and now I'm playing alongside them and I remember when we didn't really have any halfbacks at all.

"The depth we have now, it's such a big positive not just for now but for the years to come."

Lolohea knows this World Cup might be his last. He's finished up at Huddersfield and is still sorting out where he'll play next.

He is expected to drop back to the extended bench for next week's clash against Samoa and barring injury, it will be the same for the knockout stages.

This game against Lebanon could be it, the last time the legend of Tui Lolohea as a Tongan hero happens in front of us and not in our memories and that makes it worth savouring.

He played rugby league for Tonga more times than any other person who has ever lived but it is still a privilege to him, a prize beyond what he can ever say.

Even after all these years it still makes his father, Paul, smile and get as emotional as he ever does.

Growing up it was just the two of them. Lolohea's mother died when he was just one year old due a heart condition and if Friday is the end, father and son will be together for it.

But there might be a truth in the jokes the young fellas tell: Lolohea isn't done yet. 

"He [Lolohea's father] flew in Tuesday morning, he'll be here for the next couple of weeks to enjoy the last ride, no matter what happens," Lolohea said.

"But we never know these days, do we? I'm just buzzing I got on the field again. I'm glad I got to play my part."