The USA Tomahawks, under the astute guidance of Matt Elliott and Shane Millard, went down gallantly to a star studded Samoan team filled with New Zealand Internationals 42-10 at Halton Stadium in Widnes. The Samoans scored five tries on the last play and a total of twenty four points in the opening and closing minutes of each half. Along with a couple of disallowed tries and missed opportunities the scoreline could have been much closer. Although the Tomahawks bowed out of the RLWC Qualifying tournament they certainly proved that the AMNRL competition and Rugby League in America has a bright future.

With the support of eligible stars from the NRL and SLE competition, the Tomahawks bravely challenged the more favored Samoan lineup. David Myles and Ryan McGoldrick scored tries for the USA with David Marando kicking a goal. The Samoans relied heavily on their Kiwi International experience with early tries to Nigel Vagana, Hutch Maiva, and Tony Puletua.

Whilst it was the Samoans who moved on to face Lebanon and the tenth spot at the RLWC in Australia 2008, it was the Tomahawks who received tremendous support from local rugby league fans in England and around the world. The coaching staff and team management were overwhelmed by the support from all areas of the game about the development of the national team and the progress made in developing rugby league in the USA. It should be noted that of the twenty squad members on tour for the RLWCQ respresenting the Tomahawks, eleven players came from the AMNRL competition. Each other nation comprised of five local players from each of their leagues and it would be very interesting to note how many, if any, played any game time in the RLWCQ matches.

The AMNRL would like to thank the support of IMPACT SPORTS, and ASICS AMERICA in supporting the Tomahawks on their tour of England and RLWC Qualifying campaign.