He played in every match of Tonga's historic charge to the semi-finals of the 2017 Rugby League World Cup, and set up a vital try in their shock win over New Zealand in the pool stage of the tournament.
(meta data) TITLE: Tonga stun New Zealand to top Pool B - NRL (meta data) PUBLISHED DATETIME: 2017-11-11T06:00:00Z MATCH REPORT # Tonga stun New Zealand to top Pool B Corey Rosser Sat 11 Nov 2017, 05:00 PM Rugby league history belongs to Tonga. The island nation have become the first second-tier side ever to beat a top-three team in international rugby league, powering to an emphatic 28-22 victory over the Kiwis on Saturday afternoon at Waikato Stadium. Led by a David Fusitu'a hat-trick and the brilliance of five-eighth Tuimoala Lolohea, who had a hand in two tries and scored one himself, Tonga ran in five second-half tries to simultaneously assure themselves of topping Pool B and shocking the rugby league world. New Zealand had sat on a comfortable 16-2 lead at the break thanks to tries from Dallin Watene-Zelezniak, Jordan Rapana and Roger Tuivasa-Sheck and looked well in control, but were no match for Tonga's power, speed and passion through the second period. Clinging to a 24-22 lead with three minutes to go, Fusitu'a sealed the famous result with a try in the corner, sending the 24,041-strong crowd into mayhem. Earlier Tonga had opted to take the two points via an early penalty and maintained the lead until the 20th minute when Watene-Zelezniak scored his first Test try, before Rapana touched down on the opposite side of the field. Inside the final five minutes of the half Tonga had a would-be try to Daniel Tupou called back by referee Gerard Sutton, and instead the Kiwis went down the other end to grab their third via Tuivasa-Sheck. Trailing by 14 points, Tonga made a strong start to the second half, and after several sets inside the opposition 20 they got their reward, with Fusitu'a leaping high to claim a Lolohea bomb which made it 16-6. Three tries in the space of six minutes saw Tonga storm out to a 24-16 lead with 15 minutes to go, as Fusitu'a grabbed his second off a clever Konrad Hurrell flick pass, before Lolohea picked off Russell Packer's pass for an untouched run to the line. When Ben Murdoch-Masila palmed his way through and found Will Hopoate looming in support, Tonga were in control and the Kiwis looked dumfounded, but gave themselves some hope when Tuivasa-Sheck reduced the gap to two points with eight minutes to go. But Tonga weren't to be denied, with Fusitu'a's try three minutes from time confirming the result and booking them a quarter-finals match against Lebanon next week. Tonga 28 (David Fusitu'a 3, Tuimoala Lolohea, Will Hopoate tries; Sio Siua Taukeiaho 3, Tuimoala Lolohea 1 goals) def. New Zealand 22 (Dallin Watene-Zelezniak, Jordan Rapana, Roger Tuivasa-Sheck x2 tries; Shaun Johnson 3 goals) at Waikato Stadium HT: 2-16. Crowd: 24,041. New Zealand v Tonga: Five key pointsTaumalolo: I could have handled it betterTonga boosted by settled preparationRLWC2017 announces quarter-finals draw ### Related / Match Report Xerri's contentious late try saves Sharks against Dragons ### Match Report Roosters rarely troubled as they put Warriors to the sword 2 days ago ### Match Report Bulldogs upset, Burgess and Burns blows jeopardise Souths' top-four hopes 2 days ago ### Match Report Incredible Raiders comeback stuns Storm in Melbourne 3 days ago ### Match Report Ponga, Pearce spark Knights to drought-breaking win over Cowboys 3 days ago #### Corporate Partners
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Ben Murdoch-Masila
Playing career.
He started the season playing from the reserve bench, but started in the back row in the last 5 games of the season. In April, Murdoch-Masila made his international debut, playing in the Pacific Rugby League International for the Tongan side that thrashed Samoa 36–4. He was chosen to represent Tonga in the 2013 World Cup, but a leg injury in his first hit-up of the tournament saw him take no further part. 
 On 30 April 2014, Murdoch-Masila signed a .mw-parser-output .frac{white-space:nowrap}.mw-parser-output .frac .num,.mw-parser-output .frac .den{font-size:80%;line-height:0;vertical-align:super}.mw-parser-output .frac .den{vertical-align:sub}.mw-parser-output .sr-only{border:0;clip:rect(0,0,0,0);height:1px;margin:-1px;overflow:hidden;padding:0;position:absolute;width:1px}1+1⁄2-year contract effective immediately with the Penrith Panthers, after being released from the final year and a half of his Tigers contract. 
 On 2 May 2015, Murdoch-Masila played for Tonga in their Polynesian Cup clash with Pacific rivals Samoa. During the 2015 season, he did not play any NRL games for the Panthers and was not re-signed beyond 2015. On 17 October 2015, Murdoch-Masila played for Tonga in their Asia-Pacific Qualifier match against the Cook Islands for the 2017 Rugby League World Cup. 
