KEY POINTS:
League's tangled World Cup selections are a dangerous jungle to delve into.
It's almost worthy as a Mastermind subject, yet even the bravest of swots might struggle to emerge unscathed.
While other sports work hard to create clearly defined borders for selection, it's almost anything goes for the tournament beginning in Australia on October 25.
League's stand down periods rate as quick twirls and this dodgy dancing carries on close to the tournament kick-off. The criss-cross selections reflect that while the game has its own unique international flavour, it is not a truly world-wide game and the international administration is hardly world class either.
Sanity generally prevails in selections involving the heavyweights Australia, New Zealand and England, although in a black day for the game, Brisbane's Tonie Carroll was allowed to switch from the Kiwis to the Kangaroos a few years ago.
But the switch hitting is generally used to bolster weaker countries.
In many ways, the tournament has become an interesting reflection of the Pacific region and its complexities related to cultural and economic intertwining.
Yet mixed sporting allegiances - born out of heritage, immigration, upbringing, opportunism, fame and earning power - are not confined to league. It's just that league either can't afford, or is unable, to hide them.
It breaks all the rules, lives for the moment, embraces the grey, and operates on convenience.
Some of it may involve brinkmanship, or living in hope. Or were Tonga really serious when they named Auckland-born Kangaroo diehard Willie Mason in their preliminary squad for the upcoming World Cup.
Even the hard and fast rules which govern the State of Origin take a retrospective battering here.
The Origin series excludes non-Australian players. Yet Antonio Kaufusi, who has played for Queensland and Australia, has been selected in the Tongan World Cup squad. This throws up a tricky question. As a Tongan-rated player, should Kaufusi be allowed straight back into the Origin series if Queensland want to pick him next year. Those agitating for Kiwi players in the SoO would be interested in that.
The best advice when it comes to enjoying a league World Cup is to join the party atmosphere and not to take it all too seriously.
The latest selection incident came this week when Anthony Tupou was yanked out of the Tongan team and returned to Australia when Michael Crocker pulled out through injury.
Which wasn't a bad outcome if you believe that having Tupou - who played for the Kangaroos only this year - turn up for Tonga stretched the credibility factor way too far.
And even under league's loose rules, Tupou might have been denied a late clearance to play for Tonga anyway.
The Tongans also include Fuifui Moimoi, who made his Kiwi debut last year after a storming season for Parramatta which had some people touting him as an Australian selection.
A number of players, such as Auckland-born Samoan Warrior Jerome Ropati, were named in the preliminary squads for two countries. The final Tongan squad contains five Kiwi internationals, and the Samoans eight. Fiji included Aussie test back Jarryd Hayne, who could still win an Aussie call-up.
The Polynesian influence in league has even extended to England, who have included St Helens interchange forward Maurie Fa'asavalu.
Born in Samoa, he attended Auckland's St Paul's College on a rugby scholarship. But Fa'asavalu shunned any All Black ambitions, believing that many players in his position were given an All Black cap then left in the international wilderness.
Apollo Perelini, the former New Zealand provincial rugby forward and a Samoan league and union representative, is a trainer for St Helens and he helped guide Fa'asavalu into the English Super League.
Fa'asavalu has become a cult favourite at his club, where he has been used almost entirely off the bench in 120 games.
But Fa'asavalu was not initially welcomed with open arms into the England team, which is coached by Aussie Tony Smith.
Fa'asavalu won the crowd over with strong runs and a try in for victory, but there are still those who question the legitimacy of his selection.
It requires no stretch of the imagination of course to envisage Fa'asavalu turning out for Samoa at the next league World Cup, depending on how his British test career goes.
Whether league honchos want these smaller countries to succeed is doubtful. Regular test action for them would upset the cosy set-up that allows the clubs of the NRL and Super League to dominate a game with a limited international programme. For now, the World Cup spread is part real-deal, part contrivance.
This is a madcap blast that turns up every three, four, five or eleven years under league's haphazard scheduling and formats.
What league might do is ensure the eligibility of players is sorted out before World Cup tournaments start and put a firm ring around final squad selections, at least for the sake of an authentic appearance.
Players such as Tupou, Moimoi and Taniela Tuiaki, another 2007 Kiwi who played for Tonga the previous year, have been picked while their right to play for Tonga is still to be confirmed. Samoan players also had an asterisk next to their name.
And switching Tupou between final cup squads a fortnight before the tournament is a bad look. Even in the league selection jungle, these are tangles too far.
