[Source: Kaiviti Silktails/Facebook]

The preseason match with the Burleigh Bears will be another pathway for the Fiji Kava Kaiviti Silktails players to participate in the elite-level Rugby League in Australia.

With less than three weeks till the much-anticipated clash, Burleigh Bears mentor Rick Stone says the connection between the two clubs goes deeper.

Kaiviti Silktails Chair Petero Civoniceva who represented Australia and Queensland and won premierships at the Brisbane Broncos, was also captain of the Fiji Bati when Stone was head coach of the Pacific nation’s Rugby League team.

[Source: Kaiviti Silktails/Facebook]

Silktails coach Wes Naiqama played in the centres under Stone and alongside Civoniceva when the Fijians beat Samoa in the Quarter-finals of the 2013 World Cup, before falling to Australia in the semis.

Silktails Chief Executive Steve Driscoll says the trial game is an ideal fit.

The game is scheduled for the Bears’ home ground, Pizzey Park on the Gold Coast on 19 February.

[Source: Kaiviti Silktails/Facebook]