Seven of the eight teams who made the knockout-stages of the 2013 Rugby League World Cup were announced as automatic qualifiers, which included New Zealand, Australia, Samoa and Fiji.

[1] In October 2015, Papua New Guinea was announced a co-host of the 2017 World Cup and granted automatic qualification.

The Tongan team consisted of National Rugby League based players except for Mosese Pangai and Ukuma Ta’ai, who play in the Queensland Cup for the Townsville Blackhawks and the Super League for the Huddersfield Giants respectively.

[7] Tonga's most capped player is Ukuma Ta’ai who made his 8th appearance for his country, while the Cook Islands' most experienced players are Drury Low, Anthony Gelling and Johnathon Ford who all made their 6th appearance for their nation.

Penrith's Sika Manu captained Tonga, and Canberra's Jordan Rapana led the Cook Islands.