A sell-out crowd of 30,000 watched Tonga play England in a 2017 semi-final at Auckland's stadium, which was painted red.
Former Warrior and Sport Nation commentator Blake Ayshford says more Pacific Rugby League World Cup matches in New Zealand could build on that support.
He pointed to the excitement around the first Samoan and Tongan games last weekend, when supporters and national flags filled New Zealand streets.
Ayshford said Samoa's Friday match against France, which drew 13,174 fans to Sydney's CommBank Stadium, could have attracted a much bigger crowd in New Zealand.
"If you watch that Samoan game, do you think if Samoa played France anywhere in New Zealand, that it would have been sold out?
"That Samoa v France game, that looked pretty empty to me and if you put that at Go Media Stadium, I reckon you get close to 20,000 there.
"I just think that it's amazing what the Pacific Island nations are doing and they can still get even bigger."
He called on the NRL, including Peter V'landys, to schedule more tournament matches in New Zealand.
"Like the NRL and (Peter) V'Landys and that, if they bought some more games to New Zealand, I just think it would go to a whole other stratosphere."