The incredible story of the journey of rugby league in Papua New Guinea has received its ultimate end-result with the announcement that the country will join the National Rugby League in 2028.
The decision is an amazing boost not only for the people of PNG, but also the Pacific Nations as a whole.
Months of speculation were today confirmed with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape standing together in Sydney to announce the news that will thrill a naon of people where rugby league is the national sport and unites the country.
A tremendous amount of work has taken place behind the scenes to make this decision possible.
With an incredible talent pool of male and female players throughout the country a
structure needed to be put in place to support the development of these players.
NRL Bid CEO Andrew Hill and Chairman Wapu Sonk, were tasked with the job of
putting the pieces in place that would create a structure that would be the envy of any club in the NRL.
This started with the appointment of the highly credentialled Joe Grima to head up the pathways program.
An Academy program was created to nurture the best 15, 17 and 19 year-old players and to expand the geographical reach to create training centres throughout the country.
An annual tournament was then created to allow the best players in the country to
showcase their skills on a national platform that was televised for the first time.
The success of the new structure was then highlighted when the Junior Kumuls were able to draw 22-all with the Australian Schoolboys side in Port Moresby in October, showcasing the major steps forward that had taken place in the skills levels and fitness of the players.
With the structures and programs now in place, aenon can move to creang a franchise that can thrive in the NRL.
