By Steve Kaless
October 28th 2008 @ 1:39am
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Memo rugby league: it’s time to get serious about PNG
Papua New Guinea kept up their end of the bargain on Saturday night with a gutsy performance against England. And it is time for the ARL and RLIF to return the favour.
In order to get any real value from putting PNG into the group of death at this World Cup, it needs to be the start of a plan in which the experiences gained from this tournament are built upon in coming years.
It would be a complete waste of time if all the Kumuls had between now and the next World Cup was a yearly match against the Junior Kangaroos.
With the talk being that this tournament is already guaranteed of being a financial success, it is vital that PNG are at the front of queue when the next round of development funds are handed out.
While the next two matches may bring with them a harsher reality to Adrian Lam’s men, they certainly showed plenty of positives against England, and had it not been for a questionable forward pass call by referee Shane Hayne, they may have even pulled off an enormous upset.
The result will become academic in years to come. But hopefully the match will be remembered as the start of a new era for PNG rugby league.
Here are just a few ideas I would suggest for developing matches which include matches against the Kumuls:
• On the ANZAC test weekend, an Australia A side should line up against PNG.
• New Zealand should play tests against PNG.
• The Queensland Cup winners should play the champions of the PNG national competition.
• An NRL side should look at playing a trial match in PNG.
The options are varied, and given the absolute devotion to rugby league in PNG, you would think it would be hard to go wrong.
But the key is that action is needed.
With Samoa, Tonga and Fiji also looking to develop their international calendar, then these sides should all be involved in matches with the Kumuls. While, if an Aboriginal representative side is also to become a more regular feature, then that looks like another good fit.
Add the New Zealand Maori side to the equation as well.
Of course, it’s all very easy to talk about development at times like this when players aren’t being held tight by NRL and Super League sides. But in the end there is no excuse for not doing anything.
Plenty of people in rugby union are always talking about the frustration that comes around every four years when a Rugby Union World Cup is followed by plenty of rhetoric about bring Argentina into the Tri Nations and Super 14 competition, yet little ever seems to happen on that front.
Rugby league should ensure it doesn’t fall into the same trap. And if there is one thing that rugby league administrators can often do very well, it is offer hollow rhetoric.
There are rumblings about a PNG side in the NRL, but plenty can be done before that to assist the game, which will also be a lot easier to achieve.
Let’s hope that the talk of an NRL franchise doesn’t become a distraction in the short term when what is really needed are just more matches.
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oikee said | October 28th 2008 @ 8:01am | Report comment
Someones comment the other day about spliting australia into queensland, new south wales and you could add a indigernous team also, if we got rid of the dinosaurs running the game this might happen. What this would in affect do is weaken the top team the kangaroos. And from what we have seen so far is a really good fair competition except that the kangaroos are dominate.
So what we are left with, out of all this is a international board with a bit of money to spend after this tournament. Now to look a bit further into the over-all picture you would notice that the lesser teams are getting alot better than what people thought. The reason this is happening is because super league and the NRL are attracting players from around their areas. NRL attract islanders, Super League attracts Scots<Welsh and Irish players also some islanders. Now if you look at this you will see where they have to spend there money, outside these areas. So around Europe and possibly America. By helping these 2 areas will fast track these teams and help them grow because they need to be involved to help the game over-all. Lebanon would also be a area that could use some injection of funds, i would like to see them have a tour of down-under.
As for papua new Guinea i think what has come out of this tournament has helped them more than anything has in the past. Just the fact they are now looking to be involved with either the queensland cup to start with, is a big bonus, you cannot rush them and they will have more players being picked up by clubs, i have seen at least 3 that could play in the NRL. Plus they already have players over here. Add to this some more international tests and they should stand in good stead over the next 5 years. So to get to my point , we dont need to waste international money on them, well we do for some games but not alot. The NRL and there government can do more for them. At least now they have support, where as before nobody knew about their plight. Its a slow process but we are getting there.
Their is already international calender on the agenda, we just need to improve what they have got, just hope the dinosaurs get it right, good thing is they know what not to do thanks to union, i am sure they wont waste they money. They have learnt from union. Russia need to get more involved also, they have a domestic comp that could be run better, maybe some help there would help surrounding areas, i see they have played some internationals just recently, so further devolopment is needed.
Luke W said | October 28th 2008 @ 9:30am | Report comment
I know this is a little off topic, but for rugby league to expand internationally, the administrators of the game have to come up with ideas to fix the situation we now have of State of Origin being considered the pinnacle of the game. Players from New Zealand and the island nations come to Australia to play NRL, and then pledge their allegiance to Australia so they have a chance to perform on rugby league’s greatest stage. I wonder how many players would turn their backs on the country they are representing at this World Cup if they knew they could not play Origin rugby league again or in the future. I’m sure Jarryd Hayne would not be lining up for Fiji, and we have already seen Anthony Tupou and Karmichael Hunt turn their backs on Tonga and New Zealand respectively.
Back on topic, Papua New Guinea has a long way to go. While the support for rugby league over there is feverish, it is still an amateur sport. It is essentially a feeder club for various NRL clubs who seek natural atheletes. Maybe the national team makes progress if the players who make it to the NRL (with professional competition, coaching and facilities) occasionally play international matches, but the game has to develop domestically for international rugby league to grow. Also, let’s not forget that Papua New Guinea has a very small population and a very weak economy. So let’s try not to get swept up in this “feel good” story and realise that as a nation, Papua New Guinea is not the most viable form of expansion for rugby league.
The most important nation competing at this World Cup is France, given the new Super League team and a successful World Cup campaign, rugby league can begin to grow in a very lucrative market (just look at the money in their domestic rugby). Perhaps the organisers of the World Cup knew this as well, by avoiding them facing Australia, New Zealand or England before the knockout matches.
cosmos forever said | October 28th 2008 @ 9:33am | Report comment
Combine the player complaints about a long season when rep footy (including SOO) is cramped within playing weeks by formally designating two weekends of “International League”. In this part of the world as a sub-section of that play Oceania games (The islands, indigneous Aus and NZ) as curtain raisers to big top tier tests.
Everyone else rests and the NRL season loses two rounds, but we get to see multiple layers of representative football.
oikee said | October 28th 2008 @ 11:23am | Report comment
Agree with you luke about origin, its a fantastic game but its use by date is coming up, we need to develop a off-shoot for the island lads so they can devolop along with the aussies. Only a matter of time before this happens i hope. Like i said if you get rid of the dinosaurs and get someone who can figure out a alternative then the game will move forward.
New Guinea is on the cusp of major investment and wealth, lets not forget this, with-in 20 years they will not be that poor so better to devolop with them rather than just leave them or they might not be so oblieging in the future.
The Link said | October 28th 2008 @ 12:15pm | Report comment
Steve, some shrewd advice here regarding PNG, hopefully Colin Love is listening with the extra cash in the RLIF coffers.
The NRL bid may be building expectations that PNG may not be able to match in reality, especially with Big Mal getting amoungst it.
There’s a large risk of alienation should the NRL bid not get up.
Build the Kumuls up first and the rest follows.
Wallythefly said | October 28th 2008 @ 1:15pm | Report comment
Steve, some great ideas, those four ideas for PNG games all sound good to me.
Luke W, interesting what you say about SoO meaning players turn their backs on their national sides. Me and my mates were at the rather dull Aust v NZ game on Sunday and one of them suggested that SoO be considered separate to Test league. So if a player is born in NSW but with say Tongan parents or grandparents, why not let him play for NSW but for Tonga come International time?
Ok that might sound a bit out of the box but should be given some thought i reckon.
Benjamin Conkey said | October 28th 2008 @ 1:20pm | Report comment
Definitely like your idea about getting Samoa, Tonga, Fiji and PNG involved in a tournament together. Maybe the winner of the tournament could then play Australia? Did anyone watch Tonga last night? They were incredible. I know it was ‘only’ against Ireland but the intensity of their tackles for the full 80-minutes was something to behold. Their fullback was making tackles like a forward..it was great to see. Exciting game to watch as well.
Luke W said | October 28th 2008 @ 3:58pm | Report comment
Wally, I think that was the idea put forward by Sonny Bill Williams on the Footy Show when he was interviewed by Phil Gould earlier this year. No doubt it is a serious issue for the game, but it is hard to avoid. Personally I was glad when Sonny Bill Williams and Benji Marshall pledged their allegiance to New Zealand a few years back (around the same time Karmichael Hunt chose Australia). Obviously they felt that they could take the Anzac Tests to the same level as Origin. However despite an upset a few seasons ago, New Zealand rugby league really hasn’t made any progress on the Australians. So maybe the idea could work, but others could easily argue that it is cheapening State of Origin (New Zealander’s/Islanders wouldn’t have been raised with the same passion as true NSWer’s or Queenslander’s). It’s a pickle.
True Tah said | October 28th 2008 @ 4:33pm | Report comment
oikkee
in 20 years PNG will be the same as it is today, an extremely poor country whose number one import is foreign aid.
I dont think they will ever have an NRL team, but I think NRL clubs will start paying more attention to Papuan players…they are best served by having their boys playing in the NRL, they have the potential to become cult figures in Oz, like Marcus Bai, and Stanley Gene the old bloke supposed to be 34, I bet he’s older, but the bloke is built like a block of granite, wouldn’t like to cop a shoulder off him.
mtngry said | October 28th 2008 @ 6:54pm | Report comment
How about doing anything more than what we are doing now.
I remember being excited when the PM XIII started regular games (which we stil don’t get to watch)
and now anything on top of that would be good.
An NRL team in Port Moresby would be great,
A multi nation pacific tournament would be amazing.
But ANything more than what we have now seems a big ask from the
shortsighted minds in the ARL.
oikee said | October 28th 2008 @ 8:26pm | Report comment
True Tah, you might know more than i do but bussiness men dont lie, they have 30 billion of investment lined up for papua and with this comes other opportunities, so i seem to lean towards the truth. The other thing that will help PNG is the fact mal meninga has now thrown his support behind them, he is one person who can get things done, and will. We have the king wally and then theres god, mighty mal. I expect the stadium up there to have a bronze statue of mal right at the entrence.
Steve Kaless said | October 29th 2008 @ 6:15am | Report comment
Gents,
Some good observations. I tend to agree that the NRL franchise tends to have the making of a pipe dream about it and clouds the issue somewhat.
As True Tah said, it would be better if there were good pathways for these players into the NRL with the added incentive of regular international exposure. I dare say once you are getting a good number of players into the NRL through current clubs then is a good time to think about franchises.
Personally, I’d love to see Willie Mason sent to highlands as their drafted marquee player to play out of Port Moresby for a few seasons.
Enjoy your footy.
Midfielder said | October 29th 2008 @ 11:12pm | Report comment
Steve
You are so correct in needing action now or RL could pay a massive price. There is no doubt that RL is the main game in PNG and by a street length. However football has a up and running competition and the PNG national side compete against other nations in the Oceania Football Confederation. Also the top club plays in the Oceania Champions League like Adelaide are in now.
The natural build of most PNG people is for football, FIFA & FFA have plans for PNG but they are a five / ten maybe a little more years away ……. But those years go bye fairly quickly ……….. don’t act and you could loose out to football. Be very aware football is liked in PNG especially when they play other Island nations much like you spoke of in relation to setting up a RL island internationals. These internationals are the world Cup Qualifiers and there are inter island matches as well.
As I stated at the start PNG is RL’s for the taking and 5 million people help in the battle with the AFL when it comes to TV viewers …….. don’t act and within 10 / 15 years it will be lost to football and it will happen bit by bit.
Chozy mahn said | October 30th 2008 @ 10:20am | Report comment
oikkee,
Yesterday you mentioned about national selectors who should pay more attention to Papuan players, i hope you mean Papua and coastal. Because if that can be done it can create a lot of difference in the national side.
I believe there is a lot of favouritism in selection, you will find Papuans are more versitile in RL and have more potential in making the side. The chance of getting selected to play in the SP Cup semi pro competition they can make there way up to be a KUMUL, but with the attitude the executives have towards RL in PNG it makes it quite difficult.
Now we only see Keith Peters, David Moore who are half Central creating a big impact in this years world cup.