KUMULS DUO BACKS PNG BID FOR NRL INCLUSION

PAPUA New Guinea internationals have backed our nearest neighbour’s bid for inclusion in the NRL by the end of the decade.

PNG Sports Minister Wesley Raminai this week launched the bid, described as a project of “national significance”, to join the NRL by 2030.

“Our PNG NRL bid team is ready,” he said. “The time to start the journey is now. We can’t wait any longer.

“This will put PNG on the map in ways never done before. I understand we did try something 12 years ago, but this bid is different.”

Two former Kumuls players have thrown their support behind the bid, which would grant the only country in the world who counts rugby league as its national sport entry to the most elite competition.

Premiership winning former Raider David Westley and multi- Queensland Cup champion Rodney Griffin have both been encouraged by the announcement.

Westley represented PNG four times including at the 1995 Rugby League World Cup, during a playing career which spanned 143 top-level games at three clubs between 1993 and 2002, and included the 1994 premiership win at Canberra.

He said an identity in the NRL competition would provide a way for future generations to progress to higher levels of the sport.

“If it’s eight years away, sure," Westley said. “We’re far better off than we were 10 or so years ago.

“The Hunters haven’t gone well recently but the Digicell Cup is getting stronger. To have an NRL team you need that development at a grassroots level and it has to be stable.”

There has not been any mention of Cairns involvement so far, but that doesn’t mean this region will not play a role in helping PNG’s NRL bid become a reality.

Westley said he envisaged a scenario in which Cairns and Far North Queensland could help from a coaching perspective.

“To get players and coaches upskilled, Cairns and FNQ can play a role there,” he said.

“We’re sending players to other clubs in the HPC as well, so to have that, you’re only developing them into better players.”

Griffin was born in Port Moresby, and moved to Atherton as a threeyear-old, playing his junior rugby league with the Roosters.

Climbing the ranks to the NRL and enjoying a long and successful career in the Queensland Cup, Griffin also represented PNG 13 times between 2007 and 2017.

“It’s a good thing,” he said. “But it has to have that backing.

“I’d love to see a team coming out of PNG. Footy is massive there, and to have that (team) and those experiences available, would only help more players get into the system.

“If they can pull it off, it would be awesome.”

PNG’s national team is currently ranked fifth in the world.

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