Why the NRL’s expansion into PNG is the most ambitious and complex decision in rugby league history

By Nick Campton for the ABC

Analysis – There was a lot of smoke surrounding Papua New Guinea’s entry into the NRL, but that didn’t make the event any less striking as Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, PNG Prime Minister James Marape and NRL boss Peter V’landys confirmed there would be fire. with that.

All the right words were exchanged as the most ambitious, complex and expensive expansion game in rugby league history officially came to life.

Albanese described Australia and Papua New Guinea as “the closest neighbors and truest friends” and mentioned the possibilities of rugby league diplomacy across the Pacific.

There was a lot of talk describing the two nations as a family and big dreams about what this team can do for PNG – Marape described it as transforming the country’s way of life and waxed lyrical about the unifying impact this could have across the islands.

There were jokes about South Sydney, mentions of the Kokoda track and, of course, the obligatory mention of Papua New Guinea’s all-consuming love of rugby league.

By now, any decent rugby league fan knows that the game is the national sport of Papua New Guinea. In rugby league terms it comes down to taking it one game at a time, coaching the house and giving all the credit to the boys.

It’s a statement that has been said and heard so often that it’s easy to forget what it actually means. PNG’s passion for the game can be by turns inspiring, intimidating and overwhelming.

The best of it all shines through in a way that makes your heart soar and being exposed to it will change you for the better. Players cry when they explain to you what it means to represent the Kumuls. They call the jersey a second skin and say that wearing the national colors is the honor of their lives.

When the PNG Hunters won the Queensland Cup in 2017, thousands of people flooded the airport amid national celebrations. When the Prime Minister’s XIII arrives in Port Moresby, he can barely move in front of the crowds desperate to see or touch his heroes. The strength of their love is enough to dispel any cynicism around sport.

But the worst is the horror, because people can die. Less than 10 years ago, Enga’s police commander called on the government to ban broadcasts of State of Origin because of the killings after the match. Rugby league is not necessarily the cause of such violence – and this particular region is known for its tribal clashes – but the game can serve as a flashpoint for conflicts that go back decades.

Rugby league is not a game in Papua New Guinea, it is an extension of many people’s lives. Understanding this relationship is crucial if we are to fully understand the challenge facing the NRL and why it is the most ambitious and complicated expansion ploy in rugby league history.

There are all the challenges that any new team must face, such as building a competitive squad, putting in place the infrastructure needed to succeed and finding their place in the crowded rugby league market, that are difficult to achieve any where, only with Papua New. Guinea itself acts as a multiplier of difficulties.

They have to solve problems that other new teams wouldn’t have to imagine, let alone face.

Let’s take the example of assembling the list. It’s hard to sign players to an expansion team – look at how the Dolphins struggled to find a big man before their first season in 2023, and that was without players needing to live in a resort secure.

Even if exports supplement the team in its early years, the aim will be for local products to make up the bulk of the squad and a lot of good work has already been done on the pathways to top-level football over the course of the last decade since the introduction of Hunters. at the Queensland Cup in 2014.

Justin Olam is still the only Hunters product to make the NRL, but many others have gone on to break through to Super League, such as Leigh’s Edwin Ipape and Warrington’s Rodrick Tai, or have found success at other clubs in the Queensland Cup.

This year the Hunters did the double with Judah Rimbu winning the competition’s Player of the Year award and Morea Morea winning the Rookie of the Year award as the Hunters returned to the final for the first time since their year of prime minister.

Rimbu has signed with Castleford in England, Morea is doing pre-season with North Queensland on a training and trial deal and the tide is rising at junior level.

Last season the Junior Kumuls lost just 4 points to the Junior Kangaroos and this year they managed a draw.

But the hard work is a long process, which can take more than a decade to bear fruit. In the meantime, there will be plenty of growing pains.

Money won’t be an issue – with the tax exemption concession coming, they’ll be able to blow other clubs out of the water in terms of gross dollars.

But given that there are teams in Australia who often find that big money isn’t enough to land big free agents, contracts might have to reach truly mind-blowing amounts, and even then it could not be enough.

This means that success might take time to come. The inglorious years may not be a problem in Papua New Guinea, where love for the team will be the only unlimited resource at the club’s disposal, but the club does not exist in a vacuum – it There has to be some relevance for them across the entire league and the only way to get that is to win.

No other club is used as a tool of international diplomacy, nor owes the basis of its existence to government funding, and no other club will have to deal with the difficult relationship Papua New Guinea has between the traditional and modern way of life.

To take an example, just think that in a country where 40 percent of the population lives below the poverty line, sports betting has taken off, particularly in Port Moresby.

Australians lose $25 billion to bookmakers every year, the highest figure in the world, and this money is now exported to Papua New Guinea.

NRL matches, of course, are the game of choice for PNG punters and, as in Australia, the biggest losses often occur in the poorer regions.

In the first case, beliefs in witchcraft are still widespread and accusations of this can often lead to brutal violence.

The NRL faces a unique set of circumstances. The checkmarks for other expansion deals — like what they would add to the league’s TV deal, for example — are so far off the map as to be invisible.

On a more practical level, the team will be tasked with unifying a diverse and disparate nation. Nearly 80 percent of PNG’s population lives in rural areas – or at least it’s estimated that this is the case, because no one really knows what its population actually is.

It is the most culturally and linguistically diverse nation on the planet, with more than 800 languages ​​spoken on the islands, approximately 10% of all languages ​​spoken on the planet.

This diversity can be a challenge, but it says one thing that unites all of Papua New Guinea, from Port Moresby in the south to Sepik in the north, to the island of West New Britain off the coast and the Highlands in the mountains, is a rugby league.

This means a PNG NRL team, and the money and infrastructure that comes with it, can be a powerful force for social change that would do more good than winning a premiership.

This has already happened several times on an individual level. Former Hunters coach Michael Marum has spoken in the past about how football discipline helped many players achieve great things outside of the game.

A player retired early to become a doctor in his hometown. Another who did the same became a teacher. Marum himself has since left the game and become governor of the Eastern New Britain province.

It’s the kind of upward mobility that many in Papua New Guinea can only dream of, and football has helped make it possible.

The best case scenario is that this NRL team can apply this to even more locals. By giving the people what they want, rugby league might be able to give them what they need and in a country where sport is more than a game, it can be more than just a football team. soccer.

But that only raises the stakes, which are already so high. It’s not just the matches that are at stake, it’s people’s futures.

Its weight will be incredible. If all goes well, it could transform a nation. If everything goes wrong, it will be an inexcusable waste.

They won’t enter the league until 2028, but the work starts now and they’ll need it every minute. The business case is strong in terms of dollars, cents and kina: the NRL would not have entertained the bid if it had not and PNG’s strategic position could open the door to vast business investments.

Money will not be a problem for this camp. They’ll get more than any team could ever ask for.

But the nuts and bolts of running a football club – recruiting players, developing juniors, winning games – will be a daunting task as they exist in unique circumstances not just for the rest of the league, but for all the other teams that came. in front of them.

Think about how difficult it has been for the Gold Coast Titans, who are still searching for sustained success and relevance after almost 20 years of living in a highly developed rugby league heartland. The fans’ love for their team will be endless, but love is not always enough.

Expansion is never easy and bringing a new club to life is always difficult. Papua New Guinea’s passion for rugby league can never be doubted, but converting this raw resource into lasting success constitutes one of the most important tasks in the history of the sport.

-ABC