$600m for PNG to join NRL

[Dion Johnson]

Maybe if you based the team in Madang - not so bad there. I suppose what they'd probably do is base the team in Cairns & fly over for the games.

Maybe Cairns that would make more sense, it has the infrastructure for schooling and hospitals etc, Madang would be a challenge I think.

 

[Once Was Brissie Kid]

A lucrative deal for the NRL to expand into a foreign country has reportedly been ticked off with the venture to be backed by Australian taxpayers.​

Full story link...

https://www.news.com.au/sport/nrl/deal-is-done-australian-taxpayers-to-fork-out-600m-for-png-to-join-nrl/news-story/cbdc1b45274bbe883117ecbd5c6ac2c7

the NRL to expand into a foreign country. Think this may have been done before, Go the Wahs!

 

[Damien2812]

Wasting $600 million of taxpayers money on having are PNG team is ludicrous. Australians are struggling with the cost of living and the labor federal government blows $600 million on something the taxpayers don't want just like the failed $450 million "Voice" referendum. So we have had Labor blow $1 billion on garbage that doesn't benefit the people of Australia.

 

[master blaster]

I am losing more and more interest in NRL everyday, its an absolute joke, its ridiculous

 

[jbb/james]

Poor farkers. Imagine having your footy teams viability tied to the Australian Government

 

[Nordburg]

I am losing more and more interest in NRL everyday, its an absolute joke, its ridiculous

I think not enough credit is given to the players for keeping the game where it is.Because the people running the game and the media(probably one and the same) are sure doing a fine job of trying to screw it up

 

[Disco]

Yeah the team will surely live and Train in Cairns or Darwin etc.

I'm not for it though, doesnt make sense beyond the politics

 

[Loyal Eagle]

It's basically a form of long-term foreign aid, I don't mind it too much. $600m sounds like a lot but it's probably over several years.

Seriously guys… nrl in png is a bold idea and the locals will go crazy! it just needs great execution moving forward..
*for the nay sayers -$ 4.77 billion foreign aid 2023-24 represents .67% of total fed budget… just take a chill pill.

 

[PONTIAN SEA EAGLE]

Png is a country where canabalism still exists so what will be there motto if you can’t beat em eat em.

 

[Uk eagle]

Nothing like as bad an idea as having Toronto playing in the super league. At least the PNG locals are passionate about the sport

 

[double hoops]

Maybe if you based the team in Madang - not so bad there. I suppose what they'd probably do is base the team in Cairns & fly over for the games.

Be interested to hear opinions from you blokes that have lived in or worked in PNG.

How big or small is the cultural, language and lifestyle difference to Oz?

This speculation that a PNG team will need to be based in Cairns, it makes it difficult to see how this team can be made into a success.

If I remember correctly the PNG Hunters were initially based in and played home games out of Kapoko on the smaller PNG island of New England on account of security concerns for QRL teams initially playing in Port Moresby.

Hunters now appear to be based in and playing home games out of Port and I don't recall there being major issues.

Kapoko has a population of 20k
Port Moresby 450k

So I find it hard to imagine NRL games being played else where then Port

Could a FIFI team based in Australia work?

I'm not sure an NRL squad just made up 30 ring in players all based in Australia is necessarily going to be something that will resonate with our PNG friends, just because the logo has PNG on it, at the very least it would hardly be representative of the PNG community.

On the flip side, so let's say this is a team in which the majority of the squad are current PNG men, largely from the current Hunters QRL team.

If it is considered too big an ask for say 10 or so NRL stars, marquee top and higher dollar earners, for them and there family's to be based in and live in PNG. If that is too much to expect.

Is the converse expectation much much worse?

Ie an expectation that for PNG men to play for a PNG team, potentially men currently living in Port, playing footy for the Hunters out of Port, current non stars of the game, so players that won't be paid as highly within a salary cap system, yet the expectation that such men along with their family move themselves away from home in PNG, move to Australia, that they navigate the cultural, linguistics and lifestyle differences.

All so that the highly paid or non PNG born players and there family's don't have too?

It's just food for thought.

But are Ozzie power brokers already looking at through an eliteist Ozzie lens;-)

But there sure would be some challenging dynamics with this franchise to work through.

 

[Disco]

Be interested to hear opinions from you blokes that have lived in or worked in PNG.

How big or small is the cultural, language and lifestyle difference to Oz?

This speculation that a PNG team will need to be based in Cairns, it makes it difficult to see how this team can be made into a success.

If I remember correctly the PNG Hunters were initially based in and played home games out of Kapoko on the smaller PNG island of New England on account of security concerns for QRL teams initially playing in Port Moresby.

Hunters now appear to be based in and playing home games out of Port and I don't recall there being major issues.

Kapoko has a population of 20k
Port Moresby 450k

So I find it hard to imagine NRL games being played else where then Port

Could a FIFI team based in Australia work?

I'm not sure an NRL squad just made up 30 ring in players all based in Australia is necessarily going to be something that will resonate with our PNG friends, just because the logo has PNG on it, at the very least it would hardly be representative of the PNG community.

On the flip side, so let's say this is a team in which the majority of the squad are current PNG men, largely from the current Hunters QRL team.

If it is considered too big an ask for say 10 or so NRL stars, marquee top and higher dollar earners, for them and there family's to be based in and live in PNG. If that is too much to expect.

Is the converse expectation much much worse?

Ie an expectation that for PNG men to play for a PNG team, potentially men currently living in Port, playing footy for the Hunters out of Port, current non stars of the game, so players that won't be paid as highly within a salary cap system, yet the expectation that such men along with their family move themselves away from home in PNG, move to Australia, that they navigate the cultural, linguistics and lifestyle differences.

All so that the highly paid or non PNG born players and there family's don't have too?

It's just food for thought.

But are Ozzie power brokers already looking at through an eliteist Ozzie lens;-)

But there sure would be some challenging dynamics with this franchise to work through.

Some great points and highlights the difficulty with a PNG team

 

[Stuey Davis’s Socks]

Nothing like as bad an idea as having Toronto playing in the super league. At least the PNG locals are passionate about the sport

Don’t let @globaleagle hear you saying that

 

[globaleagle]

Don’t let @globaleagle hear you saying that

Lol. It wasn't the best idea, as it turned out.

I mean Toronto didn't cost the Uk govt 60mill a year for 10 years (as is proposed with the PNG expansion). But even with sell out crowds and a great atmosphere, etc, it was, in the end, like the Manly / Norths merger - doomed to fail.

Ah well.

 

[Eagle 1]

Wasting $600 million of taxpayers money on having are PNG team is ludicrous. Australians are struggling with the cost of living and the labor federal government blows $600 million on something the taxpayers don't want just like the failed $450 million "Voice" referendum. So we have had Labor blow $1 billion on garbage that doesn't benefit the people of Australia.

Also, toss in Albo spending 450m on 2 plane's to cart him and his hsnger on's around. It never ends with these guys.

 

[Tragic Eagle]

It boils down to national security. The last thing we need are the Chinese setting themselves up on our doorstep in PNG.

 

[Tomay]

This is great.

Firstly, bringing PNG into the NRL can only help modernise things over there at least to some extent.

Secondly, this aligns PNG interests with Australia. The population over there is NRL mad. I have heard that if you go to PNG there is quite decent infrastructure into sports stadiums provided by our government, which in comparison to the rest of the infrastructure is quite puzzling until you see how these investments are used to access resources and keep favour.

Good for Australia, good for the NRL.

 

[Kiwi Eagle]

In my opinion we do NOT have enough players to go around and ignoring NZ and WA is mistake!

Players aren’t an issue at all, the lack of decent coaches is a different story

Everyone said the Dolphins squad was awful and wouldn’t be competitive, a good coach has them more than competitive

 

[BOZO]

Players aren’t an issue at all, the lack of decent coaches is a different story

Everyone said the Dolphins squad was awful and wouldn’t be competitive, a good coach has them more than competitive

100% !
Good Operators are Over Achievers

 

[Ron E. Gibbs]

It boils down to national security. The last thing we need are the Chinese setting themselves up on our doorstep in PNG.

Hands up if you ever dreamed the game of rugby league would ever be an instrument of international diplomacy, and vital to the security of our nation? Roy and HG couldn't write this stuff. It's awesome.