Papua New Guinea

[Disco]

Like a new area partnering with some History.

Perth Jets with a game at Henson each year would be great.

Same with somewhere and the Bears.

Dont see PNG as the call

 

[Terry Zarsoff]

Sorry but I don't like it. A second Kiwi team would strengthen international tier 1 nation.
Albo is a complete nob worst PM in modern history. Png 3rd world country huge crime rate and so on.

Yes, because that’s more important than using soft power measures to try and counteract Chinese influence in the region.

Looks like you have your priorities in order.

 

[Under the Sticks]

Thanks Peter.

Or it can be seen as an astute strategic move in the ‘Great Game’ currently underway in the S-W Pacific, vis a vis China.

Thanks John for the global vision

 

[Terry Zarsoff]

 

[winnyason]

Yes, because that’s more important than using soft power measures to try and counteract Chinese influence in the region.

Looks like you have your priorities in order.

Get real, putting an nrl team in a 3rd world country is absurd. Sorry but setting up military bases in Png is a smarter measure. What Australians will sign want to live in a place with worst murder rate in the world ??
It's a completely dumb idea.

 

[Terry Zarsoff]

Get real, putting an nrl team in a 3rd world country is absurd. Sorry but setting up military bases in Png is a smarter measure. What Australians will sign want to live in a place with worst murder rate in the world ??
It's a completely dumb idea.

Military (and I assume you also mean naval) basing is a whole lot more expensive than backing a sporting team in Port Moresby. There is already an Australian naval and military presence there, supporting the PNGDF. But of course you already knew that…

We shall see who is proved right in the long run.

 

[rj90]

Absolute waste of time.

Perth, Adelaide, second Melbourne team, second NZ team would all be better options.

The game should expand in Australia before even thinking about another international team.

 

[manly al]

P N G Queensland cup side has been in operation for some time now and does not appear to be a problem for visiting sides there , in addition to test matches already being hosted there as well .
Might still be a considerable challenge with the finances required to top up the nominal or standard N R L club allocation however .
Probably in the order of 10 mil plus dollars on top of the current allocation to adequately manage a N R L franchise .
Be good to incorporate the likes of Fiji where there would also be a heap of talented locals .
Probably just as hard trying to relocate prospective League players from there as well as from the Australian mainland unfortunately .
Chinese influence being stepped up from Timor now and into the greater Pacific islander region so only understandable a bit of geo politics into any consideration .
Realistically any Australian government would be derelict in their duty to not take geo political perspectives into account and not just related to sport obviously .
Weird in many respects , some 38 % or thereabouts of Australia "s exports going to China and taking a reasonable chunk of their exports and they quite dependent on us in some areas yet these behind the scenes maneuvering and underlining tension .

 

[Will on the hill]

If it goes ahead the team will be based in Cairns. Some games will be played in PNG but the team will live and train in Australia.

 

[eagle66]

Don't worry about PNG being the 18th team. It will not be long before we talk about the 19th and 20th teams

 

[40 nil]

What Australians will sign want to live in a place with worst murder rate in the world ??

Actually, PNG has the 45th worst homicide rate in the world. Nearly all the countries in the worst 44 are in Central or South America.

List of countries by intentional homicide rate - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

 

[The Insomniac]

Sorry but I don't like it. A second Kiwi team would strengthen international tier 1 nation.
Albo is a complete nob worst PM in modern history. Png 3rd world country huge crime rate and so on.

Totally agree with your Albo assessment winnnie. Totally out of touch with the common Aussie. PVL should tread very carefully if getting onto league with this bloke. Could have the potential to damage our game. He's a poor man's Bob Hawke, without the brains vision or charisma.
.

 

[Adz]

I guess I am in the minority ...
I like the idea,better than putting a team in Perth or Central Coast or Sunshine Coast etc....
Those areas will not expand the player pool.(In saying that,they deserve teams in the future,just not a priority right now)
A second team in NZ will happen but probably more impetus to fastrack PNG.
In the future there will probably be teams from Fiji,Tonga and Samoa(not immediate future).

 

[Frogz]

PNG offers absolutely no revenue to the NRL, or its partners, at all. Just an Albo PM stunt if it goes ahead and we all pay for the privilege. But nothing would surprise me with PVL and his loving for his @rse to be licked by all and sundry.

 

[winnyason]

Totally agree with your Albo assessment winnnie. Totally out of touch with the common Aussie. PVL should tread very carefully if getting onto league with this bloke. Could have the potential to damage our game. He's a poor man's Bob Hawke, without the brains vision or charisma.
.

Worse than is scomo quite an achievement

 

[Terry Zarsoff]

I guess I am in the minority ...
I like the idea,better than putting a team in Perth or Central Coast or Sunshine Coast etc....
Those areas will not expand the player pool.(In saying that,they deserve teams in the future,just not a priority right now)
A second team in NZ will happen but probably more impetus to fastrack PNG.
In the future there will probably be teams from Fiji,Tonga and Samoa(not immediate future).

And of course it’s the one country where RL is the national game.

Meanwhile, having experienced Port Moresby firsthand in recent years on more than one occasion, you could live quite comfortably there.

Crime is a problem, but there is plenty of money sloshing around. Although it sounds more likely that they will based (at least initially) in Cairns most of the time.

 

[The Insomniac]

Worse than is scomo quite an achievement

Yes Scomo and Turnbull set the Conservative side of politics back 10 years. "When you don't stand for something you'll fall for anything". Its an oldie but a goodie.

 

[Peter C]

Worse than is scomo quite an achievement

Yep,and it's only taken him 18 months to achieve it, only an olympic class idiot can do that.

 

[Once Was Brissie Kid]

People are dreaming if they think a PNG team full of PNG players is anywhere near ready for the NRL.

Barely any NRL team is made up from local players. Penrith maybe. What if the Storm just had Victorians in its team. The NZ Warriors aren't all NZers.

Even the Sea Eagles would be a weekly flogging if the team was 17 who came via the Manly-Warringah juniors.

If the PNG team is full of 30 players from NSW Cup, Qld Cup and Super League whats the point.

 

[Harmless27]

I am a BIG fan of a PNG team.

Lots of merit in what everyone is saying, and rationale for other solutions as well.... but for me, PNG has given a lot to Rugby League over the years, and there is a HUGE opporutnity for them as a country in terms of exposure and perceptions by getting a team. I have no idea how much they spend on attracting tourism to their country, but having 2 or 3 games there each season, and having their name broadcast nationally every week would do wonders for their economy.

I agree that they get more out of it than the NRL does - but my god (as someone living in melbourne) I would rather throw the money at a country and people who need it, than keen plastic franchises like the Storm going.

I am also a fan of another team in NZ - i think that market is strong, and there is a weakness in the strong-hold of Rugby at the moment.