MYTH: PNG DOESN’T HAVE THE MONEY
TRUTH: It’s ill-informed bulls**t. PNG will be among the richest clubs in the NRL, alongside the Brisbane Broncos. The Australian Government’s $600m investment is only part of the financial conglomerate and business plan PNG will build. Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape hosted a dinner last weekend where he asked the top-end-of-town to donate to PNG’s bid – and they will. I’m not talking peanuts here. Yes, the lower class in PNG is poor but the high-flyers are wealthy, exceptionally wealthy.
And PNG rugby league has an influential supporter in its bid chairman, Wapu Sonk, managing director of Kumul Petroleum. This isn’t a Sydney team restricted by suburban boundaries. This is an entire country.
So why haven't they been able to put forward a bid that doesn't include govt money? Surely if the corporates are putting forward so much, they should have had a bid submitted already and don't need to wait for the Aust govt to approve funding?
MYTH: VISITING NRL TEAMS WON’T BE SAFE.
TRUTH: Teams playing PNG will be safe. It’s not their job to worry about what happens away from footy in PNG. They are there to play football and that’s it. Teams will travel on commercial flights and stay at the five-star Stanley Hotel in Port Moresby.
I stayed a night at the Stanley and it’s as good as anything I saw in Las Vegas earlier this year.
Games are likely to be played at the all-seat 15,000 PNG National Football Stadium which is expected to be revamped to a 20,000 arena by 2028, when PNG is hoping to enter the NRL. The dressing rooms and corporate facilities are NRL standard. PNG PM James Marape said NRL players will be treated like “rock stars and royalty.” Opposition teams will be safe and secure, provided some rogue idiot doesn’t wander off into the darkness at night.
Lol at that last sentence. Just proved in 1 sentence that it's not a myth.
MYTH: IMPORTED PLAYERS WILL FEEL THREATENED?
TRUTH: The PNG bid has multiple site options for a village-style resort on Port Moresby Harbour. The complex will varying accommodation options along with shops and supermarkets. Prospective players will be thoroughly informed about the positives and negatives of Port Moresby before signing.
The fear mongering is unfair. Players will be paid well to play well and they’ll train at a yet-to-be-built state-of-the-art high performance centre. They will live in secure accommodation and told when and where they can go during their down time. Buses would take kids to school and Port Moresby General Hospital is the largest hospital in PNG.
These players won’t be the first international athletes who have shifted to another country to pursue their sporting careers. There are already around 10,000 Australians living in PNG.
So they will only be safe if they stay in the complex. They will need to be told when and where they can go on the few times that they are allowed to leave the complex. Totally safe.....
Also lol at having to talk about how big a hospital it has. That doesn't help your argument.
MYTH: PNG DOESN’T HAVE THE PLAYERS TO COMPETE IN THE ELITE NRL.
TRUTH: You bet they bloody do. I watched a 12-team, two-day NRL bid carnival in Goroka last weekend involving 240 players and the standard was unbelievably high. They just need a little more finesse and that will come with time and expert coaching.
Wow they played well against each other, so therefore they are NRL quality.
This is all just blatant propaganda, and even then he still can't hide how dangerous it is.
told when and where they can go during their down time
I can't believe he actually wrote this sentence in an article about why PNG should get a team