How two prime ministers made sure the PNG Hunters' long-awaited homecoming would take place
By Pacific Islands sport reporter Ali Almond
Posted Fri 26 Aug 2022 at 4:25pm
The game was on, then it was off.
Then, two prime ministers got involved and now it is on again.
For a brief moment, a round of semi-professional rugby league became a diplomatic schism.
Inside the last 48 hours, the PNG Hunters' Queensland Cup opponent, the Mackay Cutters, had refused to travel to Papua New Guinea.
The Queensland Rugby League (QRL) threatened to kick the Cutters out of state competitions, before Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese got involved and the club backflipped.
Thousands of tickets have been sold for Saturday's match in Port Moresby — thousands more than any Queensland Cup match on Australian soil.
Fans and players' families will be travelling from all over PNG to see the Hunters' first match at home in two-and-a-half years.
It will also be the final round of the Queensland Cup season and the Hunters' last chance to host a match.
If the Cutters had pulled out, it would have been a severe blow to the Hunters, who were twice supposed to go home to PNG during the past three weeks, before finally getting the green light for this weekend.
The QRL canned the previous applications for home matches due to recent political unrest in PNG.
"I'm really pleased that the Cutters have changed their mind about playing this weekend … we've been working tirelessly with the QRL over the last few months to bring the Hunters home," PNG Hunters chief executive Scott Barker said.
The Hunters had to relocate to the Gold Coast last year because of COVID-19 travel restrictions.
The young squad have been away from their homes and families for long periods but feel the sacrifice is worth it for national pride.
Most of the current players have never represented the Hunters on home soil.
They have not experienced running out to a roaring stadium full of their fellow Papua New Guineans in the prized Hunters jersey.
Queensland Cup crowds in Australia may reach as high as 1,000 spectators. In Port Moresby, it can be upwards of 10,000.
Papua New Guineans are quasi-religious about footy and it is the only country in the world where rugby league is considered to be the national sport.
Cutters' concerns about player safety
It is easy to see where the Cutters were coming from when they announced they would not travel to PNG.
The team will finish the season towards the bottom of the Queensland Cup ladder and have nothing to gain visiting PNG other than an enjoying an 'in-country' experience.
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) advises travellers to PNG to "reconsider" their need to travel and it was deemed too high a risk by the QRL less than two weeks ago.
The Cutters cited player safety as the reason why they did not want to travel to PNG, despite the QRL finally giving clearance "based on an extensive independent risk assessment prior to giving approval for the game to proceed".
Mr Albanese got wind of the situation, telling the ABC he spoke to PNG Prime Minster James Marape, who offered "a message of personal support" for the match to proceed.
"It would be such a disappointment if this game doesn't go ahead and I see no reason why it can't," Mr Albanese said.
When the ABC asked if he thought it was safe for the Cutters to travel to Port Moresby for the match, Mr Albanese answered: "Yes it is."
After the Cutters met last night for a crisis meeting, chief executive Mitch Cook explained the club's initial stance.
"We're playing rugby league in a state-wide competition and we're not thinking politically," he told the ABC.
Politics and footy
The inclusion of the Hunters in the QRL has always been political.
From their entry into the competition back in 2015, Mr Marape has always been involved, issuing announcements about the team, giving ceremonial welcomes and goodbyes, and offering support as a fan.
The Australian government funds the Hunters through DFAT and its PacificAus Sports program, which has doubled its efforts to engage Pacific neighbours as China continues to flex its diplomatic muscle.
It was only last month at the Pacific Islands Forum that Mr Albanese gave public "in-principle support" to Mr Marape to back PNG's NRL bid.
After the Cutters met last night for a crisis meeting, chief executive Mitch Cook explained the club's initial stance.
"We're playing rugby league in a state-wide competition and we're not thinking politically," he told the ABC.
Politics and footy
The inclusion of the Hunters in the QRL has always been political.
From their entry into the competition back in 2015, Mr Marape has always been involved, issuing announcements about the team, giving ceremonial welcomes and goodbyes, and offering support as a fan.
The Australian government funds the Hunters through DFAT and its PacificAus Sports program, which has doubled its efforts to engage Pacific neighbours as China continues to flex its diplomatic muscle.
It was only last month at the Pacific Islands Forum that Mr Albanese gave public "in-principle support" to Mr Marape to back PNG's NRL bid.
When the ABC asked if he thought it was safe for the Cutters to travel to Port Moresby for the match, Mr Albanese answered: "Yes it is."
After the Cutters met last night for a crisis meeting, chief executive Mitch Cook explained the club's initial stance.
"We're playing rugby league in a state-wide competition and we're not thinking politically," he told the ABC.
Politics and footy
The inclusion of the Hunters in the QRL has always been political.
From their entry into the competition back in 2015, Mr Marape has always been involved, issuing announcements about the team, giving ceremonial welcomes and goodbyes, and offering support as a fan.
The Australian government funds the Hunters through DFAT and its PacificAus Sports program, which has doubled its efforts to engage Pacific neighbours as China continues to flex its diplomatic muscle.
It was only last month at the Pacific Islands Forum that Mr Albanese gave public "in-principle support" to Mr Marape to back PNG's NRL bid.
The Hunters have always been a part of the long-held dream for PNG to field a side in the NRL.
It would have been an uncomfortable situation if the Cutters did not go to Port Moresby this weekend.
It may have called into question the future viability of the Queensland Cup holding matches in PNG.
There may have also been consideration for a move towards the less-than-ideal situation Fiji's Kaiviti Silktails have in their NSW Rugby League competition, where they do not go home to Fiji at all.
It is likely the QRL will remind all its Queensland Cup teams that before COVID-19 they were happily playing in Port Moresby every couple of weeks.
Behind the administrative roller coaster is a team of young men who just want to get home and play the game they love.
All parties involved need this weekend to end on a high note with an entertaining showing of rugby league, knowing two prime ministers might be watching.
Posted 26 Aug 2022
It took a conversation between the Australian and Papua New Guinean prime ministers to make sure the Hunters' Queensland Cup match against the Mackay Cutters in Port Moresby on Saturday goes ahead, writes Ali Almond.
www.abc.net.au
Can PNG assure us this will never happen again?
No, it cannot.
en.m.wikipedia.org
