Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape will again be pushing his country’s campaign for an NRL franchise when he delivers a historic parliamentary address in Canberra next week against an intriguing political backdrop that highlights concerns about the PNG bid.
Marape and his Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese have been key drivers of PNG’s push for a licence as the NRL’s 18th team, with the ARL Commission expected to make a call on the expansion bid midway through the year.
Marape will become the first PNG Prime Minister to address Australian parliament next Thursday.
He is expected to raise the issue of funding for the bid from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, which will be crucial if the NRL is to be persuaded to invest in the rugby league-mad nation. A $600 million investment over 10 years has been widely reported but is yet to be confirmed by the Labor government.
While PNG’s enthusiasm for the game and potential as a talent nursery is obvious so, too, is the logistical challenge of having a team playing in Port Moresby. There are also longer-term queries around recruitment and player development.
Violent riots that engulfed Port Moresby in early January, in which 22 people were killed, resulted in Marape declaring a state of emergency and intense criticism of his position.
The unrest came as an 18-month grace period preventing a vote of no confidence in his leadership expires this month. Several local MPs are preparing to call a vote of no confidence in Marape.
With PNG acting as Australia’s gateway to Asia, it is viewed as an increasingly important ally in foreign policy given China’s increasing influence in the Pacific.
That status was highlighted just this week when PNG Foreign Minister Justin Tkachenko ruffled feathers when he revealed
negotiations around a security deal with China.
Rugby league and
the NRL have accordingly been identified as a vehicle for soft diplomacy in the region, with former Canterbury CEO Andrew Hill heading up PNG’s franchise bid.
Hill confirmed that a “Papua New Guinea team with an Australian [training] base for an initial period is the cornerstone of the proposal”.
“Cairns is our preferred location for that,” Hill said, with plans for the team to fly in and out of Port Moresby for games by private jet. We’re working on a business case and financial model now for that.”
The NRL is considered most likely to expand to 18 teams in 2027 or after, with an NRLW side also considered a key component of the PNG bid.
Hill said a standalone PNG outfit was being pushed rather than previously mooted Pasifika teams or linking with an established club such as North Sydney Bears or Brisbane Tigers.
Sources speaking on condition of anonymity due to the sensitive nature of negotiations have indicated that the $60 million a year in potential funding would not be solely directed to PNG rugby league but would attract a significant portion of the money that was to be distributed throughout the Pacific region.
It has also been suggested that any funding would be delivered with stipulations as to how it was to be invested.
Master coach Wayne Bennett – whose tenure at the Dolphins finishes at the end of 2024 – has been identified by NRL chairman Peter V’landys as the ideal man to lead a new franchise, and has repeatedly stressed he is open to all offers from next season and beyond.
Bennett formally applied for the vacant Kiwis coaching role this week but has previously urged a push into Queensland’s western corridor to head off the AFL and has offered tacit support for a PNG team.
“If the 18th team goes to Cairns, there will be politics involved, but the less politics the hell of a lot better off a franchise will be,” Bennett said late last year.
“The logistics of a PNG team will be difficult. None of the Pacific nations have the infrastructure to bankroll or support an NRL team.
“It takes a lot of money to run an NRL team, they aren’t cheap… I don’t think a PNG or Pacific team is beyond anyone’s reach, but we have to do it properly and the right pathways have to be put in place.”
The NRL and office of Defence Minister Pat Conroy were approached for comment.
Papua New Guinea’s bid to be the NRL’s18th team is quietly chugging along. But recent events in the Asia-Pacific region are likely to see rugby league on the agenda at Parliament House next week.
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