Inaugural board named for Papua New Guinea NRL franchise ahead of 2028 debut
The board announcement was made in Port Moresby on Tuesday by the ARLC chairman Peter V'landys AM and NRL CEO Andrew Abdo, alongside PNG Prime Minister James Marape and Australian Minister for Pacific Island Affairs Pat Conroy.
Photo:
Office of the Prime Minister, PNG
The inaugural board members of the Papua New Guinea rugby league franchise, set to make its debut in the National Rugby League (NRL) competition in 2028, includes a number of business and industry leaders in both PNG and Australia.
Chaired by Ray Dib, the current seven-member Board announced by the Australian Rugby League Commission (ARLC), includes former PNG professional rugby league player Marcus Bai.
The board announcement was made in Port Moresby on Tuesday by the ARLC chairman Peter V'landys AM and NRL CEO Andrew Abdo, alongside PNG Prime Minister James Marape and Australian Minister for Pacific Island Affairs Pat Conroy.
The first-ever board members of the PNG franchise are Dib (chairman), Lorna McPherson, Richard Pegum, Stan Joyce, Wapu Sonk, Ian Tarutia and Marcus Bai.
Dib is a former Canterbury Bulldogs, Bai is a PNG Kumuls legend who won premierships with Melbourne Storm and Leeds Rhinos.
The oher board members McPherson is a Digicel PNG vice-president , Joyce is current PNG Hunters chair, Pegum is an Australian finance and investment professional, while Sonk is Kumul Petroleum managing director, with Tauritia being the NASFUND chief executive.
An eighth independent director will still be appointed by the Board itself, after considering which additional skills the board requires.
The NRL said the announcement is a major milestone and sets the franchise on a path to great success both on and off the field.
What that means is work on the franchise can now start in earnest, with two years to go before the team enters the competition proper.
V'landys said the new NRL Club will provide a pathway for young people in PNG to follow their dreams and it will help transform societal and economic outcomes, bringing the two countries of PNG and Australia together.
"The importance of this franchise goes well beyond winning games of football, it is about nation building and bringing our two countries closer together," V'landys said.
"This is an important moment for the NRL as PNG is set up to become a nursery of talent in the region for the entire competition, not to mention the millions of fans that will now follow a new team entering the competition.
"This Club will act as beacon of hope and opportunity across PNG and offer opportunity to young people hoping for a better future."
Conroy said the PNG NRL team will be a catalyst for economic growth, creating jobs and boosting tourism.
"Together with PNG, we are building more than a team - we are building a legacy and underscoring our shared interest in stable and prosperous region."
The board announcement was made in Port Moresby on Tuesday by the ARLC chairman Peter V'landys AM and NRL CEO Andrew Abdo, alongside PNG Prime Minister James Marape and Australian Minister for Pacific Island Affairs Pat Conroy.
Photo:
Office of the Prime Minister, PNG
Marape also announced a competition giving fans the opportunity to vote for the name of the PNG franchise.
He has tasked the new board of the nation's NRL franchise with launching the competition, and said the name must reflect the shared history and values of Australia and PNG, which will celebrate the 50th anniversary of independence on 16 September.
"I have my own views towards what should be the team name, but…11 million people must decide on the name of the team," he said.
"It must be a name that at least 50 percent, 60 percent or 70 percent of the country supports. It must not just be a name, there must be a motif behind the name.
"The strategy is about uniting our people and uniting PNG with Australia forever, and so you must have the name resonate with this reason; something that every child, it doesn't matter where he or she comes from, identifies with going forward and every Australian also has an affinity for this name.
"I want children of this country to find a name that resonates with our shared past, our present today and where we are going into the future as two people living side by side in this part of planet Earth, where after so much violence in other parts of the earth, we want to keep our Pacific a safe, clean place for our children to live and co-exist."
The board announcement was made in Port Moresby on Tuesday by the ARLC chairman Peter V'landys AM and NRL CEO Andrew Abdo, alongside PNG Prime Minister James Marape and Australian Minister for Pacific Island Affairs Pat Conroy.
Photo:
Office of the Prime Minister, PNG
ARLC Chair V'landys has predicted the PNG team entering the NRL in 2028 could rival Penrith after visiting the proposed site for accommodation and a Centre of Excellence in Port Moresby.
V'landys and NRL CEO Abdo looked at the facilities where the team's players and their families would live and train in.
NRL said the duo believe the NRL's 19th franchise will be competitive from the outset, particularly with tax exemptions offered by the PNG Government.
V'landys noted that the Junior Kumuls, whose side included two players from the Queensland Under-19s team in Phillip Coates and Cooper Bai, had a 22-22 draw with the Australian Schoolboys last October.
The Junior Kumuls, featuring another Queensland Under-19s player with PNG heritage in Sam Stephenson, narrowly lost 20-16 to the Australian Schoolboys in 2023.
"From my perspective, the Australian Schoolboys side has always been very powerful and has always brought the elite players," V'landys said.
"Most of the first grade players in the NRL came through the schoolboys system, and for the Papua New Guinea team to draw with them is an extraordinary event.
"If that's an example of the future, Papua New Guinea will dominate, and that's what we're worried about. We're not worried about them being competitive. We're worried about them dominating because they could be the next Penrith, easily.
"You've got 12 million people that you can call upon in juniors. Our job is to produce those players, so we're going to put our former players into the schools, we're going to start local competitions, we're going to entice young kids to go to school and give them an opportunity to play in the NRL."
He said there will be a lot of interest from some top players in the NRL because of the salary cap exemptions for clubs to sign up to two pathways players from Papua New Guinea, while there is also funding to develop the vast untapped talent pipelines in PNG.
"We're very confident we're going to attract some marquee players and having the tax exemption is very important because that will motivate those players to bring their families over to Papua New Guinea to play," V'landys said.
With the Board in place, there is now going to be more.
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