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Asia Times
4 days ago
- Business
- Asia Times
Australian rugby the way to tackle China's PNG police play
It may look like a normal sports story – Australia expanding its National Rugby League into Papua New Guinea (PNG) – but it's far more than that. This is one of the most impactful and strategic soft power plays by an Australian government since Australia saw its former PNG colony gain independence in 1975. It's cultural diplomacy at its smartest in a region where Australia is increasingly fighting for influence. With this move, Australia has played the one card China can never match: a connection between these two neighbors grounded in the PNG national religion – National Rugby League. Australia-PNG security relations go back more than a century, with PNG just four kilometers away from Australia. During World War II, Australian defense of PNG from Japanese invasion was grounded in necessity. China is already scoping out a move into PNG security, with China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi visiting Port Moresby in early 2024 to discuss a potential policing agreement. This raised serious concerns in Canberra, as the Australian Police Force has been PNG's de facto security guarantor for decades. With China's move, Australia sees that necessity return – and this time, it is playing out not on a battlefield but on a rugby field. China is building roads, bridges, ports, stadiums, empty museums and crumbling presidential palaces while Australia is pitching something more emotional. As Australian Prime Minster Anthony Albanese put it, 'no two countries have a greater passion for rugby league.' While 'shared identity' is often a diplomatic buzzword, in this case, through this shared identity, Australia has the chance to build something far deeper than contracts or aid: a sense of national PNG pride while cementing people-to-people connections, both of which would be a coup for Canberra. Australia is not a global superpower. It is a middle power – like South Korea, Mexico or a rising Indonesia. It lacks the economic clout of China, which can spend billions in infrastructure and aid to win influence through economic diplomacy. And it doesn't have the military reach of the United States, which stations troops worldwide to project force. Middle powers need something different: they need soft power. If you have ever danced to Gangnam Style or binged Squid Game – you have been one of the billions globally swept up in South Korea's cultural soft power diplomacy. Through K-pop, drama, comedy, and reality TV, South Korea has built one of the most powerful and effective soft power machines in the world – shaping global perception of South Korea without building a single bridge or deploying a single solider. However, Australia is not on a South Korean-style path to try and shape global perceptions. Australia is more focused on its region, and it is seeking to change how Papua New Guineans feel about Australia. And sport is a uniquely powerful tool to win hearts and minds. In PNG, National Rugby League isn't just popular — it's the national sport. By providing a platform for PNG to express national pride through a league team, Australia isn't just funding a sports program; it's also investing in how Papua New Guineans feel about Australia – cultural diplomacy in action. Australia wants to know that when it comes to the internal or external security of PNG, they will look to them, not to China. To be blunt, Australia does not want Chinese police or military stationed in its closest neighbor, potentially just four kilometers from its shores. Picture this: Fast forward to 2029, and the PNG league team is in its second season. A local accountant steps out of his office in Port Moresby and spots the regular Aussie police officer walking around. He can't resist a cheeky comment about how PNG thrashed the South Sydney Rabbitohs in Sydney on the weekend. They both laugh and continue their day in the PNG sun. This is people-to-people diplomacy at its finest – unprompted, unforced and totally genuine. Compare this to the Chinese-built Presidential Palace in Vanuatu, a US$31 million 'gift' to PNG's neighbor that quickly fell into disrepair after the 2024 earthquakes. Unable to afford the upkeep, the Vanuatu government all but abandoned the 'gift.' So, when the PNG government is renegotiating security agreements and it floats the idea of replacing the Australian Federal Police with Chinese officers, Australia's hope is that such a shift feels unthinkable to the PNG public. That the connection built through sporting rivalry and the resulting everyday interactions makes alignment with China unpalatable, and this public sentiment constrains the choices of the elected leaders. For PNG, this is also so much more than diplomacy. It's a shot at global sporting recognition — a chance to step onto the international stage in the sport they live and breathe. It's about national pride, visibility and taking on a major rival in a game that's as much PNG as it is Aussie. Influence in the Pacific is not about shouting louder. It's about playing the right game and playing it in a way that wins hearts and minds. Picture a young PNG girl walking through Sydney Olympic Park, proudly wearing a PNG national jersey, buzzing with excitement to see their team take on Australia's best. Maybe, just maybe, it might just be that little girl in the jersey — not a diplomat, not a defense deal, not a presidential palace — who keeps China at bay and Australia on side in PNG. Dylan Harrington is a former Australian Federal Police national security expert specializing in Pacific Island security and a former Australian government trade agreement negotiator.
The Star
16-05-2025
- Sport
- The Star
Rugby League-NRL clubs face fines for ball-squirting trainers
SYDNEY (Reuters) -Two National Rugby League teams are facing A$10,000 ($6,431) fines as punishment for on-pitch trainers dousing the ball with water from drinks bottles to make it harder to catch during a match in Townsville last weekend. Reigning champions Penrith Panthers and North Queensland Cowboys were locked up at 30-30 last Saturday after the regulation 80 minutes, sending the game into "golden point" extra time. Panthers trainer Shane Elford, who also serves as the club's general manager of football, was spotted by the referee squirting the ball with liquid from a drinks bottle before his team kicked off the first extra period. Another ball was brought onto the field but it later transpired that home trainer Mitch Dunn had been spotted by officials doing the same thing before another kickoff during extra time. The NRL on Friday served the clubs breach notices, giving them five days to respond or accept the fines along with two-game bans for the offending trainers. "During the match, trainers from both clubs were observed squirting liquid onto the football prior to kick restarts of play, in contravention of the NRL Rules," the league said in a statement. "The NRL has ... reminded all clubs about the limitations of the roles of trainers on match days." In the event, neither team was able to score during the additional 10 minutes and the match finished in a draw, a relative rarity in the league since sudden-death extra time was introduced in 2003. ($1 = 1.5550 Australian dollars) (Reporting by Nick Mulvenney, editing by Peter Rutherford)
West Australian
09-05-2025
- Sport
- West Australian
Herd on the Terrace: Bears Perth the hidden lure in Roger Cook's North Sydney, National Rugby League deal
Herd on the Terrace: Bears Perth the hidden lure in Roger Cook's North Sydney, National Rugby League deal
BBC News
30-04-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Salford's Lewis out for months with hip injury
Salford Red Devils forward Loghan Lewis will be out for "a few months" after undergoing surgery on a longstanding hip and groin joined the club 12 months ago on a short-term deal from National Rugby League side Canberra Raiders, making 11 appearances last 22-year-old agreed a contract for this season, but he has not yet played a club said surgery went well, external and Lewis will begin a period of rehabilitation before a hoped-for return later in the a troubled campaign on and off the pitch, the Red Devils are 11th in Super League with one win from their nine matches.
ABC News
24-04-2025
- Business
- ABC News
Is the arduous road to bring an NRL franchise to Perth finally over?
It was only three weeks ago WA Premier Roger Cook lashed the National Rugby League for its treatment of a bid for a Perth team, accusing the organisation of using his state as a "cash cow". 'Given our location on the Indian Ocean rim and in the same time zone as 60 per cent of the world's population, the strategic value of a Western Australian side should be self-evident to the NRL," he told the Sydney Morning Herald. 'Unfortunately, like some people from the east, the NRL only appears to see WA as a potential cash cow." WA Premier Roger Cook is passionate about bringing an NRL team to the state. ( ABC News: Keane Bourke ) But now media reports on the east-coast suggest the sides have come to an agreement, and that the Western Bears franchise will come into existence as the league's 18th team. It's been a protracted, public, and at times downright mean negotiation process. So is this the one that finally sticks? Or is it just another false dawn for long-suffering NRL fans in the west? The fight for a WA team League fans in Perth could be forgiven for being cynical of the reports out of Sydney, given Cook's underwhelming response when asked about them at a press conference. "We continue to have those negotiations, we haven't had a formal response from the NRL," he said. Photo shows Teenager with red and white jersey stands on a football pitch against a burnt orange sky. Western Australia's young rugby league players hope the sun hasn't set on the state's prospect of joining the national competition, as the state prepares to host the sport's biggest event. "I assume they have a range of processes they need to go through to consider anything in relation to these conversations. "I will say that conversations are positive and we continue to look forward to those discussions continuing." The cynicism can be forgiven, considering that last year fans had the rug pulled from under them a day before an official announcement was expected. A consortium led by Cash Converters owner Peter Cumins put together a bid in conjunction with the North Sydney Bears, with the support of the WA government, which would have seen the Bears relocate to Perth. It was expected the side would feature in the NRL in 2027. Such was the assurity of the success of the bid, the ABC understands there was a launch event scheduled for October 10 last year. ARL Chairman Peter V'landys previously described the WA offer "disrespectful". ( Getty Images: Cameron Spencer ) But just two days before that, Newscorp reported the Australian Rugby League Commission had rejected the consortium's bid as "significantly short", while Nine Newspapers reported ARLC chair Peter V'landys described the offer as "low-ball" and "disrespectful". The long road The battle to bring a professional rugby league side back to Perth has been a long one. The Western Reds were axed in 1997, as part of a peace deal between the NRL and the breakaway Super League competition. The success of bringing NRL games to Perth, and the huge crowds at State of Origin matches in the city has fuelled the drive to again bring a side to the west on a permanent basis. State of Origin games in Perth have been well attended. ( AAP: Dave Hunt ) But a recent double-header at Perth Stadium was poorly attended, as fans appeared to follow through on a threat to boycott the event following perceived poor treatment from the NRL. Just over 31,000 fans went to the two games, with some holding up signs demanding a Perth side be added to the competition. Fans have watched several attempts to re-enter the league fall flat. Photo shows Australian PM seals the deal with a hand shake with the Papua New Guinean PM both wearing suits and smiling at the camera China's growing role in Papua New Guinea's health, education, and infrastructure hasn't gone unnoticed, nor has the $600 million Australian-funded NRL team set for 2028. When the Western Australian Rugby League resurrected the Reds to participate in the New South Wales state competition from 2008, it was with an eye to eventually rejoining the national competition. Those efforts failed. The WARL then launched the West Coast Pirates brand in 2012, featuring the original colours of the Reds, hoping it would reignite Perth's bid for an NRL presence. The club never made it beyond the NSW junior rugby league competition. WA fans could be forgiven for only believing a Perth NRL team is real if and when they see the players take to the field in the top-flight competition. A political football The cost of establishing a team in Perth, or relocating one from Sydney as is the case with the North Sydney Bears, has been the major sticking point. The now defunct consortium that backed a Perth-based bid to enter an NRL side in 2027 was rebuffed despite making a revised offer of a $20 million licence fee to join the competition. Just 31,000 people attended the recent NRL double header at Perth Stadium. ( Getty Images: Paul Kane ) When V'landys While bringing a side to Perth has been a pet-project of Premier Cook's, he's been steadfast in making it a value-for-money proposition. "We've made our position to the NRL very clear, and that is any deal must deliver value for WA taxpayers," Cook said in a statement earlier this month. "Since then, we've had some positive discussions, and those discussions are ongoing." The quest for a team in Perth is supported by Liberal Opposition leader Basil Zempilas. WA Opposition Leader Basil Zemplias is supportive of the push to bring an NRL team to WA. ( ABC News: Keane Bourke ) "The idea of Perth having an NRL team based here makes sense, we're a big city and a big state. We deserve to be on the national stage," he said. "But the people of West Australia deserve to know how much it is going to cost. "Premiers of all persuasions are allowed to have projects that they are passionate about and I don't question his right to champion something that he believes will be good for Perth. "I think there are enough people here with an interest in rugby league that there will be a following that will make a Perth-based rugby league team something that can grow through the years." All things point to Perth finally making the NRL truly national, but many fans will be nervous until a ball is kicked. The ABC of SPORT Sports content to make you think... or allow you not to. A newsletter delivered each Saturday. Your information is being handled in accordance with the Email address Subscribe Loading
