A SIDELINE GLANCE: Papua New Guinea joins the league ranks
Issue 189 - 29 Oct 2009
By Ken Rowsthorne
ISSUE 189, October 29, 2009: The announcement during the week that PNG will be joining the Queensland Cup for 2010 was welcomed by all who want to see the boys from Papua New Guinea show their worth in a top competition, and the Queensland Cup is a well run, high class set up.
This promotion is a lead up to entry of PNG into the national rugby league competition within a short time, hopefully the decision will be made for that expansion when the next big TV contract comes up for negotiations.
There is some tremendous talent on hand in their local competition up there in Papua New Guinea and what's more, big plans are being hatched to update their football grounds to be able to hold bigger crowds. Rugby league in PNG is a national sport.
Mal Meninga, that truly great Indigenous footballer, is revered up there by the young and old alike, and is admired by the up and coming sportsperson.
This is great news and hopefully what also could be looked at is a Northern Territory side to also participate in the Queensland Cup - that's an expansion that has a ton of merit.
With home and away games one can see only improvement in the quality of performers who will come through the ranks of this Papua New Guinea team and, what's more, it will develop massive crowd appeal.
For one thing is clear, the Boys from the Hinterland are great to watch and are natural born sportsmen.
Next year will open Pandora's Box, for it will be the real beginning of rugby league moving out into the Pacific and what could come out of that is some scintillating football from countries such as Fiji, Samoa and many more.
To the boys who are playing in the Queensland Cup, and the organisers, we dips our lid for what you have shown is initiative and, rather than see a run-of-the-mill competition, we are going to see vibrant high class football.
The major football grounds in Port Moresby are in line for development, and the entry of the National PNG side into the Queensland Cup competition will help to facilitate that, as bigger crowds will be on hand when they play their home games
Nothing stays still. If it does, it dies. Continual change is the formula for success, as long as it is for the better.
Rugby league is the latest game on the planet, introduced in 1908 - when the game was first played in Australia. It was about that time that they changed the 15-man aside game to 13-aside, along with some other innovations, as a break away from rugby union.
Changes have continually been promoted through the years to such an extent that rugby league now is faster, more creative and spectacular than what it has ever been. There is no doubt on that issue whatsoever.
And so the proposed entry of a Papua New Guinea team into the Queensland Cup can only do good.
Promotion is the key, and when there is a product as good as rugby league is, then any movement that promotes the game - be it in a rule change, or an addition to a competition - rates as movement at the station. And that to me spells success.
Magnificent athletes are now playing the game, and up there in Papua New Guinea there is talent galore. All they need is to be able to play on a regular basis against top class company and, from that scenario, will step greatness.
http://www.nit.com.au/sport/story.aspx?id=18870
