Papua New Guinea officials plan to enter a women's team in Queensland's BMD Premiership in preparation for their own NRLW side.
With confirmation of a Papua New Guinea-based team to enter the NRL in 2028, officials have their sights set on an NRLW side to play alongside them and are looking to follow the PNG Hunters model.
The Hunters joined the QRL's Hostplus Cup in 2014 and a decade later their success has led to the admission of a PNG team in the NRL.
“From the start, the ambition was always to have a women’s team,” PNG NRL Bid CEO Andrew Hill said.
“That ambition is still there and the commitment for both us and the NRL is to have a women’s team.
“What we have found is that there is a little gap at the moment between where our women are compared to our boys.
“Our women are not playing in a Queensland competition, so we’ve all agreed the first step should be to go from a national Santos Cup competition in PNG into a domestic state-based competition in Australia and then to the NRLW.
“It will happen, it just won’t happen in 2028.”
At the official announcement of the successful men’s NRL team bid, ARLC Chair Peter V’landys AM reiterated the NRL’s ambition for a PNG women’s team to eventually join the NRLW, which will expand to 12 teams in 2025.
“The men’s game will be introduced in 2028 and then we’ll be looking at the women’s game progressing through the state leagues, then finally into the NRL,” V’landys said.
“But there is the objective to include them in the NRLW.”
The Papua New Guinea Rugby Football League (PNGRFL) itself have been working to build the playing base and strengthen their pathways since the PNG Orchids debuted at the 2017 World Cup.
More than just developing playing talent, the arrival of the Orchids on the world stage has also helped shift some mindsets in the country.
“Ten years ago, it would not have been possible to see parents allowing their girls to play; that stereotype has been broken now,” PNG Prime Minister James Marape said.
“I really want in my heart to see girls playing regularly. I personally went out … for a junior competition, I hugged the girls and said, ‘my daughters, doing well’.
“It’s a lifestyle change, it’s a path for youth, and girls are stepping up to it.
“Our own government gives a commitment with our chairman of our bid for an NRL team, as well as the PNGRFL, and I have a family of sponsors downstairs, they will not just be sponsoring the senior team, the National Rugby League team, but our entire club, including a girls development path to a women’s team.
“This team also encompasses a women’s rugby league team in the National Rugby League, so both a men’s team and a women’s team.”
While there have been many challenges along the way, there have been great strides made in that time, chiefly the establishment this season of the Santos Cup, a national domestic competition featuring teams from six provinces.
The PNG NRL Bid have also set up various academies across the country to develop the skills of promising young players.
There have also been celebrations in seeing not only PNG heritage players earn their way into NRLW systems, but also PNG pathways players like Parramatta Eels star and current Orchids captain Elsie Albert.
Albert came to prominence after moving to Australia and playing with the Souths Logan Magpies in the QRL’s statewide competition, before signing an NRLW contract with the Dragons.
The Hunters unearthed NRL star Justin Olam and several Super League players, while the club also won the Hostplus Cup in 2017 - just three years after their entry.
Through their PacificAus Sports program, the QRL also works with stakeholders across the game to grow and support rugby league in PNG.
Given the success of the model followed by the Hunters, who would feed into the NRL side, QRL GM of Pathways and Performance Glenn Ottaway said he expected a PNG-based women’s team to follow suit.
“Our partnership within the PNGRFL and Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade means that we support the development of pathways and competitions in PNG generally, both male and female,” Ottoway said.
“This year (Queensland Maroons State of Origin coach) , which is the new domestic competition for the women up there.
“We'll continue to support the PNGRFL both across the men's and women's game for the length of that agreement because our charter is to support them grow the game from the grassroots in PNG.
“Obviously it’s a good start to have a domestic comp off the ground and running and you would assume the next obvious step to getting an NRLW team would be a State Cup team, so a team playing in the BMD.
“Certainly, I've had some preliminary and very informal conversations with [PNG Hunters CEO] Scott Barker and it absolutely it would be the Hunters’ intent.
“It makes sense to me that the Hunters would support the new PNG men's team coming into the NRL and to that end, you'd potentially have a BMD team that would support a women's team coming into the NRLW whenever that's considered.”
