PHIL FITZPATRICK
Stamp from 1982 Brisbane Commonwealth Games - 36 years later, has sport lost its way?
TUMBY BAY - I’ve been especially careful this week to avoid television sets, but it’s been harder than I thought.
Everywhere I go they are there; be it the local supermarket, airport or doctor’s surgery.
And they’re all showing the same program, the Commonwealth Games: an endless, mind-numbing cavalcade of running, jumping, swimming, pedalling and throwing of objects.
I’ve got nothing against sport; if it turns you on that’s well and good.
It’s a great equaliser and a great substitute for more violent tendencies, like warfare.
Indeed, if our great religions made sport a mandatory part of their faith the world might be a much more peaceful place.
Continue reading "And now the sports report – the last bastion of fair play gone" »
Orchids national rugby league team - hurriedly assembled but came together brilliantly to inspire PNG
CAROLINE LAYT | Inside Sport
SYDNEY - The newly formed Papua New Guinea’s women’s rugby league team have created a much needed presence for sports women in their country following a spirited World Cup campaign.
With a United Nations report putting domestic violence levels committed against women in PNG at 67%, the Orchids have created a much needed pathway for women to aspire and escape the cycle of domestic violence.
Orchids captain Cathy Neap told Inside Sport how important the team’s presence was in giving squad members a profile at home.
Neap said her squad were now performing similar feats on the field as PNG men’s team making what she believes is a permanent change for the better.
Continue reading "Aspirational Orchids seek to break cycle of domestic violence" »
Kumuls - winning & grinning as they make a big impact on world rugby league
JOHN KAMASUA
PORT MORESBY - It’s time to take stock after the 2017 Rugby League World Cup
The PNG Hunters this year won the Queensland Intrust-Super Cup after being in the competition just four years.
Riding on the back of that success, our national team, the Kumuls, surpassed all previous records and rising above their world ranking of 16 by winning all pool games in front of parochial sell-out crowds at the National Football Stadium in Port Moresby.
Now, with PNG knocked out in the quarter finals, the hard lessons need to be learned. Let this world cup be the beginning of bigger and better things for PNG Rugby League.
PNG rugby league board and management have hinted that they need to put in place a junior program, including a schoolboys program. These must happen without haste in 2018.
Continue reading "Practical & pragmatic action needed for PNG rugby league" »
Josh Hodgson & James Segeyaro
NRL.COM
England v Papua New Guinea, Melbourne Rectangular Stadium, Sunday 4pm AEDT
MELBOURNE - England face an undefeated Papua New Guinea side who venture outside Port Moresby for the first time in this Rugby League World Cup.
Wayne Bennett's England side has shown patches of what they are capable of, without yet putting in an 80-minute performance, with victories over France (36-6) and Lebanon (29-10).
The Kumuls come to Melbourne after accounting for Wales, Ireland and the USA by a combined 128-12.
The English get Sam Burgess back who returns from a knee injury and will start in the second row, with Ryan Hall and Kallum Watkins replacing Stefan Ratchford and Mark Percival in the backline.
Continue reading "Kumuls need to keep down error count to challenge England" »
Paul Aiton
JULIE STOTT | The Star
LONDON - Paul Aiton is convinced Papua New Guinea can pull off a major shock by knocking England out of the World Cup.
Aiton and his Kumuls team will have eight million fans screaming them on back in PNG.
The Catalans and former Leeds star admits even he’s in awe of the passion in a country where rugby league is the national sport.
He said: “We’ve had a lot of trouble with politics and tribal stuff but when we play for the Kumuls everyone is behind us.
“It is hard for other people to understand. PNG people just love the game - they even clap if the other team does something well which is unreal.”
England are big favourites to win Sunday’s quarter-final in Melbourne but Aiton insists his side also have their eyes on the semi-finals. He said: “Our chances are very good, 50-50 as far as we’re concerned. We are training to win.”
Continue reading "Kumuls can knock England out of world cup says Paul Aiton" »
MARGIE McDONALD | NRL.com
Cathy Neap - rugby league is helping redefine PNG women
SYDNEY - No one needs to tell Papua New Guinea captain Cathy Neap about the power of the Women's Rugby League World Cup.
And it's not about growing the game, as league is already PNG's national pastime.
The fact is that women are now playing at the highest level has helped the country's female population overcome one of the nation's worst-kept secrets: an alarmingly high rate of domestic violence.
Cathy Neap plays in the back row for the Orchids and is proud to captain PNG at their first World Cup appearance. She says she owes rugby league another debt of gratitude.
"Definitely this game is working for us, for the women. We are gaining respect from the men in my country," she told NRL.com.
Continue reading "Women’s rugby league's power for change in PNG" »
Oliver Roberts featured for the Wolfhounds in their match against Italy
BBC
PORT MORESBY - Ireland's rugby league world cup pool game today against co-hosts Papua New Guinea will be their ‘grand final’ according to Irish coach Mark Aston.
Ireland beat Italy 36-12 in their first match, while Papua New Guinea were 50-6 winners over Wales.
Aston, who has worked with a number of PNG’s players at Sheffield, has stuck with the same side to face the Group C leaders in Port Moresby.
"We've got a plan and, if we execute it, then who knows?" he said.
"To get a look at them against Wales was great for us. We're not going to be shocked."
Continue reading "Ireland coach: ‘Our match against PNG is like a grand final’" »
The mighty Kumuls take on the Irish Wolfhounds
DREW DARBYSHIRE | Love Rugby League
PORT MORESBY - Papua New Guinea will welcome Ireland to Port Moresby tomorrow, with the Irish going into the game with nothing to lose.
The Kumuls stole the headlines last weekend on and off the field as they eased past Wales 50-6 in front of a sell-out crowd of nearly 15,000 in the PNG capital.
Meanwhile, Ireland surprised quite a few people as they put in a dominant display against an Italy side full of experience and were 36-12 victors in Cairns.
All the pressure is now on the Kumuls though, as they are the home nation and play all three of their group games in Port Moresby, which is the hotbed for rugby league in PNG.
Continue reading "Kumuls take on Ireland - & we predict a 16-point PNG win" »
PNG Orchids celebrate a try against the Jillaroos (Brendan Esposito)
MARY KONSTANTOPOULOS | Ladies Who League | Edited extracts
SYDNEY - The countdown officially over, yesterday the 2017 Rugby League World Cup began.
Whilst the Kangaroos and England, who played last night with a hard fought win for Australia, are expected to be two of the strongest teams taking part in the tournament, it has been 45 years since the Paul Barriere Trophy was last claimed by England and England failed to qualify for the last three tournament finals.
The English national team will be looking to change that in 2017.
Whilst there may be plenty of anticipation ahead of the opening clash of the tournament, if you have been following the media you will know that the build-up to this particular Rugby League World Cup has had plenty of interesting storylines.
Continue reading "I'm excited about the World Cup – one reason is the PNG Orchids" »
NICK CAMPTON | Daily Telegraph
David Mead will captain PNG in his third rugby league world cup
THE strides Papua New Guinean rugby league has taken in the last few years alone are quite staggering.
The PNG Hunters’ victory in the Queensland Cup grand final can be counted as one of the finest days in rugby league’s history for that country, and perhaps as one of their greatest wins in any sport.
Forget what you saw at ANZ Stadium on NRL grand final day, when the overmatched Hunters were flattened out mentally. Their achievement the week before, the performance of rugby league in Papua New Guinea is finally matching the passion.
Rugby league law dictates I must divulge the well known fact that rugby league is the national sport in Papua New Guinea, but the stories of the locals’ hunger for the game are well known. The love for the code in that part of the world is intense beyond almost anything you’ll ever see in Australia.
Continue reading "Passion to progress: PNG poised to enjoy best ever World Cup" »
"For at least one day, the Hunters will be Queenslanders"
RIKKI-LEE ARNOLD | The Courier-Mail
BRISBANE - WHEN COACH Michael Marum talks about what Sunday’s Intrust Super Championship means to the PNG Hunters, it’s not just another chance to win for their country, but also for their state.
Marum’s team made history last weekend, when they claimed their first Intrust Super Cup premiership.
Today they represent the entire Queensland competition as they come up against the winners of the NSW competition, the Penrith Panthers.
For Marum, this means that for at least one day, the Hunters will be Queenslanders.
Continue reading "Intrust Championship: Hunters won’t let down PNG & Queensland" »
“We will put up a fight for you. We’re gonna do it, and we will never back down”
AHMAD KHAWAJABY | Real Sport
| Extract (read the full article here)
TODAY: PNG Hunters v Penrith Panthers: 2.40pm (Queensland time) at ANZ Stadium, Sydney. Watch the game live on Channel 9
PORT MORESBY - “We will put up a fight for you. We’re gonna do it, and we will never back down.”
Those words from their team song are enough to tell you what the PNG Hunters are all about. A loyal following behind them, they are the only non-Australian based side in the whole of the National Rugby League, and they are out with a point to prove.
Four years after their formation, they were crowned as the first non-Queensland side to win the Queensland Cup (reserve grade) after defeating the Sunshine Coast Falcons in a dramatic final.
Today they have their biggest clash so far, against NSW Cup champions the Penrith Panthers in the In-Trust State Championship blockbuster.
Continue reading "Rugby league rising: the Papua New Guinea Hunters" »
SAM KOIM 
BRISBANE - The PNG Hunters made all of us proud at Suncorp Stadium on Sunday.
The opponents, the Sunshine Coast Falcons, scooped up two easy tries at the start of the game which got many PNG fans wondering whether we'd ever make it.
Our boys came back as ferocious raging bulls, nullifying our opponent’s every claim of territory, and proceeded to take complete control of the game.
Our emotions all hung out when our boys claimed the last winning try to seal victory.
Continue reading "The Hunters famous win - an inspiration to fight for PNG" »
MALUM NALU
They came from north of the border
To the colosseum at Suncorp
Modern-day gladiators
Hunters from Papua New Guinea
They carried the hopes and dreams of a nation
Upon their shoulders
So much gloom, doom and despair
A little ray of sunshine was needed
All was lost, it seemed
When in from the cold came Willie Minoga
Like a runaway freight train from Enga
Grounding the ball at the last minute
Continue reading "An ode to the PNG Hunters" »
JAMES BUCKLEY | Fairfax Media | Edited extract
SYDNEY - Speak to anyone that's played rugby league in Papua New Guinea, and they will all furnish you with unbelievable stories of the insatiable passion the locals possess for their national sport.
PNG is a developing and diverse country with more than 800 languages, high crime and significant unemployment, but rugby league is the constant that unites its eight million people.
But when their Australian heroes come to these shores for the annual Prime Minister's XIII fixture against Papua New Guinea, played yesterday, quite often that lust for the game bubbles over into tragedy.
Cronulla back rower Wade Graham played his first PM's XIII match in 2012 and it's an experience he'll never forget.
"The grandstand collapsed the year I was there and a few people died, it was pretty full on," Graham said.
Continue reading "Oz players on playing league against PNG: ‘I got hit by granite’" »
Justin Olam in full flight for the Sunshine Coast Falcons
TOM THREADINGHAM | Sunshine Coast Daily
MAROOCHYDORE -: Although Sunshine Coast Falcon Justin Olam says he is proud of his fellow PNG Hunters countrymen for achieving a spot in the final, come kick-off there will be no love lost.
Olam played for the Hunters last year and before that he was part of Lae Snax Tigers.
The centre expects a tough clash in Sunday afternoon’s Intrust Super Cup grand final in Brisbane, but said there was no rivalry or ill-will between the Hunters and himself.
"It's a bit different and I've never played against my (old) team like that in such big games but I'm a Falcon so I'll give my best for the Falcons,” he said.
"It's just a game, it’s not about rivalry or whatever.
"I think they are going to play hard to win the game and we will play hard to win the game and that's it.”
Continue reading "Heaps of people from PNG to see Hunters, says Justin Olam" »
RADIO NEW ZEALAND INTERNATIONAL | Extracts
DIPAK Patel says his abrupt departure as Papua New Guinea cricket coach has left a "sour taste" in his mouth.
The former New Zealand international had been in charge for three years, leading the Barramundis to their first four-day and one-day international victories and 16th place in the World T20 rankings.
Patel's contract was due to expire at the end of next month but he said a new deal had been agreed before Cricket PNG informed him 10 days ago that his tenure was over.
"I didn't really have a lot of time - I suppose it didn't really sink in, didn't give me that opportunity to be honest with you - the fact that I was just given a week’s notice to terminate my contract," Patel said.
Continue reading "Sudden contract termination leaves dismays PNG cricket coach" »
PHILIP KAI MORRE
WHEN the first Olympic Games were held in Athens, the motto adopted was ‘Citius, Altius, Fortius’, which means faster, higher and stronger.
The Olympic creed was not to win but to take part, not to have conquered but to have fought well.
All participating athletes swear the Olympic oath in which they promise to respect and follow the rules of good sportsmanship.
The Olympic flame symbolises the continuity between the ancient and modern games, for the torch is lit by the sun’s rays in Olympia, Greece, and carried by relay runners to the host site. It is an ancient tradition that is kept alive in all countries including Papua New Guinea.
Continue reading "The beautiful and challenging inconsistencies of sport" »
PHIL FITZPATRICK
I HAVE never really understood sport, especially the organised kind like football and cricket. It all seems a bit silly and frivolous.
And yet millions, maybe billions, of people swear by it and can get quite emotional, even violent, about a game.
Papua New Guinea’s obsession with rugby is a good example. There are apparently several forms of rugby and I’m not sure which one prevails there or what the differences are. Anyway, people in PNG have died arguing about whichever one it is.
Continue reading "Sport is just not me, but other people love it apparently" »
STEVE MASCORD | Fairfax Media | Edited extracts
MAL Meninga has broken his silence on allegations he callously walked out on Papua New Guinea mid-contract to take the Australian coaching job, saying, "I just didn't get paid".
The fact Meninga beat Wayne Bennett to the Australian post wasn't the only controversial aspect of the appointment.
At the time he was offered the job, the former Australia captain already had a Test coaching position – in a country where he is considered a demigod.
Continue reading "‘Demigod’ Mal Meninga explains why he quit the Kumuls" »
JIMMY AWAGL
An entry in the 2016 Crocodile Prize
PNG fanatics are mounting for Origin
Their agenda is focussed on Origin
Their emotions, desires, confidence
Resources, time and effort, all
Bragging about Blues or Maroons
To the climax of the day’s celebration
Face painting Blues or Maroons
Flag raising Blues or Maroons
Continue reading "State of Origin fanatics, this is your poem" »
KORO VAKA'UTA | Radio New Zealand International
ACCUSATIONS of racism have been made amid complaints about commentators not pronouncing Pasifika names correctly at the recent Pacific Island Rugby League Internationals in Sydney.
The apparently poor and insensitive commentary prompted New Zealand's Pacific Islands Media Association (PIMA), an association of Pasifika media owners and operators, to lodge a complaint with the broadcaster, Australia's Fox Sports.
"They were just butchering the names and even laughing at some of it as they were saying it," said Will 'Ilolahia, PIMA's chair.
Continue reading "'Racist' Australian commentators need pronunciation training" »
PETER KRANZ
IN A thrilling rugby league test match the Papua New Guinea Kumuls beat Fiji 24-22 at Parramatta stadium in Sydney last night.
The crowd nearly blew the stands down with their enthusiasm and half the PNG expats in NSW must have been present (including Rose Kranz from whom I expect a full match report later in the day).
The win was the Kumuls' first on foreign soil since beating France 23-20 win in Paris during the 2000 World Cup.
Papua New Guinea, whose side was dominated by players from the PNG Hunters team in the Queensland Cup, got off to a good start when halfback Watson Boas scored in the fifth minute and his brother Ase, Kumuls’ five-eighth, converted.
Continue reading "Kumuls down Fiji in epic rugby league international" »
GREY MORRIS | Northern Territory News
THE man who pioneered the Arafura Games, Peter Ritchie, has died in Darwin of a heart attack, aged 62.
He brought the Arafura Games to Darwin in 1992 and also made a big impression on the Northern Territory’s indigenous communities in his 51 years in the north country.
He worked at Borroloola and Katherine in the mid-1970s and was in the Gulf of Carpentaria town when the first land claims were made in 1976.
Mr Ritchie was appointed the first general manager of the Arafura Sports Festival (later known as the Arafura Games) in 1991 and was instrumental in its early success.
He not only engaged and gained the participation of countries such as the Philippines, Thailand and Papua New Guinea but also added places like Cambodia to the athletes roster after some careful negotiating.
Continue reading "Darwin mourns loss of Arafura Games instigator Peter Ritchie" »
MATT PRITCHARD | The Roar
ON the same weekend that Eden Park hosts the NRL Nines tournament, Penrith Panthers will send a team to Port Moresby to open Papua New Guinea’s magnificent new stadium.
The National Football Stadium will host Intrust Super Cup team Papua New Guinea Hunters on a permanent basis this year after they played out of Kokopo while waiting for the venue to be completed.
It’s likely that 15,000 diehard Papua New Guinean rugby league fans will pack the stadium for the friendly game to be played next Saturday.
Continue reading "Looks like there will be a future for the NRL in PNG" »
USA TODAY
World football controlling body FIFA has opened a disciplinary case against the Papua New Guinea soccer federation whose women's team failed to travel to New Zealand for an Olympic qualifying playoff scheduled for yesterday.
The incident is embarrassing for FIFA vice president David Chung, who leads the Papua New Guinea soccer federation and the Oceania confederation.
Papua New Guinea lost 7-1 in the first leg at home on Saturday.
Continue reading "FIFA to punish PNG football for Olympic playoff no-show" »
KEITH JACKSON
PAPUA New Guinea is putting its surf management plan into operation. The good news is that it works, reports the Surfer Today website.
PNG has developed a rulebook to minimise the impact of surf tourism on the fragile ecosystem, on local communities and on the quality of the surfing experience.
"PNG is a land of contrasts, transparent blue waters, ancient traditions, and multiple isolated islands," reports Surfer Today, adding that it's important to keep it alive, healthy, and natural. Couldn't agree more
Continue reading "PNG’s innovative surf management plan hailed a success" »
ED BRUMBY
PLAYING basketball had been the central feature of my high school days.
While neither tall nor particularly fleet of foot, I possessed good hand-eye coordination and peripheral vision.
Countless hours of practice gave me half-decent jump and long shots and constant membership of high school, city and regional representative teams as a playmaker-guard.
By 1966 I was in Papua New Guinea and, with the aid of some cases of SP as gris, a few fellow basketball enthusiasts and I persuaded the Public Works Department to lay some tarmac.
Then Elcom, through their largely Manus Island apprentices, installed the hoops on their pylons and provided suitable lighting in the Wewak local officer compound.
Continue reading "On basketball, classic guitar & the Public Service Commission" »
PACIFIC BEAT | Radio Australia
PAPUA New Guinea rugby league team, the Hunters, has forged a partnership with leading NRL team, the Brisbane Broncos, as they continue their build-up to the 2016 season.
As part of the deal, Hunters' coach Michael Marum will spend a week in January being mentored by NRL premiership coach Wayne Bennett.
Former PNG Kumuls coach, Bob Bennett, told Radio Australia that his brother was happy to host the PNG Hunters coach.
"It will just be Wayne's normal training week and Michael will hang around with him and see how it's done and the professionalism that Michael's got in place [in PNG]," Bennett said.
"He's going to come down to the Broncos and see what they do, the facilities, giving him some ideas, and just see where they go from there.
Continue reading "PNG Hunters establish relationship with Brisbane Broncos" »
TYSON OTTO | news.com.au | Extract
RUGBY league legend Mal Meninga has been swept up into a bizarre legal stoush that’s broken out between feuding officials in Papua New Guinean rugby league.
Meninga amicably parted company with the PNG Rugby League last week to take up a new role as Australian coach, and news.com.au does not suggest he has acted improperly.
However, the 55-year-old looks set to be named first defendant in a legal stoush, with the CEO of a Papua New Guinea league taking issue with the PNGRL’s management of the game in that country.
Continue reading "Mal Meninga caught in legal fight over PNG coaching role" »
RAYMOND SIGIMET
On 5 November, the famous English footballer, David Beckham, made Mount Hagen the first stop of his UNICEF Goodwill Match for Children - 7 Games in 7 Continents - tour. It was an honour for this prominent athlete, Kange David, to choose Papua New Guinea as the starting point in his goodwill mission covering Antarctica, Argentina, Djibouti, Nepal, the United States and finally Manchester, England.
A superstar in our midst
On a journey with a twist
The world did not expect
In the land of the unexpected
To see the legendary David Beckham
Play soccer with some Niugini chums
Continue reading "An ode to David Beckham’s first game on seven continents" »
TOM DECENT | Sydney Morning Herald
JOHNATHAN Thurston and Greg Inglis are helping educate schoolchildren in Papua New Guinea, even though they might not know it.
The popularity of rugby league is being used as a vehicle to teach PNG schoolchildren the importance of education and respect.
PNG is the only country in the world where rugby league is its national sport. The game plays such a big part in the lives of PNG children, who are not afforded the same benefits as kids the same age in Australia.
Continue reading "Rugby league is an important educational tool in PNG" »
JOHN KAMASUA
THE game was a week ago – and I’m still hurting.
In a must-win match in the Intrust Super Cup – the Queensland-based rugby league competition in which they’d performed so well – the PNG Hunters failed to play their trademark winning brand of football.
Commenting on the loss, coach Michael Marum said the Hunters will learn from this experience and be better next year.
But on the day there was ample time for the Hunters to learn from the first half and resurrect their game in the second. They did not, and went down 12-28.
A grand final berth between the Hunters and the Townsville Blackhawks would have been a fitting 40th Independence gift for Papua New Guinea.
However in both semi-final games the Hunters led themselves to the slaughter.
Continue reading "Out-of-sorts PNG Hunters led themselves to league slaughter" »
QUEENSLAND RUGBY LEAGUE
THE PNG Hunters and Ipswich Jets face off this afternoon for the right to face the Blackhawks in this year’s Intrust Super Cup rugby league grand final.
Townsville continued their impressive debut season when they secured a place in the grand final following a strong 26-12 win over the Hunters last weekend.
Today sees a battle of the entertainers with the trademark contact football style of play from the Jets going head-to-head with the equally exciting Hunters.
While some people question the ability of the Jets to win finals football with their high-risk, high-reward style – they have made it this far.
Continue reading "PNG & Ipswich entertainers meet in Intrust preliminary final" »
FIDELIS SUKINA
THE recent Pacific Games was a great success with Papua New Guinea topping the medal tally from defending champions New Caledonia and Tahiti in third place.
The success has been credited to the athletes and the Port Moresby high performance training centre and its coaches.
The government’s Go for Gold program produced results after its K4 million was spent training athletes overseas and at the high performance centre.
Sports Minister Justin Tkatchenko praised the high performance centre and said the government will continue the program.
Continue reading "Pacific Games over, Minister Tkatchenko announces venue plans" »
MIRWAIS ADEEL | Khaama Press
THE Papua New Guinea Barramundis national cricket team has been denied a place in the ICC Twenty20 world cup by Afghanistan.
Afghanistan defeated PNG in a qualifying play-off after PNG had seemed certain to qualify in earlier rounds, including a notable win over tournament favourites Ireland.
The Papua New Guinea batsmen set a target of 128 runs from 20 overs after they won the toss and elected to bat first.
The Afghan batsmen chased lost just four wickets and chased down the runs with 10 balls remaining. Nawroz Mangal was highest scorer for Afghanistan with 65 runs from 56 balls.
The play-off against Papua New Guinea was the last chance for both teams to qualify for the 2016 ICC World Twenty20 World Cup 2016.
GEORGE KUIAS
PRIME Minister Peter O’Neill has announced that athletes who did not win any medals during the 2015 Pacific Games will each receive K2,500 as an incentive for their efforts.
Well, I congratulate Mr O’Neill for the initiative and the plan to develop sports in Papua New Guinea. Through sport the government will be able to combat increasing crime.
But, before the honourable prime minister does this, could his government locate sporting facilities in every district of PNG down to village level so we can develop the best and most talented sport men and women to national and even international level?
Continue reading "Incentives for athletes but what about the injustices of our country" »
LIAM MORGAN | Inside the Games
PACIFIC Games chief executive Peter Stewart has sought to clarify the reasons behind the closing ceremony ticketing row.
The debacle, which left hundreds of spectators outside the Sir John Guise Stadium, was caused by a fans without tickets trying to gain access, as well as more than the anticipated number of VIPs turning up for the event.
Large groups of fans were not allowed in despite having purchased tickets.
The debacle marred a spectacular end to the 14-day event, described by many as setting the standard for future Pacific Games.
Continue reading "Games chief blames closing ceremony chaos on fans and VIPs" »
RADIO NEW ZEALAND INTERNATIONAL
PAPUA New Guinea have kept alive its hopes of qualifying for next year's World Twenty20 tournament despite an 18 run defeat to the United States on Sunday.
Having restricted the Americans to 6-147 from 20 overs, the Barramundis’ run chase started disastrously with openers Tony Ura and Lega Siaka dismissed in the first eight balls.
Sese Bau grafted 26 from 31 deliveries and was supported by Kila Pala and Mahura Dai but the run-rate proved too much with PNG only managing ten boundaries as it finished its innings at 9-129.
Continue reading "PNG cricketers just one win from T20 World Cup despite loss" »
LIAM MORGAN | Inside the Games
PAPUA New Guinea finished top of the Pacific Games medals table for only the second time in the their history as their athletes produced another excellent performance here on the final day of competition at Port Moresby 2015.
As well as the six titles they secured in boxing, the hosts swept the golf tournament, sealing all four available golds, and added another two in beach volleyball and the men’s half-marathon.
The hosts claimed an overall total of 87 gold medals, comfortably ahead of New Caledonia and Tahiti on 55 and 38 respectively. Full medal table here.
Continue reading "PNG tops Pacific Games medal table as Port Moresby 2015 ends" »
PETER DELLA PENNA | ESPN
PNG secured its place in this week’s playoffs for the ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier with a commanding performance in which it bowled out Nepal for 93 before reaching the target with eight wickets in hand.
PNG set the tone in the third over with the first of three run-outs claiming the wicket of Sagar Pun. Charles Amini's relay to wicketkeeper Jack Vare beat Pun’s despairing dive.
Nepal continued to play aggressively as Pradeep Airee took on PNG's seamers. Airee was fortunate to survive a chance on 17 when Lega Siaka spilled a sitter in from the rope in what was PNG's only blemish in the field.
Continue reading "Dominant PNG progresses to knockouts in Twenty20 cricket" »
AUSTRALIAN HIGH COMMISSION
TWO Australian volunteers in Papua New Guinea worked behind the scenes to help local media cover the recent Pacific Games.
With nearly 50 years of broadcast and journalism experience between them, Joanna Lester and Barry Minster (right) shared their skills with the games media contingent through the Australian Volunteers for International Development program.
Joanna was based with the Pacific Games press operations team, helping run a news service which shared Games’ photos and information with local, national and international media.
“We have been pairing up more experienced reporters with journalism students from the University of PNG to cover events,” Joanna says.
“It’s a good chance for journalism students and journalists in general to learn how big events operate, gain skills in interviewing athletes and improve their writing.”
Continue reading "Australian volunteers helped broadcast Games to the world" »
PETER DELLA PENNA | ESPN
ICC World Twenty20 qualifier, Belfast: Ireland 123-9 (20 overs): Porterfield 57 not out, Gavera 3-17; Papua New Guinea 124-8 (18.5 overs): Vala 32, Kane 3-19. PNG won by two wickets. Full scorecard here
PAPUA New Guinea cricket's rise to ODI status has been one of the feel-good successes in world cricket over the last four years.
Their journey has included famous wins over Hong Kong in their maiden ODI and Netherlands in their maiden first-class Intercontinental Cup match.
Continue reading "PNG stuns Ireland in World Twenty20 cricket qualifier" »
NEWS LIMITED
STATE of Origin contests have long been famed as arenas epitomising physical aggression and tribal combativeness. However, that aggression is spilling over the sidelines with horrifying consequences.
There have been calls to ban live broadcasts of Origin games in Papua New Guinea because of violent outbursts that are erupting after matches, resulting in deaths.
Speaking to the ABC, an Enga police spokesman said the interstate matches drove people into a frenzy, and that the only way to eradicate this behaviour was to ban all live coverage.
“The way people watch the Origin matches are going crazy nowadays. We’ve got so many deaths…there’s a lot of killing in places because of State of Origin matches,” said the spokesman.
Continue reading "Calls to scrap live broadcasts of State of Origin matches in PNG" »
LIAM MORGAN | Inside the Games
EVERYWHERE you went in the build-up to the glittering Pacific Games Opening Ceremony in Port Moresby, the mention of the visit of Prince Andrew was never far away.
On the streets of the Papua New Guinean capital, you simply couldn’t escape the fact that the Duke of York was coming to town to open the Games, just as he did back in 1991.
In fact, people were even walking up to me asking if I either knew him or if I had travelled with him due to my clearly-British appearance. I wish.
Continue reading "Port Moresby 2015 delivers opening ceremony fit for a prince" »
INTERNATIONAL CRICKET COUNCIL
PAPUA New Guinea has created history by winning its maiden first-class match – a memorable five-wicket victory over Netherlands – in the ICC Intercontinental Cup in Amstelveen, Netherlands.
PNG, resuming on a tenuous 66 for 2, rode on an Assad Vala century and a half-century from Mahuru Dai to chase down the 305-run target Netherlands had set.
The day began with PNG needing 239 runs, and though it lost Vani Morea and Charles Amini early, Vala and Dai defied the Netherlands bowlers to take the visitor closer to the target.
Continue reading "Historic cricket win as PNG defeats Netherlands in a thriller" »
HULL DAILY MAIL (UK)
IT'S a connection, born exactly 20 years ago, that has become one of rugby's league's most exciting tales. Yet the story of Stanley Gene's signing at Hull KR is one which, to this day, has many chapters still to tell.
Two decades on since the Papua New Guinea native flew to the northern hemisphere to join the Robins – after becoming a leading light in the 1995 Rugby League World Cup – Gene, now head coach at Newcastle Thunder, still holds the city in high regard.
Two spells in east Hull, scoring 94 tries in 111 outings, captured the hearts of red and white supporters and gained Gene legendary status at the club, including a commemorative shirt on his behalf released earlier this year.
An influx of PNG stars now reside in the English game, including former KR prop Makali Aizue at Dewsbury Rams and Paul Aiton at Leeds.
But Gene remains keen to repay the favour to the Robins and find the stars of tomorrow from the Kumuls.
Continue reading "Stanley Gene: Maintaining the link between PNG & Hull KR" »
PETER KRANZ
DESPITE the support of Rose and Aunty Mary, Papua New Guinea lost to Fiji at Robina on Saturday.
Rose weathered torrential rain, train stoppages, unruly schoolkids and racist bikies but was unable to witness a Kumuls victory in the regional rugby league clash.
Fiji backline champion Marika Koroibete was too strong for them.
Is there is a more thrilling sight in the game right now than Koroibete in full flight?
Continue reading "Koroibete sinks the Kumuls in Pacific rugby league test" »
BEN JACKSON | Bougainville 24
BOUGAINVILLE and Papua New Guinea were dealt a major blow with the sudden passing of Joseph (Joe) Maineke this week.
Joe was a very positive influence as a leader in Bougainville, particularly in the southern region where he worked within the Buin district office with a special focus on youth and sport.
He was also a leader in the Pacific football community and was highly regarded in his roles of president of the Bougainville Football Association and member of the PNG Football Association (PNGFA).
Joe was integral in the initiative to bring a football academy to Manetai in Bougainville as a high impact project for the future development of football amongst children in the region.
Continue reading "Big loss for Bougainville & PNG with death of Joe Maineke" »
BISHOP ARNOLD OROWAE | Catholic Bishops Conference
WITH the Pacific Games coming soon to Papua New Guinea, sport will be a topic of interest for many people. At this time we wish to offer a reflection on the value of sport and ways that we can all benefit.
The Catholic Church recognises sport to be one of the great institutions of our society that helps individuals realise their human potential and builds up the bonds of the community, fostering communal initiative and responsibility.
Sport contributes to physical and mental health and wellbeing. It teaches people, particularly young people skills and resilience. When youth become involved in sport, they devote their energies to teaming together in a healthy environment, forgetting about antisocial activities such as violence and crime.
Continue reading "Catholic bishops pronounce on sport (& Sunday mornings)" »