Coach of the NGCB PNG PM’s XIII, Michael Marum, says the country needs more players coming out of the NRL to be more competitive against giants Australia, New Zealand and England.
Marum made these comments after PNG were given a taste of NRL level rugby league last weekend with a 58-0 hiding.
“Our boys play in the Intrust Super Cup, it’s a good level but again, we really need to have our boys playing at the NRL level.
“With the experience playing week in and week out, they can come down here to lead PNG.”
Marum added while there are some PNG players playing in Australia and England, those players also needed to work hard to make sure they are playing top level rugby league to match up with other countries.
Coach of the Australian PM’s XIII, Mal Meninga, agreed with the views of Marum.
“Michael is right. It’s a long journey. Having players in the Intrust Super Cup is an obvious pathway for a lot of NRL clubs and English Super League clubs for talent identification.
“So it’s a long process, not an overnight fix. This is something that’s going to take a very long time so you just have to be patient with it all.
“PNG has quite a number of players in the NRL and England available for selection for the Kumuls, so PNG shouldn’t be too distraught over last weekend’s score line. There’s still a bright future for rugby league in PNG,” said Meninga.