rugby league

2023 has been a remarkable season for the 27-year-old veteran when he made his NRL debut for St George Illawarra Dragons in their round 19 clash against Canberra Raiders.

Although he was part of the 2022 rugby league world cup in the UK last year, coming back to Port Moresby for the Pacific Championships this time around is a home coming for the versatile white Kumul veteran.

Karmichael Hunt named his first Cook Islands squad, having taken over from Tony Iro as head coach.

The Cook Islands are the last team to name their squad for the Pacific Championships tournament, which features six teams split into two divisions. Australia, Samoa and New Zealand play in one division, while the  Cook Islands battle PNG and  Fiji in the other.

The Cooks who play both of their games in Port Moresby will see NRL experience from the likes of Parramatta Eels' prop Makahesi Makatoa and Esan Marsters as well as South Sydney Rabbitohs prop Davvy Moale.

During a brief return to the NRL in 2021, Hunt was convinced by his then teammate Alex Glenn to head away to that year’s World Cup with the Cook Islands, a nation he qualified for through his mum Matera who hails from the island of Rarotonga.

But when the pandemic caused the tournament to be postponed, and Hunt stepped away from top-level footy at the end of that season, dreams of a final fling on the Test scene disappeared.

Total Rugby League reported that, with the shortage in outside backs, the club could make a play for Olam who has minimal game time this year at the Melbourne Storm in the NRL. 

With Greg Minikin’s recent departure from the club, the club had Stefan Ratchford and Connor Wrench occupying the Centers for 2024.

Should Olam join the club next year, 2024, he would be a great fit for the club. 

The 29-year-old endured a difficult year struggling to string together the best performance that won him the NRL Premiership ring with the Storm in 2020. 

Albert, whose NRLW campaign for Parramatta was limited to just 25 minutes due to a calf injury, will be joined by Raiders hooker Ua Ravu and the Cowboys quintet of Essay Banu, Jessikah Reeves, Sareka Mooka, Sera Koroi and Shellie Long.

The 27-year-old prop has led the way for Papua New Guinea players in the NRLW after moving to Australia in 2020 to join Souths Logan Magpies in the Queensland Cup and before being signed by St George Illawarra.

The Tigers brought Kumuls star Liam Horne in midway through the 2023 campaign, making five appearances to help them over the line in achieving Super League survival.

And having recently recruited his international teammate Nixon Putt for next year, they’ve now made it a trio of PNG talent with the signing of prop Namo.

Rookie Broncos quartet Selwyn Cobbo, Payne Haas, Thomas Flegler and Kotoni Staggs have been named for their first Kangaroos campaign alongside teammate Patrick Carrigan, while three-time premiership-winners Nathan Cleary, Isaah Yeo and Liam Martin have once again been named in the squad.

The Panthers trio were all part of the Kangaroos' successful World Cup victory last November, with Meninga retaining 16 players in his Pacific Championships squad.

Trailing by 16 points after an Ezra Mam hat-trick had put the Broncos on track for their first title in 17 years, Cleary took the game by the scruff of the neck to ensure the Panthers would emulate the Eels of 1981-82-83 with a three-peat.

Cleary put Moses Leota over for a try with 17 minutes to play and then came up with a 40-20 before scoring the final try in the 77th minute to leave the Broncos shellshocked and the Panthers faithful in raptures.

Penrith were in devastating touch as they advanced to their fourth-straight grand final with a commanding 38-4 victory over the Storm, which is the biggest preliminary final winning margin achieved in the NRL era.

On the back of an 87 percent completion rate, the Panthers were able to flex their considerable attacking muscle, with Nathan Cleary, Isaah Yeo and Dylan Edwards all having a big influence on the match.

Panthers have been the form team this year, with an average winning margin of 20-plus. Majority of their players dominated Kokopo marlins in the recent confederate trials. It is expected that all their big guns will be taking the field on Saturday, against an unknown Knight’s outfit.

Again Panthers have been consistent throughout the season with core of their playing group coming out of the Gurias development program.