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Rop was part of the 2016 PM’s 13 side that went down to Australia 58 nil.

Ironically, the biggest highlight of that match was Jnr Rop’s kamikaze-style hit on an Australian opponent that took the wind out of his sails for the remainder of the contest. It brought the whole stadium down.

Rop’s return to the Hunters this year has been impressive and consistent. Although it’s been a long 7 years since his memorable 2016 hit, Rop has lost nothing in terms of passion, energy and class to keep going in leading the young playing group this year.

Key points:

• Justin Olam was dropped from the Storm in round 21 after they lost to Newcastle
• The centre says he was looking forward to heading home to PNG thinking his season was done
• Melbourne brought him back for the semi-final against the Roosters, which they won 18-13

The Papua New Guinea star struggled to find his explosive best this year after a series of injury setbacks curtailed his pre-season.

Olam's axing after the Storm's round 21 defeat to Newcastle seemed to spell the end for him in first grade 2023.

PNGRFL CEO Stanley Hondina gave a preview of what the official program would look like and the processes involved.

He said the Australian High Commission through ADF and NRL working committees of both PNG and Australia are taking care of proceedings before, during and after the event this weekend.

Hondina said the Kangaroos, Junior Kangaroos, Jillaroos and Junior Jillaroos will be arriving on an Australian Air Force plane this Thursday. A media conference follows with the captains of the two teams, at the Stanley hotel.

After finishing last season in 15th place the Warriors have produced a remarkable turnaround in 2023 and are now just 80 minutes away from a first grand final appearance since 2011.

A mistake by Knights winger Greg Marzhew in the opening set of the game opened the door for Shaun Johnson to lay on a try for Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad, who left Bradman Best in his wake to make it 4-0.

The Roosters led 13-12 with less than two minutes to play but the Storm stole the final moments when a Cameron Munster crossfield kick ended in the hands of a leaping Warbrick, bringing 19,000 fans to their feet in Melbourne.

The victory booked the Storm a spot in their eighth preliminary final in the past nine seasons, setting up a 2020 grand final rematch against reigning premiers Panthers at Accor Stadium.

Former PNG Hunters Head of High Performance Trainer Solomon Kuluniasi has taken charge as Head Coach of the junior Orchids. The young ladies are in camp. Former Cronulla and Parramatta Assistant Coach Joe Grima is taking care of the junior Kumuls.

On the age eligibility of players picked from the senior men and women’s competitions, some players that played at the senior level this year are still under 20 as captured in PNGRFL official player’s database.

The match is set to take place at the Santos National Football Stadium in Port Moresby, on Saturday, September 23.

The Men’s Prime Minister’s XIII will include eight representatives from the 2022 World Cup-winning Kangaroos squad, for the first Prime Minister’s XIII encounter in PNG since 2018.

The Women’s Prime Minister’s XIII has been selected with a view to giving some of the best up-and-coming players in the NRLW an opportunity alongside a number of established representative players including Kennedy Cherrington, Botille Vette-Welsh and Tallisha Harden.

A win over the Warriors would see the Knights equal the club record of 11 in a row, set back in 2001-02 when an Immortal named Johns was the hottest ticket in town.

After sending the Knights faithful home happy on Sunday, Adam O'Brien's men now need to find a way to win in a hostile environment in Auckland against a Warriors outfit that showed plenty of grit in its loss to the Panthers.

Not only are the Storm coming off a demoralising defeat but they also have the added anguish of Ryan Papenhuyzen's fractured ankle to deal with as they look to put their premiership campaign back on track.

Perhaps most alarming for coach Craig Bellamy was his side's disjointed attack, with star halves Cameron Munster and Jahrome Hughes throwing very little at the Broncos in a performance far removed from they dished up for most of the season.