by:Chris Garry and Peter
Badel, From:The Courier-Mail, September 19, 201312:00AM
A PAPUA New Guinea team is set
to join the Intrust Super Cup as a bold step in the rugby league-mad nation’s pursuit of an NRL franchise.
Security concerns for
travelling teams remain a stumbling block for the entry of the ISC’s 13th club,
especially in the wake of last week’s deadly attack on the Black Cat trail.
It is understood the PNG
government will cover costs for private security teams to accompany
Queensland-based players into Port Morseby, the club’s home.
A handful of ISC clubs are not
in favour of PNG gaining admission, with Norths chief executive Mark Murray
wanting financial stability for the established clubs to come first.
ISC general manager Jamie
O’Connor said in-principle agreement had been given to the PNG group, headed by
veteran league administration Brad Tassell, for a start next year.
"They have applied for
entry and been given conditional support by the board, subject to some clauses
that need to be agreed to,” O’Connor said.
"We are working through
those conditions at the moment. Security is a major issue, as are details of
travel and medical care.
"We are hoping to have
things locked away by grand final week but nothing is in stone.
"One of the conditions is
that this does not cost us, because quite simply we cannot afford to expand
right now. PNG will pay their own way.
"There is a great
opportunity over there to expand our brand through broadcasting in PNG."
The PNG team could even play
curtainraisers to NRL matches, with the ARL Commission considering a dramatic
revamp of the code’s second tier and relegating the under-20s competition to
midweek.
The team, whose home ground
will be Port Morseby’s Lloyd Robson Oval, will be able to recruit players from
Australia but it is expected to be largely made up of local players.
Maroons coach and PNG Kumuls
assistant Mal Meninga is a supporter of the club’s entry to the ISC.
"Having a PNG team
playing in the ISC would just do wonders for the programs that they have in place
up there," Meninga wrote in his Sunday Mail column earlier this year.
"It creates another
pathway. They can play footy, earn money, and get recognised and go on to
bigger and better things."
The Port Morseby Vipers played
in the Queensland Cup in 1996 and 1997, but pulled out due to financial issues.
Murray said his club was not
against the PNG team, but ensuring current clubs stayed afloat should be the
priority.
"The club group want
stability around the competition and the current clubs before any expansion
takes place,” he said.
"We want to make sure the
current clubs are looked after before we look at a PNG team. We aren’t against
PNG at all, but our first priority is to stabilise the clubs and ensure their
sustainability.”
The ISC will expand to 14 teams
in 2015, with a Townsville Brothers team set to be included
