World Footy News

Australian Rules was introduced to Papua New Guinea in the 1950s by Australian school teachers and defence force personnel employed under Australian Government Administration of Papua New Guinea. The code developed rapidly and until early 1980s is reported to have been the predominant football game in PNG with vibrant competitions in all centres. In 1978/79 the VFL appointed a full time manager for the PNG Rules Council, Mr. Peter Evans (formerly with Hawthorn).

During the 1970s there was an annual competition against a team from the Gold Coast. PNG fielded a team in the 1979 Teal Cup in Hobart. Since 1990 there has been a regular competition against teams from Cairns.

An international Australian football competition was first held during the 1995 Arafura Games in Darwin. PNG won the gold medal defeating New Zealand in the Grand Final. In August 1996 the PNG Mosquitoes played the Central Desert Eagles as a curtain raiser to a West Coast v. Carlton match in Perth.

After PNG's success at the Arafura Games, Ed Biggs and Ian Collins from the AFL visited the major Australian football centres in PNG and had discussions with officials.

PNG Rules Football Council officials were advised to draw up a three year development plan to qualify for football development assistance. The plan was to include a summary of the current state of Rules Football in PNG, a management structure, facilities improvement, development proposals and financial estimates.

PNG successfully defended their Gold Medal at the 1997 Arafura Games, defeating New Zealand once again in the final. Two years later PNG made it a hat-trick of gold medals at the Arafura Games, once again at the expense of the Kiwis.

In 2000 the AFL sent a Development Officer, Andrew Cadzow, to PNG. Based in Port Moresby, Cadzow also visited other regional centres.

National Championships are staged at the end of each season. The national titles in 2000 attracted teams from Buka, Pomio, Rabaul, Kove, Hoskins, Kimbe, Lae, Mt Hagen and National Capital District (Port Moresby).

AFL PNG was established in August 2001. AFL PNG is the representative of the AFL in PNG and has been incorporated to coordinate, support and operate Junior Development and Community based programs relating to AFL footy in PNG.

Its plans involve operating four main Australian football programs across PNG: Pikinini Pilai Rules (based on Auskick), Raitman (modelled on Rio Tinto's Kickstart), Saveman (accreditation opportunities for coaches, umpires and administrators) and Binatang Representative (progress path for players leading to Under 16 National selection).

The Sydney Swans are keen forge a closer relationship with Australian football in PNG. This has come about as a result of the success of their first Group trek across the Kokoda Trail in 2001. "The Track" as it is called will see a group of Swans players challenged each year, and will also see the PNG Binatangs (PNG's National Under 16 team) play in the Curtain Raiser to the Kokoda Memorial Match each year in Sydney in August.