World Footy News

AFL PNG has enjoyed nothing short of phenomenal success over the past decade. This is evidenced through the many footballers they have playing football at many levels within Australia. This weight of numbers has been driven by a focused plan to spot talent from a very early age and provide a pathway for the players to develop through. They have had, and continue to have, a committed base of volunteers, both nationals and expatriates, who are focused on the big picture.

Currently they have a number of their established stars who are tied to AFL clubs, with Labi, Barry and Meli all having good pre seasons at Carlton, Brisbane and Essendon respectively. John James has just done 8 weeks with North Melbourne, who are keeping an eye on him this year.

Stanis Susuve and Amua Pirika are not currently with AFL clubs after both being listed in previous years. Pirika is playing in the NTFL with Darwin Buffaloes whilst Susuve is training with Mt Gravatt in Queensland after playing in Labrador’s losing Grand Final team alongside Emmaus Wartova.

Of the next generation of talent, Gideon Simon and Nathan Malbak are of course tied to Richmond, as we reported earlier, whilst Slim Collins took part in the AIS AFL camp and will play State League in Qld.

The floodgates have opened and we can expect many more of their fellow Papua New Guineans to join them over the next few years.