World Footy News

North Queensland set for NEAFL side, PNG / South Pacific part of the plans

The recent victory of the AFLP PNG Coca-Cola Under 14 Binatangs in the Queensland State Academy Championships has not gone unnoticed. Former Fitzroy legend and now AFL Queensland CEO Mick Conlan was on hand on the Gold Coast to see the talent firsthand.

The potential for future growth of the PNG and by extension the South Pacific nations presence in footy in Queensland and possibly in the NEAFL has been flagged. The talent pathways are to continue to become more clearly defined. Mick Conlan and AFL PNG's Murray Bird discuss further the potential.

The AFL has flagged admission of a team from either Cairns or Townsville into the North Eastern Australian Football League (NEAFL) within the next 18 months (entry in either 2014 or 2015). Conlan thinks that this new team will be filled with young players from Papua New Guinea, other parts of the South Pacific, and North Queensland. This made the PNG v NQ grand final was a dream come true for Australian football development in his state. For the record, the Binatangs defeated North Queensland by 9 goals in the championship decider.

Talented players from PNG have been finding their way to Australia over the past 8 years, with over 20 PNG players have participated for different NEAFL clubs. Moore Printing University Tiger’s John James Lavai is currently starring for the Aspley Hornets in the NEAFL.

There are currently 9 players from PNG on scholarships spotted around Australia, with the most notable being Gideon Simon who is on Richmond’s playing list.

Conlan sees the new team in North Queensland as the natural pathway for these players in the future.

He said: “PNG players will be introduced to a professional development pathway much earlier. They will all play for the same team, much closer to home, in North Queensland. That has got to be a good thing for the players, the PNG pathway, and also the new North Queensland team.

AFL PNG General Manager, Murray Bird agreed and said:

“It will also enable AFLPNG to expand our scholarship program so many more PNG youth will have opportunities within the Australian system. The talent is here; it just needs the right environments to fully develop. When the North Queensland team is finally announced we hope to have up to 25 players available for them to select. The only things holding us back at the moment are resources and facilities”.

“The success of our under 14 Coca-Cola Binatangs is proof of what we have here. They dominated against the best young players from Queensland. If those boys are given the right coaching and other high performance ingredients over the next 3-4 years then they can play in the NEAFL for North Queensland, and have a much better chance of making it all the way to the AFL”.

AFLPNG currently also has 12 youths playing for the South Pacific this week in the Australian Under 16 Championships.

Bird said: “It will be some of these boys from the under 16s who will have the privilege of receiving scholarships to play for the new NQ team. Greg Ekari (City Pharmacy Gerehu Magpies product) has been playing particularly well in the Sydney tournament. It would be fantastic to see him get an opportunity to follow in Gideon Simon’s footsteps to an AFL club. The first step for Greg now will be the new North Queensland team. He just needs to keep playing well in the local BSP Cup.”

“Ultimately, if these boys are successful, and we can work with sponsors and the government to develop facilities in PNG, then there is no reason why the PNG Mosquitioes can’t one day play in the NEAFL in their own right. The talent is definitely here”.

Greg Ekari tackles an Oceania opponent earlier this year.