Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has once again thrown his support behind Papua New Guinea’s push to become the NRL’s 18th franchise by 2027.
The ARLC and Australian government have reportedly been discussing the move, and chairman Peter V’landys has reportedly begun his due diligence regarding introducing a new team into the competition.
It was previously reported Albanese was set to table a package which would see $60 million per year injected in to the Pacific country over 10 years.
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Now Australia’s Pacific Minister Pat Conroy has told The Daily Telegraph the government are “talking to PNG about how we can best support the bid”.
“(PNG) would love to see an announcement in 2025 with the games starting in 2027-2028. I think that’s a timeline that makes sense,” he said.
“It’s really important that the NRL and the Papua New Guineans are in this and the Australian government stands ready to support it where it is appropriate.”
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Conroy’s comments are the most concrete show of support for a PNG franchise yet, with PNG’s deputy prime minister John Rosso also revealed Albanese’s “promise” to assist the countries bid.
“Australia has promised to help advance our aspiration to have a National Rugby League team in Australia,” he said.
“Papuneans are mad about rugby league and having a Papunean team in the NRL would be really good and Australia is supporting and partnering with us to realise those aspirations.”
It was also made clear that players from Australia and even other Pacific nations could feature for the Kumuls if granted an NRL license.
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