Australian rules football in Papua New Guinea

Sport overview
country = Papua New Guinea
sport = Australian rules football

---

imagesize = 260px
caption = Papua New Guinea's Mosquitos celebrate taking the International Cup from New Zealand to become International champions in 2008.
union = PNG Rules Football Council
nickname =
first = 1944, Lae
registered = 30,000 (total) [http://www.insidefootballonline.com/aus_04072007.html]
1,920 (adult)
28,080 (junior)
clubs = 64
match = 5,000 - 1999 AFL PNG Grand Final. Wests vs Koboni. Port Moresby [International Australian Football Council]
league =
national1 =
club1 = Goroka Football League
club2 = Kimbe Football League
club3 = Lae Football League
club4 = Mt Hagen Football League
club5 = Port Moresby Football League
club6 = Rabaul Football League
club7 = Eastern Highlands Rules Football League
country

Australian rules football in Papua New Guinea is a team sport which was initially introduced by Australian servicemen. The sport has a long and somewhat shaky history, but with an undercurrent of popularity.

In recent years the sport has emerged as one of the fastest growing sports in the country.Fact|date=September 2007 Between 2003 and 2007, the number of participants has grown by approximately 100-400% each year,Fact|date=September 2007 with the strongest growth in junior player numbers outside of Australia.Fact|date=September 2007

The Papua New Guinea national Australian rules football team are current International champions, having won the 2008 Australian Football International Cup.

The game is covered by both the The National and Papua New Guinea Post-Courier newspapers.

In PNG, the sport is typically referred to as "AFL", but also as "rules", "rules football", "AFL rules" or in areas where it is popular, simply "football".Fact|date=September 2007

History

1944-1980

Australian Rules was introduced to Papua New Guinea in the 1944 by Australian school teachers and defence force personnel in Lae and Nagada [29/46th infantry battalion and 37/52nd infantry battalion played at Deslandes sports oval in front of a sizeable crowd of natives. Source 074980 Australian War Memorial] . At the time, Papua New Guinea was an Australian territory.

In November 1945, a match was played between Victoria and "The Rest" at Torokina, Bouganville. [Australian War Memorial 099009]

A competition was played in Rabaul, New Britain in 1946 between servicemen, including the 29/46th infantry battalion, who played several matches against sides from New Guinea and New Britain. [Australian War Memorial 099811]

The sport experienced rapid growth and during the 1960s, the New Guinea National Football League ran in both Port Moresby and Lae. [http://www.pngaa.net/Photo_Gallery/NGFL/index.html)>New Guinea National Football League]

During the 1970s there was an annual competition against a team from the Gold Coast, Queensland.

In 1973, an Indigenous Australian side toured Papua New Guinea, led by Roger Rigney, an indigenous player from the Sturt Football Club in the SANFL.

In 1974, PNG players Vili Maha and Gimana Guma trialled with the South Melbourne Football Club.

1977 was an historic year for Papua New Guinean footy. The year saw the first ever international matches involving Australia at under 17 level between Australia and Papua New Guinea. The Australian Under 17 squad toured Papua New Guinea, and the PNG team reciprocated in Adelaide, with Australia winning the match. [ [http://www.fullpointsfooty.net/1977_to_1980.htm Full Points Footy 1977 to 1980] ]

The VFL appointed Peter Evans as full-time manager in 1978/79 he VFL appointed a full time manager for the PNG Rules Council.

PNG fielded a team in the 1979 Teal Cup (Australian Under 17 Championship) in Hobart. Since 1990 there has been a regular competition against teams from Cairns, Queensland.

1980s

1990s

Australian football had not been played officially in Rabaul since 1992, and efforts to revive the code were overshadowed by the 1994 volcanic eruption.

PNG's national team, the Mosquitoes, competed at the 1995 Arafura Games in Darwin, Northern Territory. PNG won the gold medal by defeating New Zealand in the Grand Final. PNG players named in the World Team were George Kava, Willie Lipou, Thomas Gori and Tony Megea.

In 1995, after PNG's success at the Arafura Games, Ed Biggs from the then Australian Football Foundation (AFF) and Ian Collins from the AFL visited all 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.

In August 1996 the Mosquitoes travelled to Perth as part of the AFL Centenary Celebrations. They played a match against the Central Desert Eagles as a curtain raiser to a West Coast Eagles v. Carlton Blues match. PNG 21.22 (148) defeated the Central Desert Eagles 5.8 (38).

PNG defended their Gold Medal at the 1997 Arafura Games, defeating New Zealand 14.9 (93) to 9.6 (60) in the final. PNG also played against the NTFL, Australian Defence Force and Central Desert Eagles as well as their international counterparts. PNG players named in the 1997 World Team were Gibson Isaiah, George Kaore, David Lucas and Willie Lipou.

In 1999 PNG again defeated New Zealand in the final at the Arafura Games. In the same year, a record 5,000 spectators attended the Wests vs Koboni Grand Final in Port Moresby.

2000 to present

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

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. Scott Reid, Salvatore Algeri and Mel Togolo are the current Directors of AFL PNG and are responsible for establishing and promoting AFL Junior Development Programs in PNG.

PNG born Mal Michael participated in the first of three premierships with the Brisbane Lions in 2001, boosting the popularity of football enormously in the country.

In 2002, the Mosquitos finished second behind Ireland in the inaugural Australian Football International Cup.

In 2003, Alister Sioni won the AFL PNG Elite Scholarship and trained with the Brisbane Lions between 11 November and 23 December.

2005 was a big year for football in PNG. In the International Cup, the Mosquitos finished in second place behind New Zealand.

Also in 2005, AFL Queensland took AFL PNG "under its wing" to provide a pathway for PNG players to the AFL. Queensland is one of the nearest and most populous Australian states, and a result, there are now many junior and senior PNG players participating in Queensland state championships and clubs. [ [http://www.thenational.com.pg/0322/sports2.htm AFL Queensland adopts AFL-PNG] Article from the National] Additional funding came from Queensland since, and the Mal Michael Foundation was established in the same year to further foster PNG talent.

In October 2006, the national junior Women's Footy (U16) team, the "Karakums" became the first ever female contact sport side to represent PNG. [ [http://www.afl-png.com/kurakums.html AFL PNG :: pure AFL . . . purely Papua New Guinea ] ]

In 2006, Papua New Guinea under 16s again won the U16s Queensland Country Championships, defeating Cairns in the Grand Final. [ [http://www.worldfootynews.com/article.php?story=20060427090823645 Binatangs dominate Queensland Country Championships] by Brett Northey for World Footy News May 04, 2006] Several PNG players were selected to represent the Country Kookaburras U16s squad which lost the Grand Final to the Northern Raiders. [ [http://www.worldfootynews.com/article.php?story=20050312232744250 Three PNG Under 18s selected for Country Kookaburras] by Brett Northey for World Footy News May 03 200] Port Moresby’s Stanis Susave, became the first player from Papua New Guinea to represent the Queensland Scorpions in the under 16s. [ [http://aflq.com.au/default.aspx?s=genericnewsdisplay&kw=54&aid=106624 Australia Post U16 Young Scorpions squad named] ]

In 2007, U16 Bintangs were invited to the all-Queensland state championships, managing one win out of three by defeating the AFLQ Colts. The U14s followed.

In November, the PNG girls Under 17 squad went through the QLD state championships undefeated to take the title outright. Only Cape York were able to register a score against the junior Karakums. [ [http://www.worldfootynews.com/article.php?story=20071112142512205 World Footy News - PNG U16 Girls are Qld State Champs! ] ]

Outstanding PNG juniors Stanis Susuve and John James were invited to the AFL/AIS Draft Camp in November 2007. [ [http://www.worldfootynews.com/article.php/20071212181100735 PNG Juniors at AFL/AIS Draft Camp] ]

In March 2008, John James became the first player from Papua New Guinea to represent Queensland in the Under 18 National Championships. [http://www.sportingpulse.com/assoc_page.cgi?client=1-4711-0-0-0&sID=56333&news_task=DETAIL&articleID=5209284&sectionID=56333 SportingPulse Homepage for AFL Queensland ] ]

In September 2008, the Mosquitos took out the International Cup in a thriller against New Zealand.

Participation

In 2004, there are almost 10,000 Aussie Rules players in PNG (including 1,920 senior players across 64 clubs) and a fast growing junior development program and has the most senior players of any country outside of Australia. [ [http://www.worldfootynews.com/article.php?story=20050301074107992 World Footy Census - Oceania] ] There is also a Women's league.

Leagues and Competitions

*Goroka Football League
**Apo Stars
**Asaroka
**Mt Kiss
**UPNG Goroka
*Kimbe Football League
**Bali Hawks
**Central Magpies
**SBLC Buluma
**Talkom
**Tamara
**True West
*Lae Football League
*Mt Hagen Football League
*Port Moresby Football League
**Andersons Koki Dockers
**Defence
**Koboni
**Tisa Jets
**University Bulldogs
**West
*Rabaul Football League
**Rabaul Bulldogs
**Rabvol
**Royals
**Vunakanau
**Vunapope Tigers
*Eastern Highland Rules Football League

National Championships

Year, National Champion
*1995 Lae
*1996 NCD
*1997 NCD
*1998 NCD
*1999 NCD
*2000 Hoskins¹
*2001 ²
*2002 ²
*2003 ?
*2004 NCD
*2005 ²
*2006 ?

¹The national titles in 2000 attracted teams from Buka, Pomio, Rabaul, Kove, Hoskins, Kimbe, Lae, Mt Hagen and National Capital District (Port Moresby).²There were no championships staged in 2001, 2002 (due to the International Cup) or 2005 (due to the International Cup).

National Teams

PNG's national team is the Mosquitoes. The team has tasted success at the Arafura Games and has been runner up in the 2002 and 2005 Australian Football International Cups.

The national women's team is known as the Karakums. They have competed in Australian provincial championships but are yet to debut at an international level.

Governing Body

The governing body is the PNG Rules Football Council. The development body is AFL PNG.

Audience

Television

AFL Highlights programs are shown on PNG television, including EM TV. Live matches are broadcast on ABC Asia Pacific.

Attendance Records

*Wests vs Koboni - 5,000 (1999). (AFL PNG Grand Final). Port Moresby (source IAFC)

Despite the sport's popularity, no AFL exhibition matches have ever been played in the country.

Notable Players

Papua New Guineans have played professional and semi-professional Australian rules football in Australia, and have dominated the All-International amateur team for many years. More recently, AFL clubs have taken an interest in recruiting PNG talent. [ [http://www.postcourier.com.pg/20060606/sport01.htm AFL clubs look to PNG for talent] from the Post Courier]

* Mal Michael - born in Port Moresby. In his early years he was the team mascot for the once powerful Boroko Australian rules football Club in Port Moresby, which was co-founded by his father Peter and Gesmond Nongkas. Michael became a cult figure in PNG when the Brisbane Lions won 3 successive premierships, coinciding with a boom in junior participation in the country.

* James Gwilt - a popular current St Kilda Football Club player whose mother is Papua New Guinean. [ [http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,21750826-2722,00.html Gwilt trip: the road less travelled] from The Australian]

* Winis Imbi - born in PNG played a few reserves games for the Essendon Football Club in 1997 while playing for the Ballarat Rebels. He was promoted to the rookie list in 1998 and won the Bomber's reserves best and fairest. He was released by the club the following year.

* Navu Maha - captain of the Mosquitos during the 2002 and 2005 International Cups and two time All-International who has also represented Papua New Guinea in cricket.

* Marcus Bai - an Aussie Rules junior who went on to become a standout rugby league player.

* "Alister Sioni" - (185cm 80kg) a West New Britain player who won a scholarship and was invited to train with the Brisbane Lions in the pre-season of 2003, has also played in AFL Cairns seniors and was named in the 2005 All-International team. [ [http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/footy/common/story_page/0,8033,16230757%255E19897,00.html International Cup's Mosquitoes' chance to follow idol] ] He captained the Mosquitos for the 2008 International Cup where he received a premiership medal.

* "James Imbi" - (180cm) the younger brother of Winis Imbi was also born in PNG and played with Winis at Portland since 2005. After trying out with the Sturt Football Club in the South Australian National Football League in 2004, Imbi went to the Palmerston Football Club in the Northern Territory Football League where he plays in the off-season. By round 8, 2005, Imbi had led in the ABC NTFL player of the year count with 11 votes. [ [http://www.abc.net.au/nt/stories/s2060264.htm ABC NTFL Player of the Year] ] In 2007, like his brother, he won the Western Border Football League best and fairest. [ [http://www.countryfooty.com.au/MailMedalists2007.htm Mail Medalists 2007 ] ]

* "Jerry Frank" - played 13 years for the Palmerston Football Club in the Northern Territory Football League as a defender before retiring in 2007. Born in Port Moresby to a Papuan father and Torres Strait Islands mother he was a member of eight NT representative sides and played against a number of AFL clubs including Collingwood, Fremantle, Brisbane and also WAFL clubs. [ [http://www.aboriginalfootball.com.au/dec07.html Frank retires with nothing else to prove] from aboriginalfootball.com]

* "Stanis Susuve" - (176cm 88kg) a talented junior who represented Queensland at both Under 16 and Under 18 level. He has played for the Suncoast Lions, the reserve side for the Brisbane Lions in the first division of the semi-professional Queensland State League, Queensland's premier Australian Football league. [ [http://lions.com.au/Season2007/News/NewsArticle/tabid/5085/Default.aspx?newsId=48283 Panthers crush Suncoast] ] He originally won a scholarship to play with the Zillmere Eagles in the same competition where he once kicked a haul of 15 goals in the reserve grade premiership and won the club's Most Valuable Player (MVP) award. [ [http://www.thenational.com.pg/051607/w6.htm Thank you Mum for everything] from thenational.com.pg] [ [http://www.northernraiders.com/PNG%20PLAYERS%20MAKING%20THEIR%20MARK.doc PNG Players making their mark] ] He was invited to the AFL/AIS Draft camp in 2007. Susuve represented PNG at senior level in the 2008 International Cup team where he received a premiership medal and was selected in the 2008 All-International squad.

* "John James" - (179cm 76kg) a talented junior rugby league convert who graduated from Coolangatta in Queensland State League division 2 up to the Suncoast Lions (Brisbane Lions reserves), earning selection in the team of the year. In 2007, he represented Queensland Country at the Under 18 state titles and was invited to the AFL/AIS Draft camp. [ [http://www.worldfootynews.com/article.php/20071212181100735 World Footy News - PNG Juniors at AFL/AIS Draft Camp ] ] James made an outstanding debut for Zillmere Eagles in 2008 and was nominated for the AFL Queensland Rising Star award. [ [http://www.foxsports.com.au/story/0,8659,23658587-23211,00.html Future Coast stars to stake claims] ] He was rewarded for a consistent season, becoming the first player from Papua New Guinea to represent Queensland in the Under 18 National Championships. He was named in the 2008 International Cup squad as an interchange player.

* "Donald Barry" - (177cm 76kg) a talented junior who has played for both Coolangatta in the AFL Queensland State League and Manunda Hawks in AFL Cairns. He represented PNG at senior level in the 2008 International Cup team winning a premiership medal. He took out the Norm Smith medal as the best player in the International Cup Grand Final and was selected as a half back the 2008 All-International squad.

* "Peter Lavi" - junior who has played for the Suncoast Lions (Brisbane Lions reserves) in 2008 [http://www.thedaily.com.au/news/2008/jul/21/coast-connection-helps-eagles-aflq/] and represented Papua New Guinea at the 2008 Interntional Cup where he won a premiership medal.

Several players to learn the game in PNG are now playing at senior level in Australia in various regional and state leagues.

Additionally, 13 Papua New Guinean players represent the Coolangatta-Tweed Heads AFC at senior level in Division 2 of the Queensland State League since 2000, with five playing in the senior team in 2007 - David Evertius, Donald Barry, Johnny James, Emmaus Wartovo and Ali Pinda. All of these players represented PNG at the 2008 International Cup where they received premiership medals.

Donald Barry, Elijah Baruai [ [http://www.afl-png.com/ants.html AFL PNG :: pure AFL . . . purely Papua New Guinea ] ] and Bergmann Talingapua [ [http://www.cairns.com.au/article/2008/03/12/2223_local-news.html Footy recruit in trouble] ] were all recruited from PNG in 2007 to play for the Manunda Hawks in the AFL Cairns competition.

The expanding program has also seen several PNG players introduced the Sunshine Coast league. [ [http://www.thedaily.com.au/news/2007/nov/09/png-teens-play-footy-nambour PNG teens to play footy for Nambour] from the SunCoast daily]

References

ee also

*AFL PNG
*Sport in Papua New Guinea

External links

* [http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=8614873593015313420&q=afl Google Video of PNG National Team performing 'Ole Ole' war dance at 2005 International Cup]
* [http://www.thenational.com.pg/070706/column6.htm Aussie Rules Expands Globally - from the PNG National]