Following the successful bidding last December for a Papua New Guinea team to enter the National Rugby League competition in 2028, the Chief Executive Officer of Penrith Panthers, Matthew Cameron, has flown into Port Moresby this week to help and see how the new PNG franchise is doing to set up the foundation.
Through the invitation of the Papua New Guinea Rugby Football League (PNGRFL) and the new PNG franchise, the Penrith Panthers have become the first NRL club to only visit the country but also reach out to help, in terms of having conversions about the junior development pathways or programs with the administrators of the renowned sport in PNG.
Interestingly, the visit of Penrith’s CEO coincides with the Papua New Guinea National Rugby League Competition (PNG NRLC) Conference, which is underway at Holiday Inn that started on Thursday (February 6th) and will conclude tomorrow (February 9th). Cameron will have some dialogues with the coaches, trainers, medical staff, and team management on how to improve the standard of the game in the country.
Mr. Cameron stressed that much of the Penrith Panthers’ success, especially their recent fourth consecutive premiership glory in the NRL competition from 2021-2024, stemmed from having a robust and solid junior academy system that continues to churn out promising talents in the last five years or so.
“On behalf of the Panthers, I am honored to be invited by Stanley and Andrew to come up and have a look around. I spent a little bit of time with the Prime Minister (James Marape) yesterday (Thursday, February 6th) at Stanley Hotel and we spoke about all things rugby league,” he emphasized.
“One of the things that stood out is the synergies that exist between where the Penrith Panthers are now as a club and how we started. The Penrith Panthers started fundamentally as a community rugby league club and clearly, your community here loves rugby league, which is your national game.
“The other part of the Panthers is we are a development club. We have just under 10,000 juniors who play across 23 clubs in the Penrith District. In the 2023 grand final, 12 of the 13 players who ran out to start the game were Panthers’ juniors, and that’s what we aspired to do.
“So again, I’m honored to be here and looking forward to talking to the coaches on Saturday (February 8th). Anyone that has a development philosophy, the Penrith Panthers are more than happy to come and share our story and help grow the game of rugby league.”
PNGRFL CEO Stanley Hondina thanked CEO Cameron for accepting the invitation to visit Port Moresby and have discussions with the PNG NRL team, including the coaches, trainers, medical staff, and team managers of the Digicel-ExxonMobil Cup competition.
“On behalf of PNGRFL, we are excited and happy to have Matthew Cameron, CEO of the Penrith Panthers, one of the successful clubs in the NRL, who accepted the invite and came to help us in the process of building our own franchise,” Hondina stated.
“All we are doing is the processes around building what our franchise would look like going into 2028. Everyone is excited about us entering the NRL competition in 2028 but before that happens, there’s a lot of work that needs to be done.
“Matt, extend our thanks to your board, chair and team for allowing you to come and have discussions with us. He was here yesterday and we had an event with the Prime Minister, including some sponsors and partners.
“He will talk to our Digicel-ExxonMobil Cup CEOs, chairmen, and coaches on what success looks like at the club level. He is going to tell us the Panthers’ story as a blueprint and how our franchises take it back and see how they can build their own clubs.
“Better people, better sport, better nation is our standing vision or philosophy and we thought there was no other better club in the NRL to share the story as opposed to the Panthers for its previous impact as a developing club that has a strong system.
“All we are doing in the game is adding credibility and value to all parts of the sport. It’s the one-house that is the key to the Kumuls or Orchids. Those are all part of the one-house that we are building and without strong clubs, it doesn’t get stronger or any better.”
PNG franchise CEO Andrew Hill echoed similar sentiments shared by PNGRFL CEO Stanley Hondina and expressed gratitude to the Penrith Panthers and CEO Matthew Cameron, highlighting what the PNG franchise has been doing since getting the green light to enter the top-flight competition in 2028.
“I want to start by acknowledging PNGRFL under the leadership of Stanley Hondina for the vision from the governing body to support this initiative by bringing the Panthers CEO,” CEO Hill said.
“December 12th last year was a wonderful occasion for not only the country but the game of rugby league to come together and share in the excitement and appreciation of both Australia and PNG Governments, and the NRL in their announcement that we (PNG) would enter the NRL in 2028.
“I’ve said at every press conference and to the corporate partners and to the community that we intend to be the very best, we don’t intend to just make up the numbers. This country, this game, and our people deserve the best, and it is my intention to lead the franchise that plays second to no one.
“We are not at the stage of talking about football, coaches, who’s playing, and where we are going to get all these players from, we are at the day one of building a franchise. Predominantly, that is about facilities, it’s about the high-performance center, it’s about the player village, it’s about setting the standard of what type of club we want this franchise to be.
“The who, the where, the why, the development processes, the community engagement. And so, before we get to talking about football, we need to set the foundations right. There is no doubt that the successful team on the field is driven by a successful office and a franchise that embeds community and development pathways.
“And clearly in the last five years, there’s been one club that has stood out and I want to acknowledge the Panthers led by Matt Cameron for having a strong development philosophy.
“They wish to help anyone, not just PNG but anyone that wants to continue the growth of the game, that wants to invest in community development, that wants to see young boys and girls have aspirations and dreams. They can’t all be rugby league players but they can be fans, administrators, physios, and to build better people, better sport, and better nation.
“Matt, to be able to come here is an example of what we mean by aiming to be the best. And I just want to really thank Penrith that they are not the only club that’s helped but the first club to be here.”
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