BRISBANE Broncos legend Scott Prince says the club has scouts in Papua New Guinea who identify upcoming rugby league talents for potential train and trial or recruitment.
Prince, who is now coaching the Broncos women’s team in the Australian National Rugby League women’s competition, said PNG’s campaign in last year’s rugby league World Cup has put them on a platform to be recognised at the world stage.
“I’m not too sure how that (potential train and trial or recruitment) will look from an agreement contractual point of view but certainly the relationship that we’ve had in the past and that we’re building now, I don’t see why that’s not viable,” Scott said on Friday on a visit to The National’s newsroom in Port Moresby.
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for myself, I’ve played alongside some of the great Papua New Guinean players.
“One that springs to mind is David Mead who’s actually working at the club now and constantly talking to him, we certainly got talent identification over here to give us an insight on both men and women, who the next super stars coming through.
“It certainly opens doors to recruit and form some sort of academy where we can fly them down and be a part of that for sure.”
Prince said the PNG Kumuls and Orchids’ performance in last year’s world cup was a great recognition of the hard work and effort that the teams put in.
“I know there are quite a few of the women that have moved down to Brisbane to play, one has been identified as a potential recruit for the NRLW this year,” Prince said.
“This gives the men and women a stage to showcase their skills on the world stage so it’s a perfect opportunity for other clubs, whether in the NRL or even in the Super League in England to identify some of the talents in PNG.”
Meanwhile, when asked about his thoughts on PNG’s interest to bid for a team to be in the NRL, Prince said the viable step would be to have a Pacifica team (PNG-Pasifika) in the competition.
“At the end of the day it’s area about safety with teams coming up here (in PNG) and then with facilities but PNG have built a new stadium and it is getting a lot better in terms of experience, especially with the Hostplus cup,” he said.
“As far as becoming a team in the NRL, I believe that the next step is to have a Pacifica team in the NRL and I guess the (PNG SP) Hunters are doing a wonderful work so you have to say they’re in the box seat to certainly put their hands up to be in the team.”
News source www.thenational.com.pg
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