By HENRY MROABANG
RUGBY league in the country cannot prosper unless all stakeholders work in partnership to take the game into the next level, according to the newly elected chairman of PNGRFL Albert Veratau yesterday.
Veratau fronted up the National to outline his immediate priorities following his elevation as the new chairman of the PNGRFL Board. Veratau was elected unopposed at the PNGRFL annual general meeting over in Lae on Saturday.
He said under his chairmanship, he wants to provide opportunities for companies, business houses and national government to work in partnership to bring the game into the next level.
“When we work together, it will make a difference in the game,” Veratau said.
He said his board will try there extreme best to do all it can, but all be it, depend on finance support.
Veratau said his immediate objective is on the local leagues. There has been major concern from leagues that they are not getting enough support from the national body, which he admits. The lack of support from the national body has detrimental effect on the game at the local level.
He said his major task is to establish a strategy to assist leagues –not directly. PNGRFL can provide the network and expertise and allow the local leagues to do their own sourcing of funds.
“Over the last three years, PNGRFL has focused on SP Cup competition, Kumuls and Schoolboys with very little attention to the leagues,” he said.
Veratau said PNGRFL Board also needed a structural approach on how to develop the game in the country. He added that rugby league is a product, and it is how we sell them to the people.
He said we have to provide incentives for players to look for. For example the PNG Schoolboys to tour Australia after the end of the season like schoolboys used to have before.
Apart from that PNGRFL has established a working committee to work with NRL Board to review the SP Cup sponsorship with major sponsors, SP Brewery and PNGRFL focus on the World Cup in 2012, development of facilities and zero tolerance on spectator violence if PNG can adopt a global standard set of rules governing the game.