Congratulations Team Kumuls

I CONGRATULATE Team Kumuls for their Rugby League World Cup campaign this year.
Despite varying opinions, you have made us proud.
Thank you to PNGRFL administration for bringing the games to Port Moresby.
I believe we should keep this team and continue to mould and shape it for the future.
In terms of ranking, I believe the International Rugby League Board should look at other aspects of the code apart from the RLWC game result only.
Our Kumuls showcased rugby league development in the country.
Thank you to our Government, especially Prime Minister Peter O’Neill and former Sports Minister Justin Tkatchenko.
We are truly developing the code, unlike our wantoks in other Pacific Island nations – Tonga, Fiji and Samoa – where bulk of their players are NRL.
Congratulations to all in supporting and developing the code one way or another. Through the games, PNG once again stood united.
The future of any sporting code is in the hands of various code administrators and I strongly believe in the school system.
Players needed to be identified and nurtured through the established school physical education (PE) programmes.
The challenge now is for PNGRFL to strategise and introduce the league concept into PE lessons.
It is workable.
I have seen it through Pacific In Union rugby union programme in our international and private schools in NCD.
All we need is the development plan and getting to have meetings with school principals or PE teachers.
We can develop and grow the game and future Kumuls.
Once again, congratulations to Michael Marum, John Wilshire, Stanley Tepend, Marcus Bai, PNGRFL, PNG Government, PNG Hunters and our sponsors (ExxonMobil, SP Brewery and all others I did not mention) for a job well done.
In the next World Cup we will see Kumuls through to the preliminary finals and who knows.

John Agovai