2021 Domestic season kick off

GREETINGS to our rugby league family and welcome to our 14th edition of “Fulltime Reserve” column for this year, in our favourite rugby league newspaper, The National.

We are all excited that our domestic rugby league season kicks off this weekend with the first round of the PNG National Rugby League Competition, the Digicel Cup, scheduled for kick-off in Lae and Port Moresby after forced delays to the start of the domestic rugby league season due to the Covid-19 pandemic. This week also heralds the commencement of all our member association competitions that have been given clearance by PNGRFL to kick-off their seasons in adherence to the ‘Banis Protocol’ guidelines. Unlike our developed-nation neighbours like Australia and New Zealand, who have successfully brought the pandemic under control and have the public health infrastructure and monitoring systems to safeguard their people, PNG is grossly under-equipped to effectively manage the pandemic. This has meant that the rugby league community has to adapt extraordinary measures to mitigate the public health risks of delivering its programmes. While the risks for our member associations have been manageable within the guidelines of the Banis protocols, the challenge has been greatly amplified for the Digicel Cup competition which has 12 franchises based in eight provinces that require weekly travel and movement of teams across the country. As such, the task of re-starting the Digicel Cup has required unprecedented measures requiring the commitment and resolve of everyone involved to see domestic rugby league return. We acknowledge the partnership of the National Pandemic Controller and his team and the PNG Sports Foundation’s Pandemic Control Unit who have assisted the PNGRFL and the PNGNRLC to ensure that our competitions and programmes can restart in a Covid-safe environment. We highlight the extraordinary commitment and support that all the Digicel Cup franchises, especially the players and their respective management teams, have provided to the PNG NRLC and the PNGRFL to ensure compliance with the Covid-safe requirements; without which the season would not have started. As such, learning from the experiences of last year’s (2020) season calendar, the PNGNRLC has revised the 2021 Digicel Cup season from the planned 22-week season to a 16-week season, including the four weeks of finals to deliver another great competition. Importantly, in recognising the challenges faced by franchises, the PNGNRLC decided to re-imburse 50 per cent of this year’s participation costs to help with the franchises’ operational costs for the season. The PNGRFL also acknowledges the cooperation of our member associations, who have worked hard to implement the Banis protocols to ensure safety of participants and uphold our sport as an example of how we can all work together to resume activities in our communities in a Covid-safe environment. We wish everyone a safe and enjoyable season and we look forward to working with you all to ensure our planned domestic and international programmes for the year are effectively delivered. nUntil next week, may the grace, love and care of our Good Lord be with you.

Cheers,
Sandis