Chairman highlights shift of focus

By ROBINSON LEKA
THE Papua New Guinea Rugby Football League (PNGRFL) says it wants to shift focus from the game’s elite programmes to the local associations starting with New Ireland.
PNGRFL chairman Sandis Tsaka, during the launch of the newly established provincial rugby league board in Kavieng, said attention would be given to local leagues and how they would develop players into elite programmes like the SP Hunters, Kumuls and the Digicel Cup.
“We’ve been so focused on marquee national programmes and we feel that we’ve lost focus where our priorities should be, where the grassroots game is,” he said.
“Over the last few years while we’ve focused on the Kumuls and Hunters at the national level and trying again to manage the small associations has posed a major challenge.
“There’s still been that disconnect between the local game and the top level so during our AGM last year we pledged to look at restructuring the game.
“In essence, what we wanted was a decentralised model where we transferred powers from the big body (PNGRFL) to the levels of administration throughout the country so that the game could be better managed.”
Meanwhile, PNGRFL acting chief executive Stanley Hondina said restructure was a first to emphasise on self-governance and administration among provinces.