Kerema man doing part for AFL

HE is only man with limited resources but has a passion to develop Aussie Rules in his home town Kerema.
AFL PNG development officer, Peter Milaura, pictured, was one of few Kerema-based players who has lived his dream in playing Aussie Rules and representing Papua New Guinea in state championships and International Cups in Australia.
Since 2013, the soft-spoken Milaura, has been running school clinics in Kerema and was looking forward to increasing participation this year by running a mini school competition.
Milaura said:
“I first started running clinics in Kerema in June last year but although there is high interest, it has been a great challenge to push AFL footy to greater heights in my area.
“I will return home next week and start running more clinics, smaller to what Port Moresby is doing, but in more schools as compared to last year.
“I am targeting a figure of 2,500 in the three town schools in Kerema and other schools scattered outside town.”
While the opportunity to start a competition is present, Milaura said the challenges continually faced include the availability of an oval and resources such as jumpers and footballs.
“From the mini clinics I will be running, I hope to start either a 9s or 15 a side competition to get the code running both for the juniors and seniors. That will depend on attendance and how much awareness I can carry out on the ground.”
Although the clinics just started in 2013 in Kerema, Milaura managed to scout a few village boys who travelled to Port Moresby to play for the Kwila Gulf Giants – a new club from Kaugere, taking part in the Port Moresby AFL senior competition, in the Under-18 division.
Kerema was a good breeding ground for rising footy talents and Milaura is a role model himself in the code, having been one of the first boys from the area to come through the talent pathway in 2005.
In that year, AFL PNG ran clinics in Kerema where Milaura was picked up.
He was in grade nine at the Kerema Coronation High School back then and was selected to participate in a talent camp that further saw his selection into the U18 Cairns Lions in a territorial trial, in Cairns, Australia, where he made it into the Queensland Kookaburras’ U18 state championship, in Brisbane.
With his knowledge and experience for the game, Milaura hopes to take AFL to the next level.