Kerowagi youngster Jack eyeing big competitions

THE dream to break into the big leagues is one that 20-year-old Benny Jack hopes to realise as he continues his rugby league journey in Kerowagi, Chimbu.
From Moroma village, Kerowagi, Benny is the second eldest of Jack Mombo and Lisa Jack and hopes to follow in the footsteps of his older brother, Badi Jack, who was part of the Goroka Lahanis 2018 Digicel Cup premiership winning.
Besides drawing inspiration from an elder sibling who has won a Digicel Cup title, Benny also looks up to dad Jack, who played rugby league in Lae, Morobe, during the early 1990s.
“My father, Jack Mombo, played for the Lae Spiders during his schooling days at Balob Teachers College and he went as far as representing Northern Zone which was big deal back in those days,” he said.
Jack’s first taste of senior football came in 2019 while playing for his beloved Moroma Rats (currently Moroma Central Pride) during the Simbu Governor’s Cup tournament at the age of 17.
With little experience of the game at the provincial level, Benny became a crowd favourite for the Moroma side with the youngster bursting into the scene with an impressive performance at fullback during the tournament.
Jack recalls his early childhood watching former Australian halfback Andrew Johns who was his favourite player.
“I first came to get this feeling of playing rugby league when watching games from the NRL (National Rugby League) during the weekend and seeing someone like Andrew Johns who is one of my favourite players,” Jack said.
“My desire to play grew stronger when my elder brother Badi Jack was selected to play for the Goroka Lahanis in 2018.
“To see him play with the Lahanis and eventually win the competition is a proud feeling and something our family was very happy about.”
The 20-year old native from Moroma never looked back since watching his brother take centre stage for the Lahanis and he has since been chasing his own rugby league dreams in the Kerowagi Coffee Cup hosted by Kerowagi Member of Parliament Bari Palma.
He said the initiative of the Kerowagi Coffee Cup was important for the youths as it gave them an opportunity to take part in a sports competition and stay away from anti-social behaviour.
“Drugs, homebrew and the domestic violence have been problems for the people here but it is slowly going down.”
Jack added that the Coffee Cup was the oly league in Chimbu that completed its competition registration and protocols set by the PNG Rugby Football League (PNGRFL).
“How the competition has been maintained is for the betterment of our youths in Kerowagi and it’s good to see the Kerowagi Coffee Cup implementing development pathways.
“As a player I can clearly see the light at the end of the tunnel while playing in Kerowagi Coffee Cup.”
Jack plays for Moroma Central Pride in the Kerowagi Coffee Cup at the Kundiawa Dickson Oval.
Meanwhile, dad Mombo commended the Kerowagi officials and sponsors for the competition.
“We always want the government to create more avenues for the youths to do away with the illicit activities but this hardly happens at the provincial and district level most times,” he said.
“Apart from PNGRFL the focus is right and it all depends on the players, if we can produce quality players and rugby is another industry, and we can contribute within and abroad like the Melbourne Storm center Justin Olam.”
Mombo said the competition was not just a sporting event but also helped youths socialise and make friends.