Kumuls captain breaks silence

PAPUA New Guinea Kumuls captain Paul Aiton has broken his silence over the stalemate at the PNGRFL.
He appealed to all factions to work towards a prompt end to the prolonged impasse.
Speaking from England, Aiton said “It has disappointed me to see that the PNGRFL have spent most of their time focusing on the court rooms and not the playing fields. It appears they forever have to fight bureaucratic battles.”
He added: “We need the PNGRFL to be a strong and effective governing body so we can be effective on the field. 
“We need to stop having all these courtroom battles and allow them to get on with the job of running the league.
“National pride is at stake especially with little time to prepare for the World Cup in England next year”.
The Kumuls captain said: “The continued stand-off is detrimental to our preparations and threatens to dampen our enthusiasm.
“The 2010 Four Nations tournament was a good example of administrative infighting getting the better of the players.”
He appealed to all those with influence to bring an end to the ongoing stalemate.
“It is encouraging to learn that the new government has taken an interest in seeing an end to this saga.
“Rugby league in PNG needs leadership and a pathway. 
“The PNGRFL needs to focus on setting a strong administration foundation for our game. It must have good governance and transparent financials.
“We need confidence in PNGRFL.  I am sure if they achieve this we will be able to get results on the park – let’s work as a team.  It’s time we ended the saga promptly”.
The rugby league World Cup will be held in November 2013.
The Kumuls have been drawn with current world champions New Zealand, France and Pacific neighbours Samoa. The Kumuls have five players currently based in England: Aiton, Ryan Tongia (Wakefield Trinity Wildcats), Menzie Yere (Sheffield Eagles), Jason Chan (Huddersfield Giants) and Jessie Joe Parker (Whitehaven).