Message from NRL is loud and clear

THE headline on the back page of The National on March 11 read: “No thanks … Meninga declines PNGNRL Bid ambassador role”.
On March 15, The National reported the NRL as having no plans to expand the competition.
We gained Independence after almost four decades ago, yet our politicians, game administrators and the Government cannot get the most basic thing right.
How embarrassing.
The message from Australia is simple.
The NRL and Mal Meninga are telling our Government and game administrators  we need to fix and clean our backyard first.
That was as blunt as they could get.
Frankly, how much has our Government done for sports?
It has nothing to show.
The Government cannot even maintain the sports complex the Chinese built for us.
Look at all the rugby league fields and facilities throughout the country.
They are all well below par, unfit to host matches.
The Lloyd Robson Oval has outlived its capacity 20 years ago but nothing has been done to get it up to international standard.
We do not even have a stadium in PNG that can hold up to 50,000 spectators despite the commodities boom in recent years.
As such, the message from the NRL is crystal clear: We must fix our own backyard first before we can think about entering a team.

Sprox Walker
Port Moresby