NCD schools comp on

THE National Capital District Schools Rugby League kicked off its preseason games over the weekend with 15 schools competing in the Under-15, U17 and U19 divisions.
The schools were divided into three pools – Moresby North-West, Moresby North-East and Moresby South.
In Sunday’s boys U17 match, Gerehu Secondary School beat Ororo Primary School 16-6.
Competition official Sammy Rice Jackson told The National that there were challenges in the competition such as a lack of understanding of rugby league rules, however, he said the students were learning while competing in the competition.
“It’s a challenge for us because most of these kids are coached by teachers, their physical education teachers were assigned to coach these kids,” Jackson said.
“But some teachers don’t know rugby league that much, they are only there to coach just because they were assigned to do so by their schools. Some of them lack technical knowledge of the game that’s why some kids seem to have no awareness of the rules, but the good thing is they are learning in this competition.”
Jackson said the NCD Schools Rugby League would be a platform for PNG NRL Bid to recruit young players for their academy as well.
“The PNG NRL Bid Academy will be selecting players from this competition as well so it’s an opportunity for kids in Port Moresby to show what they can offer and hopefully some of them can make it into the NRL Bid academy.
“We had our first preseason trial a fortnight ago, this is our second trial. We will have another trial next week and the season proper will kick off after that.”