New rule on players

THE Port Moresby Ruby Football League (POMRFL) has disqualified Digicel Cup players from competing in its second-round matches following a decision made during a meeting for club delegates.
POMRFL football operations manager and administrator Meke Maino told The National yesterday that the Oct 29 meeting saw clubs agreeing to disallow Digicel Cup players from competing with the majority claiming an unfair advantage.
“We had the meeting and they unanimously agreed that it’s not fair to the POMRFL players,” he said.
“The Digicel Cup started much earlier than our competition.
“So when you look at the preparations of the Digicel Cup players, they are ahead and in peak condition which clubs think is an unfair advantage in the competition.
“A few (Digicel Cup) players took part in matches over the weekend and we’re looking into that now.
“We’re going deliberate on what action to take against the clubs they played for.
“By now, all the clubs are aware of this new policy.
“Eight clubs attended the meeting from the 13 (excluding Hanuabada Hawks this season) taking part this season so we’ve gone with what the majority has agreed on.”
Maino said while there had been a few Digicel Cup players taking part in last weekend’s matches, the league administration was still open to suggestions from clubs regarding the ban to promote fairness in their competition.
Meanwhile, POMRFL will head into its second week of matches for round two this Friday with the league now hosting matches alongside the National Capital District Schools Rugby League programme.