PNGNRLC focused on improving refereeing

THE Papua New Guinea National Rugby League Competition (PNGNRLC) is focused on improving the standard of refereeing in the Digicel Cup every year, according to an official.
PNGNRLC chairman Adrian Chow said yesterday that referees were slowly progress despite making errors in the country’s premier rugby league competition.
“They are not perfect but I can say they are always trying their best and they continue to get better,” he said.
“We are always working closely on how best we can develop them.
“We continue to run clinics and programmes every year for them to learn.
“Last year, we introduced video refereeing for Port Moresby games and it seems to be working well.
“I know there was human error in some video refereeing decision some this year.
“But that’s expected. When you try something new, there’s always trial and error, and then you improve from there.
“So far so good. We’ve received criticism but we’ve also had good feedback from fans, so we will continue to try our best.”
Chow said the referees would need facilitators from Australia’s National Rugby League (NRL) to give them more training in the future.
He thanked fans for giving positive feedback to the referees.
Meanwhile, PNG Rugby Football League chief executive Stanley Hondina said he was happy for two Digicel Cup referees Hanua Rupa and Paul Wani to be recognised by the International Rugby League.
He said Wani and Rupa could have been match officials at Rugby League World Cup this year had it not been for the postponement due to the Coronavirus pandemic.