Senior players to assist in resettlement
SENIOR players picked for the SP PNG Hunters train-on squad will be given the responsibility of helping new players transition into living and playing in Australia for an entire season, says coach Matthew Church.
Church said during the announcement of the squad that it would be a new experience for a handful of players, however, he was confident that the support from seasoned Hunters campaigners would help in the team’s resettlement in Southeast Queensland.
“So the guys who’ve actually spent some time overseas like Ase Boas, Wartovo Puara Jr and Rhadley Brawa and who’ve lived in Australia are going to be a huge benefit for that transition of our younger guys,” he said.
“Some of the new faces (in the squad), I’ve only seen them on TV and I haven’t actually spoken to them.
“There’s a possibility that they might not want to go to Australia and we might think that it’s not in their best welfare to send them to Australia, we don’t want to isolate them.
“I’ve got to get to know them (players) and understand them so that there’s no point relocating someone three hours away (from PNG) and there’s a fair effort to get home through isolation (quarantine).
“We have to take a welfare look to make sure that we’re looking after them, the seniors wills be strong on that and I’ll be pushing that when we come into camp.”
Church added that he would also be pulling support from the PNG players in Australia to mentor and help his side during the transition of the club for next season.
4 comments
Attitude and that transition into a new lifestyle has always been tough on us, even more so for someone straight from the village, but i am sure the new boys will take a leaf out of Justin Olams book. If he can thrive in a new environment and adapt to a new culture and lifestyle, I’m sure our homegrown boys can do the same. They just need the right mentorship and direction.
Olam was okay due to the fact that he was well educated before he left for Australia. All players must go through a few weeks teaching on lifestyle, majoring on attitude. And a complete ban on alcohol during their stay.
There’s really nothing different about travelling to another country. All you have to do is adapt, that’s all, and familiarize yourself with their, culture, food, weather, language, which is the biggest challenge, and never break any rules.
Just respect the laws of another country and you should be fine. I’m sure the PNG Hunters will be OK.
The problem with us png is attitude….we are really good in doing things, hard working and if only we change our attitudes…we’ll be competitive…I prefer not to consume alcohol because beer is cheap in Australia. Those who can drink and still be sensible will probably be ok,not the wild ones that used to go waver after 6packs…..Anyway it will be a good lesson and experience for those individuals…So much good things to learn when you travel abroad.
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