Six women appointed as officials

By JACK AMI
THE Papua New Guinea Rugby Football League (PNGRFL) and PNG National Rugby League Competition (PNGNRLC) Digicel Cup has appointed six women to be touch judges for the semi-professional season.
This will be first time for women to be used as part of the officiating team for the Digicel Cup.
PNGRFL referees director Paul Wani said Port Moresby based Rose Kombukor, Eva Paul and Anita Genea, Lilly Palma and Jacinta Jack from Chimbu and Mount Hagen’s Antoinette Kuta would assist the refereeing team this season.
Kombukor refereed a women’s match at the recently completed Telikom National Nines Championship at National Football Stadium in Port Moresby.
Wani said the women officials would also be used for the Telikom National Championship.
“We are starting these women on the sidelines and the in-goal to build their confidence.”
Wani said Paul and Genea were given the opportunity to be touch judges as a learning process leading to the 2022 Digicel Cup competition.
PNGRFL chief executive officer Stanley Hondina added that the league had an obligation to create pathways to groom and develop women referees and touch judges to officiate their own matches.
Hondina said if women match officials could officiate their own matches in the National Rugby League Women’s and Queensland’s Hostplus Cup then PNG needed to also follow suit.
He said this was the long term plan that PNGRFL was looking at to support its regional, provincial and national championships and competitions. “We are encouraging women and young girls to be serious so we can deliver the pathway development programme for them to excel as qualified referees.”