Supporting State of Origin games in PNG

Letters

DO rugby supporters in PNG realise that by supporting the State of Origin game played in Australia, they are adoring Pacific islanders and not pure Australians?
NRL games these days are no longer worth quarrelling over since all teams are now over saturated with Pacific Islanders, Aboriginals and cross national players and with modern rules and an overhead television to reject tries and rule obstructions, the true meaning of rugby league has been greatly downgraded, so if people want to support, please support teams where our own national and international players are playing.
Either way, with the State of Origin, people must by now realise they are not supporting PNG players like when Adrian Lam captained the Queensland Maroons and won a series many years ago.
When supporting to the extreme, only those who have lived, worked or studied and tried playing rugby league at Australian universities and feeder clubs would understand why people in PNG should support an Australian team game only in the mind and avoid the laughable actions.
There is absolutely no need for couples to quarrel over a State of Origin result.
There is no need for brothers, siblings and tribes to disagree or fight and destroy homes, properties and lives over a non-issue.
After all, it’s a game played in a foreign land and no player in either of the two clubs gives a hoot who you are in PNG killing each other over a game that is played increasingly by Pacific islanders and not PNG nationals!
For some of us, regardless of our tireless efforts to attend training each week to represent our Universities and clubs, we Papua New Guineans are never included in the final teams playing each week as Samoans, Tongans and Fijians are favoured over and above PNG nationals for reasons only known to Australian managers and team officials, and to support the State of Origin to the extreme is adoring Pacific Islanders and branding us PNG nationals ‘substandard’.
As a rugby player, official and supporter, I kindly encourage PNG supporters to please support Australian games as a leisure hobby rather than an opportunity to perform kamikaze.

Gerard Saleu

One thought on “Supporting State of Origin games in PNG

Comments are closed.