Tali reaches game 100 for Dons

By PATRICIA KEAMO
FORMER Papua New Guinea Kumul and Doncaster centre Jason Tali reached a milestone achievement on Sunday when he scored a try in his 100th game with the English tier-two rugby league club. Tali has been playing with Doncaster in the English Betfred League One since 2016 and brought up his century of appearances with a four-pointer which helped the Dons beat London Skolars 46-12 at Keepmoat Stadium, Doncaster, South Yorkshire. The 33-year-old, from Mt Hagen, Western Highlands, told The National that he dedicated the match to his late father Joe Tali, who passed on in 2014 before he left for the United Kingdom (UK).  “I lost my father at the end of 2014 before I came here,” Tali said.

“I know he’s a proud man watching down on me, so I dedicated my game to him.” The Western Highlands native started his rugby league career in the Mt Hagen league in the juniors (Under-17s) before being selected for the Junior Kumuls through the Highlands zone side. “In 2005, I was selected for the Junior Kumuls for a tour in Australia,” Tali said. The following year, the former Kumuls centre made his debut in the semi-professional league, the Digicel Cup, with Mt Hagen Eagles and played three seasons for the franchise before joining Enga Mioks. “From 2009 to 2010, I was with the Mioks before returning to the Eagles in 2011,” he said.

Representative duties came for the hard-running three-quarter. “In 2012, I made my debut in the Prime Minister’s 13,” Tali said. “Then in the following year (2013), I was part of the Papua New Guinea Kumuls squad for the Rugby League World Cup in the UK.” Following his representative duties, Tali returned to the Digicel Cup in 2014 and played with the Lae Biscuit Company-sponsored Tigers. “Halfway through the season with the Tigers, I was called up to join the SP Hunters (in the Queensland Intrust Super Cup) under (then) head coach Michael Marum,” the Doncaster centre said. Following the ISC season conclusion, Tali was recruited by third-tier English rugby league club Newcastle Thunders coached by Kumuls legend Stanley Gene, who had also had a stint as national coach in 2010. After a successful season in 2015 in the English Betfred League One, Tali’s performances caught the attention of Doncaster and he was recruited to play for them. “Since 2016, I have been with Doncaster and this is the final year of my three-year contract I signed in 2018,” he said. When asked about his 100th game, Tali said it was a huge achievement in his rugby league career and he was proud of how far he had come. “It has been a hard and challenging journey for me and to make it this far, it’s so special,” the Hagen native said. “(Moving to UK) was really hard and challenging to adjust to the culture and the weather, especially when I first arrived here.  “But at the back of my mind, I believed in myself and kept going forward. I’ve learnt a lot of new things about rugby league in my time here with Doncaster.  “The knowledge and skills about rugby league here is top class, so I’m making the most of it. “I’m going to remain with the club until I finish my contract and hopefully I can get another year or two.”