Top league officials talk junior league with Meninga

PNG Rugby Football League chairman Gary Jufa and his deputy chairman Bryan Kramer flew  to Brisbane to yesterday at the invitation of Mal Meninga, who is in camp with the Queensland State of Origin side on the Sunshine Coast.
The purpose of the meeting was to get into high level talks about junior rugby league in PNG.
Meninga has agreed to act as a strategic advisor to the junior rugby league in PNG and will provide direction and vision on how to best implement the A$4 million Australian aid committed by Australian prime minister Kevin Rudd. 
Jufa extended the invitation to Meninga believing it would ensure credibility and transparency to the programme. 
Jufa said  the PNGRFL wanted the best and who else better than the legend and Queensland  coach Meninga.    
Meninga has also confirmed the assistance of the Queensland State of Origin coaching staff to provide assistance to the PNG Kumuls in their preparation of the Four Nations. 
PNGRFL and Meninga will be formulating national talent identification and high performance programme. 
Players  from the local leagues will be selected to attend regional development camps were they will take part in trial matches to identify elite talent. 
From the two-day trial matches, only 25 elite players will remain and undergo intensive high performance programmes in each of the four regions. 
Those selected will be assessed individually on their strengths and weaknesses in the game. 
They will be graded and their performance entered into a computerised data base. 
Once the players return to their local leagues, they will be monitored and their progress recorded.
While in camp, the players will receive one on one specialised instruction to improve their skills, endurance and physical strength.  
The development camps will be held every year and players will be expected to improve to stay in the programme.  
It will mark a new era for PNGRFL and the development of the game in PNG. 
The new board is committed to developing a new image for rugby league in PNG,  one that is committed to extreme discipline, promoting PNG’s image internationally, taking a strong stance against the culture of violence and alcohol and substance abuse often associated with league in PNG and abroad.
Juffa said that the new board was working on a strategic plan that would ensure PNG becomes a premier rugby league nation in the region.
Juffa said the people of PNG deserved better than what the league had offered in the past and it was time to make necessary changes for a better future for league in PNG and junior development was the crucial starting point.