Venue woes still plague city AFL

 By ROBSON AKIS
WHILE other oval ball codes in Port Moresby are well into their competitions, AFL is still struggling to find a venue to run its matches.
There has been no indication when the competition would start but sources within the AFL fraternity said securing a main competition venue was the major problem.
The venue issue has been an ongoing challenge for Port Moresby AFL since 2010.
With Cricket PNG gaining control of the Colts Oval, in addition to Amini Park — two venues that were used in the past as AFL and cricket venues — AFL as a sport has had to bide its time and push to have games run on either venue in line with cricket’s programmes.
The source, who did not want to be named, admitted that no clear dialogue and common understanding had been reached between the two codes (cricket, AFL) for the use of the Colts and Amini fields.
“In the past, we had a common understanding on the alternate use of the two ovals, where the AFL used the venues during the normal season (March to August) while cricket used them during the off-season (September to February), like softball,” the source said.
“It wasn’t until 2010 that cricket became an all-year-round sport and in the process denying AFL the right (as a trustee of the venues) the use of the two ovals.” Although the PNG Sports Trust Limited had allocated AFL the refurbished old Bisini softball field, it is nowhere near the standard (in dimensions) to run a senior competition.
“Until an appropriate venue is found, the capital AFL may not run its competition this year.” Attempts to get comments from the PNG cricket board and the AFL PNG supervisory board were unsuccessful.