Amidst logistical issues being faced by franchises taking part in the Digicel Exxon Mobil Cup, PNG NRLC Board Director, Lorna Macpherson, General Manager, Leith Isaac and Competitions Manager, Paul Joseph made the announcement of the introduced Pooling System and Draws to be put in use for the remainder of the 2023 season.
Macpherson stated that they had met last week to deliberate on the issues faced in the first 3 rounds. She said the board were really determined to see the game continue successfully.
The Director mentioned that while the competition has seen much progress, those following the comp can see clearly the challenges being faced.
“It’s about being transparent about the challenges and working as a team, and that includes working with the fans, the Franchisee owners as well, sponsors and of course the board to make sure that the game continues well and be successful.”
General Manager, Leith Isaac reiterated the sentiments of Macpherson, stating that due to the competition having already undergone the first 3 rounds of the season, the board was prompted to make a few adjustments to the draws.
“We’ve decided to be more proactive in what we’ve seen so far with the competition, and we’ve seen that we are facing some challenges with our airline transportation in moving our teams around the country and decided to look at how we can improve movement of teams around our competition.”
With the changes being finalized for this weekend, all highlands-based teams, including the Snax Tigers and the Kimbe Cutters have been pooled together in one group, while the 4 Moresby based teams, the Agmark Gurias and the Sepik Pride in another.
This way, teams based in the highlands can utilize land transport to get to other centres for away games and those based in the capital can play at one central location.