The Digicel Cup competition was deferred by a week and now set to will kick off with round one at the different allocated venues on the 24th of April 2022. According to PNGRFL Competition Manager Ora Gairo, due to the Easter week and flights been fully booked, the organisation had a lot of preparations to handle before they kick start the competition. Digicel Cup Vice President Lorna McPherson said, Digicel PNG who is the proud sponsor of the semi-professional league competition since 2011 will remain committed to support the development of rugby league in PNG and continue to support and sponsor the local sports talents and our national sport through PNGNRL. “She said, as major sponsors of the Digicel Cup, we recognize the importance of the sport because it promotes discipline; it builds character and good sportsmanship on and off the field.” She added that, not only is it the Digicel Cup but more importantly, it’s the World Cup year for Rugby League and it is an exciting year for all of us. Competition Manager Mr. Gairo emphasized to all 12 participating teams that players must be fully vaccinated or at least get their 2nd dose before entering the fields. Mr Gairo said, they have been advocating for all players to get vaccinated on behalf of National Department of Health where all players must submit their green cards proving that they been vaccinated with the 2nd dose. He said with the National General Elections coming-up as well, this will be a major risk for the Digicel Cup competition. Mr Gairo stated that, they will be working around those risks and all players will be given a 2 week break prior to the National General Elections polling days to vote. “Games leading up to round 10 and after that will be assessed by the franchises relating to any form of violence, and decisions will be made to change venues for the games, he said.” PNGRFL CEO Mr Stanley Hondina thanked Digicel PNG for the continuous support towards the game because it’s the bridge for rugby league grassroots games to make it into Digicel Cup competition and eventually make it into the professional space of Hunters and Kumuls.