As part of its ongoing efforts to foster the growth of young athletes, the Papua New Guinea Rugby Football League (PNGRFL) is hosting its first Kumuls Blo Tumoro camp this week in Port Moresby. The camp includes twenty-four (24) players predominantly drawn from the 2024 Junior Kumuls and the National School Boys team. Under the guidance and leadership of Joe Grima who was Head Coach of the 2023 -2024 Junior Kumuls and current Coaching and Pathways Manager for the PNG NRL Bid, the three-day camp will include educational sessions from former players, subject matter experts as well as on-field training, testing and strength sessions. Chief Executive Officer, PNGRFL Stanley Hondina speaking on the importance of the camp: “The PNGRFL continues to focus and invest in these opportunities for our young players." "This being the first of its kind to be held, it is a wonderful chance to come together and to develop as rugby league players." "More importantly we want to see our players become better young men through their involvement with the sport." "We continue to strengthen our partnerships with PacificAus Sport and the Australian Defence Force in delivering camps like this." “It is only through continuous development with camps like this that these young players will be able to achieve their dreams." "Just as important, a similar program will be rolled out for our female players over the next month,” said Hondina. Bradley Orosambo, 2024 National School boys and Junior Kumuls halfback who is part of the PNGRFL Elite Youth Program spent four weeks training with the SP PNG Hunters pre-Christmas. Following that, he has returned to training with the Lae Snax Tigers. Bradley will be part of the camp over the weekend. Orosambo said, “I feel very excited and happy, and my family is also happy and proud that I got selected for the camp." "It is a great opportunity for me to make progress in my rugby league career." "This makes us focus on our skills, talents and our bond with each other as a team with little distraction from the outside. This is a steppingstone to help us reach our goals of eventually becoming a Kumul and part of our very own NRL team.” "The Kumuls Blo Tumoro camp is a groundbreaking opportunity to work with the best junior and local rugby league talent across Papua New Guinea," Grima said when describing the advantages of the camp. It demonstrates the serious direction rugby league is taking in PNG and acts as an investment in the players who would be considered for the nation's 2028 admission into the NRL. He added “This is the first time a camp of this nature has been held in PNG, reinforcing the nation's commitment to structured player development." "Combined with a strengthening school competition, national school aged championship, the Santos Cup and Digicel ExxonMobil Cup and the Hunters, the pathways from grassroots to elite level are being developed to match these NRL Clubs.” “By the end of the three-day camp, we will have a clear understanding of where these players stand and the areas that need improvement, ensuring we continue to drive development at the highest level.” “The success of the PNGRFL Elite Youth Program is illustrated with the selection of the last two Junior Kumuls Captains’, Finley Glare and Gairo Voro, as part of the original starting line-up for the SP PNG Hunters opening round match which has now been postponed due to the pending cyclone in Queensland."