Papua New Guinea's journey toward joining the National Rugby League in 2028 has moved forward with the launch of an enhanced youth competition. This new tournament will bring together the country's top young players to compete in a high-stakes, 7-week challenge. The new competition, a collaboration between the Papua New Guinea RFL and the PNG NRL Bid, will build on the success of last year's inaugural weekend of matches in Goroka, which was attended by Prime Minister James Marape. This upgraded version promises to be even more exciting and competitive. The idea behind last year’s competition was to bring the best school players from throughout the country together for a series of matches that would provide the intense competition that can be expected on a week-to-week basis in the NRL. This year’s exciting new seven-week competition builds on the work of Joe Grima and his coaching staff at NRL Bid Academy level and will see the best under 19 players in the country representing their pathway clubs in the Digicel ExxonMobil Cup.   This important initiative will allow the players to get a taste of what it will be like to prepare for the demands of an NRL season with factors such as travel, playing away from home, sleep, diet and welfare all becoming an important part of your daily experience. PNGRL CEO, Stanley Hondina, acknowledged how important this new competition would be for the game in this country: “Building on the success of last year’s competition in Goroka, we believed that it was vital for us to begin preparing our best youth players for the rigours of the NRL by creating an intense weekly competition where they would be required to reach the levels of professionalism that they will need in the future.” “The competition will provide tough matches each week where the best will play against the best and that will be a great learning curve for our young players and will also allow our coaches to support them in a high-pressure environment.” “We have an incredible depth of young talent in this country and this competition will provide a great way for our players to develop the right professional habits that will sustain them throughout their careers.” PNG NRL Bid CEO, Andrew Hill, also highlighted the importance of the new competition. “Part of creating a world-leading pathways system is to challenge the players at all levels and to ingrain good habits from an early age.” “We have made some important strides already with the great work being done by Joe Grima and his staff at Academy level and this new competition will allow those players to experience tough, weekly football against the best players at their age level.” “Producing consistent performances on the field is one thing, but just as important is how you look after yourself off the field and develop the professional habits around diet, recovery, and wellbeing that will allow you to continue to perform at your best.” “We believe that this new competition will be a great early taste of what is to come once we join the NRL in 2028 and will be incredibly important to the development of our best young players.” “The competition also highlights the strong partnership that exists between the Australian and Papua New Guinea Governments as we continue to prepare for entry into the National Rugby League in 2028.” NRL Bid Chairman and Managing Director of Kumul Petroleum, Wapu Sonk, offered full support for this new initiative: “Kumul Petroleum are proud to sponsor this exciting new competition, and we believe that it will be of tremendous benefit to the young players taking part.” “We have always been great supporters of the game at all levels, and to be able to support a brand-new 7-week competition that will provide a superb showcase for our best young talent is extremely gratifying.” “This is another important step for the game at junior level and will provide a great platform for years to come.”