Members of Papua New Guinea mainstream media organizations were introduced to the new PNG Chiefs, General Manager (GM) – Media & Communications, Mr. Dan Talintyre, in a small meet and greet event in Port Moresby yesterday.
Mr. Talintyre comes from a background where he has years of extensive knowledge in the NRL media fraternity where he worked as the Media person for West Tigers for ten years. He also worked at the NRL office for under three years and had real experience working across different roles in rugby league.
As a new member of the PNG Chiefs setup, Talintyre says, the opportunity to help build the team from the ground up is an exciting and rare opportunity.
Speaking about his appointment, he said his experience across various roles in rugby league, including nearly three years at the NRL head office, has given him valuable experience and connections within the game.
He said he has previously worked with Michael Chammas (Chiefs General Manager), Lorna McPherson (Chiefs CEO) and Willie Peters (Head Coach), including working with Willie when he was an under-20s coach at the Wests Tigers.
The opportunity to be part of the PNG Chiefs is particularly significant because it provides a chance to build on the long-standing rugby league aspirations of people across Papua New Guinea.
He said the dream of having a PNG team competing at the highest level of rugby league has been held by people in villages and communities across the country for decades.
With the PNG Chiefs project now taking shape, he said the team is getting closer to turning that long-held dream into reality and creating something that can be built from the ground up.
The PNG Chiefs are expected to play a major role in further strengthening Papua New Guinea’s presence and future in elite rugby league.
Talintyre said, the PNG Chiefs’ communications team has outlined a proactive media and communications strategy aimed at building a strong identity for the club while ensuring Papua New Guinea’s new rugby league team is well represented to local and international audiences.
The communications role will focus on three key areas: communications, media relations, and reputation management.
Overall, the strategy is to establish an accessible, professional and proactive media operation that can tell the PNG Chiefs story, manage the club’s reputation and help build a strong and sustainable brand that Papua New Guineans can identify with and be proud of.
The PNG Chiefs’ media strategy is centered on transparency, professionalism, community, collaboration, and long-term sustainability.
The club wants media coverage to go beyond simply reporting match results. It sees the media as an important partner in telling the broader Chiefs story—including the people, communities, players, development, social impact, culture and long-term vision behind the team.
Most importantly, the Chiefs want their communications to reflect their ambition to become a team that genuinely belongs to and represents Papua New Guinea.
