Papua New Guinea’s bid to join the National Rugby League will take another step forward with the best young players in the country on display later this month. The tournament, which will take place over the weekend of 20/21 July in Goroka, will see the eyes of the PNG Rugby League world focused on some outstanding emerging talent exhibiting their skills on the field. The tournament will also showcase the important work being done by the NRL Bid Academy. The Academy, supported through the PNGAus partnership, and led by the highly experienced coach, Joe Grima, has placed a focus on equipping the best U15/17/19 boys and U18 girls with the skills to succeed on and off the field. The 16-week program, the first of its kind in PNG, is uncovering talent throughout the country that can compete against the best young players in Australia and New Zealand. This will be an important building block to becoming an NRL club. PNG NRL Bid Chief Executive, Andrew Hill, understood the importance of this tournament. “We are creating a solid structure for the game in this country and one that will put us in the best possible situation to succeed,” said Hill. “The development of the Academy under Joe Grima and a great group of coaches, has been incredibly important.” “This tournament is the next step towards preparing our young talent for the future. It will see the best players compete over two days and showcase the fact that in the coming years we have the depth and skill level required to compete against the best young talent from the NRL.” “I look forward to what will be a great event for the game here in PNG.”