Copa

They’ll definitely have a better team than the Perth Bears.

Even more amazing is that $148712 of that was on match day. That was one well stocked merchandise store.

I can easily imagine nearly all members of PNG’s parliament attending the Chiefs’ first home match. Senior resource industry executives will be there, diplomats too. It’ll be the place to be.

Turns out he flew to PNG on a private jet paid for by the PNG government. It was already being used for PNG government business and they just brought him and a couple of family members along. A national government helping the club compete against the other NRL teams is going to be interesting. In other news, Alex Johnston has now signed with the chiefs.

Jarome Luai visited PNG for a discussion with the Chiefs. Even the prime minister of PNG, Mr Marape, was talking about it. He was talking about it in a way that shows he’s deeply invested. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-04-27/nrl-jarome-luai-meeting-papua-new-guinea-prime-minister/106611252 "At this stage, there is nothing formal or concrete," Mr Marape said. "Jarome remains contracted to the Wests Tigers, and we fully respect his current obligations. "We are a nation that honours due process, and we respect clubs, contracts, and the professionalism of the game." Mr Marape also thanked Tigers coach Benji Marshall for allowing Luai to make the flying visit to Port Moresby.

It’s a huge community and they’ve made a valuable contribution to Sydney’s community and sporting life. Some NRL clubs do a great job at making migrants feel welcome and give them a sense of belonging within Australian society.

Yep.

It’s also not unusual at all. Here are some objectives from the last Parramatta Junior Rugby League strategic plan: https://www.parraeels.com.au/siteassets/junior-league/strategic-plan/parramatta-junior-league-2023-2025-strategic-plan.pdf - Embrace the multiculturalism of the PJRL and encourage persons from non-traditional Rugby League culture to participate in their chose form of the game • Work with Clubs to understand their local ethnicity and ensure that the Club is offering the forms of Rugby League that they are seeking to participate in • Work with NRL and NSWRL to create promotional and communication material in multiple languages

If you attend an NRL match in some parts of Sydney you’ll see lots of people in the crowd who descend from countries with zero interest in rugby league. Even in Canberra at games I see some Indian families, Africans, East Asians and some people of middle eastern descent wearing hijabs. You see even more of it at some NRL matches in Sydney.

Sydney now has a high quality, high frequency, driverless metro. It’s fantastic. The metro is also being expanded. It doesn’t leave Sydney’s borders though. I don’t mind Sydney’s trains. A trip to Wollongong or Newcastle etc can cost around a tenth of the comparable train journey in England. Every time I visit friends and relatives in Hampshire I have a minor heart attack when I see the cost of the train to London.

Ethan Strange qualifies for NZ, Australia and England. He's also eligible for the Maori All-Stars. The same applies for his sister who plays in the NRLW.

Interesting. However, if you’re a minor sport I suspect it’s generally safer to be with the same broadcaster as the major sport.

This thread reminds me i should start planning for the WC..

Warbringer was fantastic. The venue here in Canberra is tiny and a couple of hundred were in attendance. I suspect they did it for a laugh in between gigs in Sydney and Melbourne.

Confirmation of key rules for NRLW and WSOO https://www.nrl.com/news/2026/04/22/explainer-wsoo-and-nrlw-rules-confirmed/ Interchange: The NRLW and WSOO allows up to 10 interchanges per match, compared to eight in the NRL. 35-minute halves: The NRLW features 35-minute halves as opposed to 40-minute halves. No six-agains: The six-again rule implemented in 2020 does not apply to the women’s game, with penalties only. Modified 40/20: The 40/20 and 20/40 rules have been modified for the NRLW with the 40/30 and 20/50 rules, a reduction of 10 metres.