RL rules the South Pacific! PNG has 8 million more fans

[Exiled Wiganer]

I was reading an article today about PNG. They have realised that it has about double the number of people in it than previous figures had suggested. About 17,000,000.

From a league perspective, I have long argued that our sport is the biggest game in the South Pacific in terms of population reach, and this brought it home to me just how big the league loving world is over there. They are making slow but sure progress as a nation, but every year is better than the last. I have no doubt that they will, within a decade be a league superpower in teh men’s game, and, in time, the women’s game. While we are already seeing the former, the positive influence of the Orchids on PNG society cannot be over stated.

They have a wonderful style of play, and a deep passion for the greatest game. 

The Big Game just got Bigger!

[gingerjon]

24 minutes ago, Exiled Wiganer said:

I was reading an article today about PNG. They have realised that it has about double the number of people in it than previous figures had suggested. About 17,000,000.

Nah. We've heard this before. It's the same software that did the RLWC tickets so everything is now double counted.

[Eddie]

So they thought there were 8m people in PNG in 2011 but now they think there are 17m in 2022. Sounds like codswallop to me, how could the previous estimate have been so woeful? 

[Exiled Wiganer]

It’s a UN report. 

[Henson Park Old Firm]

5 minutes ago, Exiled Wiganer said:

It’s a UN report. 

UN please.... they couldn't organise beans on toast, let alone release a proper report.

[NW10LDN]

1 hour ago, Exiled Wiganer said:

I was reading an article today about PNG. They have realised that it has about double the number of people in it than previous figures had suggested. About 17,000,000.

From a league perspective, I have long argued that our sport is the biggest game in the South Pacific in terms of population reach, and this brought it home to me just how big the league loving world is over there. They are making slow but sure progress as a nation, but every year is better than the last. I have no doubt that they will, within a decade be a league superpower in teh men’s game, and, in time, the women’s game. While we are already seeing the former, the positive influence of the Orchids on PNG society cannot be over stated.

They have a wonderful style of play, and a deep passion for the greatest game. 

The Big Game just got Bigger!

Nobody knows what the exact population is. Least of all the UN who barely have a presence on the ground in the rural areas. 

[Tosh]

Although it’s sounds almost unbelievable to people living in the “west” that a country doesn’t know it’s exact population but PNG is a unique case in that only a small percentage of its known population live in what we would call urbanized communities.

[Exiled Wiganer]

I am surprised at the certainty with which some are discounting this. The Prime Minister of PNG has himself made the point that whether the population is 10,000,000, 13,000,000 or 17,000,000 they need more support. Now, that suggests to me that the figure may be far higher than the 9,000,000 usually quoted. I make this point to draw out the huge market for our game. PNG so often seems to be an afterthought, or faintly patronised, but this is a country with many millions of current and future players. 

I would go further and suggest that league could play its part in what we hope will be the development of this country over the years and decades to come. 

[Tosh]

27 minutes ago, Exiled Wiganer said:

I am surprised at the certainty with which some are discounting this. The Prime Minister of PNG has himself made the point that whether the population is 10,000,000, 13,000,000 or 17,000,000 they need more support. Now, that suggests to me that the figure may be far higher than the 9,000,000 usually quoted. I make this point to draw out the huge market for our game. PNG so often seems to be an afterthought, or faintly patronised, but this is a country with many millions of current and future players. 

I would go further and suggest that league could play its part in what we hope will be the development of this country over the years and decades to come. 

I’ve said it before and I’ll keep saying it until I’m blue in the face that there is an unlimited amount of unearthed NRL/super league standard players in PNG due to its population and RL being almost like a religion in that country  and the only thing keeping this from happening is investment and structures on the ground at grassroots level from schools to local leagues.

Just imagine if every NRL club partnered up with a digicel cup team and how far for example $250k would go every year.

The key is developing young kumuls early from around the ages of 14-16 years of age and exposing them to a professional environment in terms of a healthy diet, training&conditioning and coaching and by the time they’re around 18-20 years old they had around 4-5 years of top level training and coaching like their counterparts in NSW and Queensland.

Edited December 6, 2022 by Tosh

[Mr Frisky]

2 hours ago, Eddie said:

So they thought there were 8m people in PNG in 2011 but now they think there are 17m in 2022. Sounds like codswallop to me, how could the previous estimate have been so woeful? 

To be fair the UKs official current population is about 67,000,000. 25 years ago the forcase for 2020 was it would beae about 62,000,000 but increased immigration had changed that and most belive the current population of the UK is around 72,000,000. With around 5 million not here officially- if we don't know what the population of the UK is what chance have PNG got...... to be fair, we couldnt even count 22,000 at Wigan ground in the WC.

[Eddie]

19 minutes ago, Mr Frisky said:

To be fair the UKs official current population is about 67,000,000. 25 years ago the forcase for 2020 was it would beae about 62,000,000 but increased immigration had changed that and most belive the current population of the UK is around 72,000,000. With around 5 million not here officially- if we don't know what the population of the UK is what chance have PNG got...... to be fair, we couldnt even count 22,000 at Wigan ground in the WC.

Point taken, but I don’t think we’re 100% out though. 

[Pulga]

@ 4:20 of this video it talks about counting Afghanistan's population. Seems that sometimes it's VERY rubbery.

 

https://youtu.be/WF3Rkt42wPY

 

 

 

[Man of Kent]

12 hours ago, NW10LDN said:

Nobody knows what the exact population is. Least of all the UN who barely have a presence on the ground in the rural areas. 

True but this seems a pukka study, funded by the Australian government.

They used satellite images as part of the research. Most of the ‘new’ people live in the highlands. 

[Copa]

If that’s the case the PNG Hunters probably has more fans than quite a few English Premier League clubs.

[Dunbar]

I'm beginning to think that baby they said was the 8th Billion person on the planet was a bit of a guess.

[Sports Prophet]

3 hours ago, Man of Kent said:

True but this seems a pukka study, funded by the Australian government.

They used satellite images as part of the research. Most of the ‘new’ people live in the highlands. 

17m does seem like a very large figure for such a small sized country. Thinking relatively against other high density countries, these have hugely developed, high density apartments blocks upon blocks or in the case of third world populations, slum style metropolises.

I fail to comprehend how such minimally serviced village locations can accomodate such a large increase in population numbers.

Dubious of the figures, but I’m not gonna argue with organisations or individuals that want to adopt them.

[Man of Kent]

43 minutes ago, Sports Prophet said:

17m does seem like a very large figure for such a small sized country. Thinking relatively against other high density countries, these have hugely developed, high density apartments blocks upon blocks or in the case of third world populations, slum style metropolises.

I fail to comprehend how such minimally serviced village locations can accomodate such a large increase in population numbers.

Dubious of the figures, but I’m not gonna argue with organisations or individuals that want to adopt them.

PNG is x3.5 the size of England.

[Harry Stottle]

3 hours ago, Copa said:

If that’s the case the PNG Hunters probably has more fans than quite a few English Premier League clubs.

Fans maybe but they don't actually do anything, it's the supporters who count, there is a big difference attached to the terminology. 

[Exiled Wiganer]

34 minutes ago, Man of Kent said:

PNG is x3.5 the size of England.

He doesn’t like it because he hates the idea of league being number 1 in the region.

Edited December 7, 2022 by Exiled Wiganer

[Eddie]

4 hours ago, Copa said:

If that’s the case the PNG Hunters probably has more fans than quite a few English Premier League clubs.

If these 8m people weren’t even known to the PNG government until at some point over the last 10 years I doubt they’ll be Hunters fans. 

[Sports Prophet]

1 hour ago, Man of Kent said:

PNG is x3.5 the size of England.

And about 3.5% developed to England.

[JM2010]

1 hour ago, Sports Prophet said:

And about 3.5% developed to England.

What's your point?

[dkw]

1 hour ago, Sports Prophet said:

And about 3.5% developed to England.

[Pulga]

2 hours ago, Eddie said:

If these 8m people weren’t even known to the PNG government until at some point over the last 10 years I doubt they’ll be Hunters fans. 

This is not some uncontacted tribe. These people have always been there, it's just that the statisticians grossly underestimated how many.

 

[Just Browny]

If the PNG population is twice the size we thought, does this mean we will get a load of Featherstone fans pointing out that crowds as a % of population are much lower than we thought and therefore RL has failed there?