Oil Search lauds Orchids, Kumuls for historic wins

Posted on The National

OIL Search congratulated the Papua New Guinea Orchids and Kumuls for their respective historic wins against the England and Great Britain Lions over the weekend.
“We are proud to have been the sponsor of the Orchids since the team began, and proudly continue our support for the national women’s team,” said Oil Search PNG country chairman Gerea Aopi.
“At Oil Search, we are committed to empowering women throughout PNG. We are honoured to support the team and are delighted about their victory.”
He also thanked the coaching staff, PNG Rugby Football League (PNGRFL) and other sponsors for supporting the Orchids leading up to the win.
Oil Search have been the inaugural sponsor of rugby league since the launch of the national women’s team in August 2017, just months before the Women’s Rugby League World cup in Sydney, Australia.
During the 2017 launch, managing director Peter Botten pointed out Oil Search’s strong advocacy for ending violence against women in PNG.
Oil Search and the Oil Search Foundation strive to use rugby league as a catalyst to drive positive change for women across the country.
“PNG is a proud rugby league-playing nation. As a proud PNG company, we are delighted to be a part of promoting PNG and the amazing talent it produces,” Botten said.
Aopi said: “Our faith and commitment to the Orchids is there and we are proud of their performance, and for scoring their first ever win in just over two years — a great victory.”
Whilst the women’s game has been played in various capacities since the early 1970s, it was never properly organised nor recognised as a formal competition until February 2014 when the PNGRFL board formally ratified it to recognise, incorporate and sanction the women’s rugby league programme into the national rugby league structure.
Oil Search has a three-year sponsorship with the PNGRFL for the Orchids.
History — The Oil Search PNG Orchids

• Oil Search PNG Orchids launched in August 2017;
• played first test match against Australia in September 2017 in Port Moresby. Lost 42-14;
• won their warm-up match ahead of RLWC2017 30-6 against Far North Queensland All Stars in Innisfail, near Cairns;
• played in RLWC2017 in Sydney in November 2017. Lost to England (36-8), Canada (22-8) and New Zealand (38-0);
  2018
• last year, didn’t play any test matches but played an international against the Australian Prime Minister’s 13 and a trial match against Brisbane Broncos. Lost both
• this year, played in the mid-season Pacific Test against Fiji Bulikula for the first time. Lost 28-0 against a Fiji team comprising mostly Australia and New Zealand-based players;
• won silver at the inaugural women’s rugby league 9s tournament at the Pacific Games in Samoa in July 2019 (Fiji won gold; Cook Islands won bronze). A big confidence boost for many of the current players;
• lost to Brisbane Broncos in a trial match in Port Moresby in August 2019;
• played in the inaugural Rugby League World Cup 9s in Sydney in October 2019. Lost tough pool matches against England, New Zealand and Australia and,
• Played first test against England in Goroka last week. Lost 24-10. Saturday’s match was the second test in that series.

Go to this link for more: https://www.thenational.com.pg/oil-search-lauds-orchids-kumuls-for-historic-wins/

Orchids skipper one of Golden Boot award finalists

By JACK AMI - The National

ORCHIDS captain Elsie Albert was one of the three finalists for the International Rugby League women’s Golden Boot Award, which was won by St George Illawarra Dragons’ Jessica Sergis.
Albert played at the 2017 World Cup in Sydney. She also played the Jillaroos in Port Moresby and two tests against England in PNG.
She replaced second-rower Carol Humeu as the captain of the team for the two-test series. They lost the first test 10-24 in Goroka before bouncing back a week later with a 20-16 win in Port Moresby.
PNG Rugby Football League chairman Sandis Tsaka said he was surprised when he had learned of Albert’s shortlisting for the award.
“This is very interesting news. Since Albert’s appointment as skipper, she has lifted her game to be an enforcer for the Orchids,” he said.
Tsaka said this indicated that the national teams made strides under the sport’s world governing body.
“This paves the pathway for our women to reach the standard set by the Kumuls,” Tsaka said.
“We’re developing the women’s code which is important for the country in terms of gender equality. This is just the start of good things to come and we will be right up there among the top teams in the future.”
Coach Bagelo Solien also commended Albert.
“Our players ever get recognised for such an award. It shows that our development pathways are going from strength to strength,” he said.

Go to this link for more: https://www.thenational.com.pg/orchids-skipper-one-of-golden-boot-award-finalists/

Sport: Pacific teams leading the way for women's rugby league

Posted by Radio New Zealand

The Fiji women's rugby league team will create history on Saturday when they take the field in their first ever international match.

The Bulikula play Papua New Guinea in Sydney in the opening match of the Pacific Test invitational.

Across the Tasman, Samoa's women's team will play their first test in eight years against the Kiwi Ferns in Auckland.

The Fetu Samoa players were given a warm welcome by around 150 supporters at a fan event in South Auckland on Thursday, ahead of their first international in eight years.

Billy-Jean Ale and Tasia Seumanufagai are the only survivors from the side that played Australia in Apia back in 2011, while five players have previously represented New Zealand or Australia.

New Zealand Warriors second rower Luisa Gago was a part of the Kiwi Ferns World Cup squad in 2017 but says the opportunity to represent Samoa was one she could not ignore.

  "It's not often that we get this chance and I think the last time Fetu Samoa had a team was 2011 so for us to come back it was a chance that I couldn't miss out and an opportunity that I couldn't turn down. Also my family supported me to go and play for Samoa, to represent my country."

While eight years is a long time between kick-offs Fiji will play their first ever women's rugby league international against PNG.

The players have been in camp since Monday but head coach Adrian Vowles doesn't expect the magnitude of what is happening to fully hit the players until game-day.

  "It's amazing and I think the enormity of the occasion will probably sink in a little bit to the girls when they line up on Saturday and walk out on the field. I think it will probably sink in there that they're creating history for Fiji."

The 'Bulikula' name was chosen by the late Fiji NRL Chairman, Peni Musunamasi, who died last month after a short illness.

Adrian Vowles says he was a big supporter of the women's programme and is very much in their thoughts.

   "It's important that we do Peni's name justice and (he was) very much loved in Fiji Rugby League and Fiji in general and we'd like to get the right result for him and hopefully we can do that."

Front-rower CJ Sims will earn her first cap for Fiji two hours before younger brother Korbin runs out on the same field for the Fiji men's side against Lebanon, while in the opposing team PNG Orchids hooker Therese Aiton will make her test debut, following in the footsteps of older brother Paul Aiton, a former Kumuls captain.

  "My mum, I know especially, and my dad are very proud and my brother. I've had a few text messages from him - he's pretty happy to see me representing my country too and he knows that feeling of putting on that jersey and the emotions that come with it - so for me to be a part of it yeah it's pretty big for my family."

The PNG Orchids have not played an official test for two years but head coach Nigel Hukula says the women's game in PNG continues to expand at a rapid rate.

   "The growth of the women's it's been phenomenal since the 2017 World Cup - I think it's almost five/six fold: it's gone from a couple of thousand to almost three to five thousand registered players over the last two and a half years as well as the schools programme, which is catering for an under 18 girls competition as well and hopefully we'll get down to the 16s and 14s."

One thing Samoa, Fiji, and PNG all agree on is that more tests and more opportunities can only be good for the international game.

Go to this link for more: https://www.rnz.co.nz/international/programmes/datelinepacific/audio/2018700758/sport-pacific-teams-leading-the-way-for-women-s-rugby-league

Tahina Booth & the healing power of rugby league

MARY KONSTANTOPOULOS | NRL.com

SYDNEY - For Tahina Booth, having the opportunity to play for the Cronulla Sharks in this year’s Harvey Norman Women’s Premiership has been a game-changer.

Tahina only recently returned to the game after some time away and is enjoying playing alongside some of the biggest names in women’s rugby league.

"When Ruan Sims speaks, I am just in awe. I am a low-key fan girl. I feel the same way about Corban McGregor. I love the team and I love the culture," she said.

Whilst Tahina may be in awe of her team-mates, she hasn’t had the opportunity to share her personal story with them. Undoubtedly, if the rest of the team knew that story, they would be low-key fan-girling about her, too.

Tahina grew up in Papua New Guinea and has a deep personal understanding about the levels of gender inequality that exist there.

She was raped at age seven by a person known to her family. She was told that if she told anyone what had happened, they would kill her family.

Out of love for her family and fear of the consequences, Tahina kept this a secret until she was 18.

It was then that she began to comprehend that the depression and anxiety she was experiencing was a result of that trauma suffered as a child.

From that moment, Tahina could begin to get the healing she needed, and sport played a huge role.

"As the years went by, I used sport and the power of sport to take control of my body, to find my voice and to say that I matter," Tahina said.

"What those people did to me is not going to break my spirit. I am where I am today because of sport."

As a teenager, Tahina participated in athletics, basketball, tennis, surfboat rowing, gridiron and rugby league. But it was when she was competing for Papua New Guinea in powerlifting at the South Pacific Games that Tahina realised she could have an even greater impact.

"On the day of competition, out of the 50 athletes competing, I was the only one with all the correct gear, because I was sponsored," she said.

"There were all these incredible athletes getting disqualified because they were sharing uniforms and gear and consequently being timed out because they weren’t changing fast enough.

"So I went back to Australia and asked my social media following if they had any gear to give, because I could hand it directly to the athletes. The post went viral. I thought I would have to organise excess baggage, instead I had to order a shipping container."

The Grass Skirts Project was born and has now grown into an organisation that looks to help create the cultural and societal change in Papua New Guinea necessary to improve the status and health of women through sport.

One of the most successful programs run by GSP was the Hevea Cup Carnival and Wellness Expo which was launched on International Women’s Day in Port Moresby.

The idea was to connect people in PNG with specialist Non-Governmental Organisations that promote health and well-being.

A total of 24 teams competed - 12 men’s teams and 12 women’s teams - while 20 NGOs were also invited to host stalls.

When Tahina arrived at 6.30am to begin setting up, there was a group of 200 women waiting to enter. They were all waiting to hear from Marie Stopes about cervical cancer screenings.

"In Papua New Guinea we need to be engaging more with sporting events to deliver health initiatives," Tahina said.

"My goal is for the Hevea Cup to be rolled out nationally, because it is in the rural communities that we have the greatest power to effect change."

You can see that change in rugby league particularly, which is Papua New Guinea’s national sport.

Tahina has been part of the Papua New Guinea Orchids since their second year.

After the Orchids hosted the Jillaroos in 2018, one of Tahina's team-mates told her she didn’t want to take part in a lap of honour because the last time they had played at home, a year earlier, people were spitting at them and throwing empty cans at them.

Tahina took that young woman’s hand to support her during the lap of honour. But instead of directing vitriol, people were applauding and asking for autographs.

All this in just 12 months. But Tahina recognises there is still plenty of work to do.

"Women can contribute to society in a meaningful way and I can have a role in changing people’s perceptions, especially in rural communities about the role women can play in developing our society for the better," she said.

Go to this link for more: https://asopa.typepad.com/asopa_people/2019/05/tahina-booth-the-healing-power-of-rugby-league.html

Amelia Kuk ranked 10th best Player in the World

Post on facebook page- The Informationist

Amelia Kuk is a professional footballer from Mt Hagen playing for the Brisbane Broncos.
Her father, who is in the mining sector, was transferred to Brisbane, Australia, in 2008.
Kuk was in Grade Eight when they opted to settle there. 
Amelia started playing rugby union at 17 years old and made her debut for the PNG Women’s 7’s team at 18 in Hong Kong.

From there she switched over to rugby League in 2016 and made the QLD Women’s rugby league team. Amelia played two matches for the Australian Jillaroos in 2017 and then played in the Women’s Rugby League World Cup for the PNG Orchids. She also played 2 matches for the Queensland Maroons in 2018.

Born in Mt Hagen, 24-year-old Amelia Kuk becomes the first participant of the Oil Search player pathway program. Kuk represented the Oil Search PNG Orchids in the 2017 Rugby League World Cup.

With a background in volleyball, Kuk made the transition to rugby after coming across a University of Queensland women’s team in training.From rugby union to rugby league, Amelia Kuk is no pushover. Women’s rugby league is on the verge of a new era, with the move into a semi-professional environment, thanks to the introduction of an NRL-run competition from 2018, which follows on from the success of recent women’s Tests at the NRL Auckland Nines and 2017 Women’s Rugby League World Cup. Taking a look at the top 10 female league players in the world right now, The Broncos centre and PNG Orchids five-eighth Kuk made number 10 for her outstanding performance during the WRLWC 2017. Amelia Kuk has had nothing but praise for the PNG Orchids since joining camp last year. The 24-year-old rugby star is obviously proud of her Nokpa heritage, coming from the Kopi tribe in the Western Highlands Province, and says the change from union to league has been somewhat rejuvenating.

Kuk is a 7s player, having represented PNG. However, she made her debut last year with the Jillaroos at the Auckland 9s and taking the field against the Orchids during the PM’s XIII match was the hardest thing she’s had to do.The 24-year-old debuted for the Australian Jillaroos in last year’s curtain raiser to the PNG PM’s XIII and Australian PM’s XIII match against the PNG Orchids in Port Moresby.
She is currently one of the best players in the NRL playing centre for the Brisbane Broncos.

Go to this link for more: https://www.facebook.com/369941363590558/photos/a.369943926923635/407307886520572/?type=3&theater