Rugby League administrators call PMs 13 selection biased

MANY rugby league administrators around the country have slammed this year’s PNG Prime Minister’s XIII as being biased and unfair.

Long time Chief Executive officer of the Coca Cola Ipatas Cup and current Enga Mioks head coach Timothy Lepa said many of the Digicel Cup players in the Digicel Cup competition were over looked as well as the players from the National Confederation Championship were not picked.

“The PNGRFL is wasting its resource and money to run a national confederation championship were nothing has been done and not even one raw talent picked from the zones,” Lepa said.

Lepa said the only player that was picked from the National Confederation championship is not new to high level competition having played in Australia and also taken part in the Digicel Cup competition before.

Similar sentiment was echoed by current Chairman of PRK Mendi Muruks Isaac Joseph.

“I believe this year’s President XIII team is a team where many best consistence players who performed week in and out were overlooked by the selectors. Many players who are supposed to be in the team are not there,” Joseph said.

Joseph said the selectors have compromised their selection standard to select its players.

“This is what kills the interest and ambitions of upcoming talents. PNGRFL is telling us the Digicel Cup franchises that that is the only team that can represent the Kumuls and Hunters and others don't matter how much resource, effort and time you put in.

Both Lepa and Joseph are now appealing to the PNGRFL to look into this as a serious matter particularly when rugby league is picking up its momentum in the international arena. Post Courier