Super League stars, Nathan Cleary and English speedster all ‘targets’ for PNG NRL side

With a Papua New Guinea team confirmed for the NRL, details of who the franchise will ‘target’ have been reported Down Under with possible Super League faces in their very ambitious plans.

A $600 million deal has been cemented to make Papua New Guinea either the 18th or 19th NRL franchise, depending on Perth’s bid, with the island nation to enter the competition for 2028.

Preparations will soon begin to build facilities but perhaps more interesting is roster building and how the new team will be able to attract their star players.

It has already been confirmed that players and staff will be exempt from tax for signing with the team meaning that there are potentially millions more per year to be earned for the very elite players.

In November, Fox Sports reported that Nathan Cleary would save $581,629 per year on his $1.3 million yearly salary, equating to a $5 million saving over a ten-year period.

Now, another report Down Under has floated Cleary as a player that the new franchise could target, as well as an England international and potentially some Super League stars.

Super League players on PNG radar?

The Daily Telegraph have pieced together the burning questions about the PNG franchise with one of the major ones being ‘What players will be recruited?’

With the tax exemption, there is the licence for the new team to go and hunt for some of the NRL’s biggest stars, however, with an additional team, there could also be a market for players from outside the NRL to join i.e. Super League.

Leading candidates among those Super League men would be Papua New Guinea internationals, of which there are plenty in Super League.

The Telegraph links Alex Johnston and Xavier Coates but Rhyse Martin has previously spoken on the need for a PNG franchise and with Super League boasting plenty of other Kumuls internationals, it could be a happy hunting ground for the 18th/19th franchise.

Nathan Cleary is also named as the Telegraph claims that PNG are ‘dreaming big’ and that also seems to include big in size with giant winger Dom Young also mentioned among a string of players.

They report: “The likes of Kalyn Ponga, Keano Kini Stefano Utoikamanu, Jeremiah Nanai, Blaize Talagi and Dominic Young will be at the top of their list.”

There is also the question of coaching with former St Helens boss Justin Holbrook named given his connections to PNG, as well as ex-Wakefield man Jason Demtriou who most recently coached the Kumuls.