The Papua New Guinea national rugby league team represents Papua New Guinea in the sport of rugby league football.
Rugby league is a popular team sport in Papua New Guinea and the country's national sport. Papua New Guineans have a reputation as being some of the world's most passionate rugby league supporters.
Paul Aiton is a Papua New Guinean former professional rugby league footballer who is the current head-coach of the PNG Hunters in the Queensland Cup and assistant-coach of the PNG Kumuls.
Dion Aiye is a Papua New Guinean rugby league footballer who plays as a stand-off, scrum-half or loose forward for Whitehaven in Betfred Championship.
Michael Marum is a Papua New Guinean rugby league coach and former player who was the first head coach of the Port Moresby-based PNG Hunters in the Queensland Cup and the Papua New Guinea national team. During his playing career, Marum represented Papua New Guinea at the 2000 World Cup. He is the nephew of Skerry Palanga, who coached Papua New Guinea in the 1980s and 1990s.
Mark Mexico is a Papua New Guinean professional rugby league footballer who last played for the Sheffield Eagles in the Kingstone Press Championship as a prop forward.
Wellington Albert is a Papua New Guinean professional rugby league footballer who plays as a prop for the Featherstone Rovers in the RFL Championship and Papua New Guinea at international level.
Ase Boas is a Papua New Guinean rugby league footballer who plays for Rabaul Gurias. A Papua New Guinean representative five-eighth, Boas previously played for the Featherstone Rovers in the Championship. He was a member of PNG's squads at the 2013 and 2017 World Cup tournaments.
The Papua New Guinea Hunters (PNG Hunters) are a professional rugby league football club based in Papua New Guinea. They were formed in December 2013 and compete in the Queensland Cup, a second tier competition in Australia. The Hunters are the second Papua New Guinean side to enter the Queensland Cup following the Port Moresby Vipers who competed for two seasons in 1996 and 1997. Every Hunters match is shown live on national free-to-air television. The Hunters' home ground is the National Football Stadium in Port Moresby and their team colours are red, black and gold. The Hunters won the Hostplus Cup in 2017.
Garry Lo is a Papua New Guinean rugby league footballer who plays for the Waghi Tumbe in the Digicel Cup. Lo plays as a winger. He is also a Papua New Guinea international.
Watson Boas is a Papua New Guinean professional rugby league footballer who plays as a scrum-half for Doncaster in the Betfred Championship and for Papua New Guinea at international level.
Benkato "Kato" Ottio was a Papua New Guinean rugby league footballer. Primarily playing as a centre, Ottio represented Papua New Guinea, most notably at the 2017 World Cup.
Stanton Albert is a Papua New Guinean professional rugby league footballer who last played as a prop or lock for the PNG Hunters in the Queensland Cup and Papua New Guinea at international level. His whereabouts are unknown.
Justin Olam is a Papua New Guinean professional rugby league footballer who plays for Wests Tigers in the NRL and Papua New Guinea at international level.
Stargroth Amean is a Papua New Guinean professional rugby league footballer who plays for the Port Moresby Vipers. He was unable to return to the UK citing family reasons to play for Barrow Raiders in 2020 but remained under contract. He was part of the PNG Hunters team in 2017 which won the Queensland Cup. Primarily playing as a fullback, Amean has represented the Papua New Guinean national team, most notably at the 2017 World Cup and the 2019 World Cup 9s.
Nixon Putt is a Papua New Guinean professional rugby league footballer who plays as a second-row forward for the Castleford Tigers in the Super League and Papua New Guinea at international level.
Willie Minoga in Wapenamanda, Enga Province is a Papua New Guinean professional rugby league footballer who played for the Barrow Raiders in the Betfred Championship. He rejoined the Papua New Guinea Hunters at the end of 2016 after spending one season playing for the Townsville Blackhawks in the same competition. A Papua New Guinean national representative, Minoga was selected in PNG's squad for the 2017 World Cup.
The 2019 Intrust Super Cup was the PNG Hunters sixth season in the Queensland Cup after securing their future for the next four years until 2022. Adex Wera was the captain of the team and he was assisted by his deputy Moses Meninga The Hunters only won four of their games and drew one with a record eighteen losses for the season. 18 new players made their debuts while poor form and discipline let the team down. Five Hunters players were named in the Papua New Guinea Kumuls squad for the 2019 Oceania Cup Pool B Ox & Palm Pacific Invitational Tests against Toa Samoa and Fiji Bati and also for the match against the touring Great Britain Lions.
Edene Gebbie is a Papua New Guinean professional rugby league footballer who plays as a fullback and winger for Whitehaven in the Betfred Championship and Papua New Guinea at international level.
The Papua New Guinea Hunters is a professional rugby league club from Papua New Guinea that participates in the Queensland Cup in Australia. They have relocated to Runaway Bay, Gold Coast for the 2021 Intrust Super Cup Season. The 2021 Intrust Super Cup will be the PNG Hunters' eighth season in rugby league's Queensland Cup after securing their future with a four-year license from 2019 until 2022. A 37-man train-on squad was announced for the pre season before it was trimmed and the final squad finalized. Doncaster RLFC agreed for Watson Boas to play with the Hunters squad until he was able to return to the United Kingdom. In partnership with PacificAus Sports( Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade), Papua New Guinea Rugby Football League, PNG Hunters and QRL signed a three year agreement titled 'Growing and Supporting Rugby League in Papua New Guinea' in February which will see the PacificAus Sports and QRL assisting to develop the sport in the country by creating pathways for emerging PNG players and also develop pathways for PNG teams like the PNG Hunters Under-19s and Papua New Guinea Hunters women's to take part in high-level Australian sporting competitions The Hunters travelled with a 24-man squad to Queensland after six could not travel due to visa issues. Three consultants were recruited to join the coaching team in order to refine and up-skill the coaching staff through funding by PacificAus sports program.
