Following the Perth Bears, the next franchise to join the National Rugby League competition may just be the PNG Boars. Or will it be the Hunters, the Chiefs or even the Coastal Thunderhawks?
That will be decided in coming months after the NRL’s Papua New Guinea franchise launched an international call-out for suggestions, giving fans two weeks to come up with an identity for the new entity.
Prime minister James Marape said it was an important step for more than just the club. “This team must be owned by the people of Papua New Guinea,” he said. “It must tell our national unification story and resonate with the idea of one people, one nation, one country.”
At an event at the National Stadium in Port Moresby on Wednesday, Marape was joined by Australian High Commissioner to PNG, Ewen McDonald, and franchise chief executive Andrew Hill.
“We no longer want to be a franchise, we no longer want to be a bid, we actually want to be a club,” Hill said. “Before we become a club, we need a name.”
On the website for submissions, Boars, Chiefs and Coastal Thunderhawks are suggested, but within hours social media has been flooded by hundreds more options.
The PNG Hunters is an early favourite, given a team under that banner has competed in the Queensland Cup competition since 2014. There have also been more novel proposals.
“The fitting name would be PNG Traders,” one said. “The name strongly takes us back to the days of our ancestors prior to the arrival of colonisers into PNG.” Another proposed the PNG Flames “since we have many active volcanoes”.
PNG Butterflies and PNG Bees featured in one pitch, continuing a theme for the natural world that included the Birds of Paradise and the PNG Hornbills, known locally as Kokomos.
Another fan wanted the Muruks, a variety of cassowary, because it is “an iconic and formidable bird” that “represents power, agility, and a deep connection to the natural environment”.
At the end of August, five names will be selected by the club’s board to progress to a second phase which will involve a public vote.
“At this stage though, we need everybody that’s interested to give us a name so we can take forward and turn this franchise into a thriving NRL club,” Hill said, confirming the process was open to anyone around the world as long as they were “connected to PNG”.
The club’s entry into the NRL was confirmed last year thanks to a $600m pledge from the Australian government to PNG and Pacific rugby league.
Yet the new franchise – due to enter the NRL in 2028 – as already faced challenges. Bid chairman and businessman Wapu Sonk stepped down from the board due to allegations of corruption made in July unrelated to the team. He has denied any wrongdoing and said the claims are “baseless”.
Similar fan-driven naming processes have been undertaken for clubs in recent decades, including for the Tasmania Devils in the AFL, and are designed to connect clubs with potential fans before the players take the field.
Marape said has entered a suggestion, but he told local media would not reveal it. “I don’t want to influence the mindset of the country,” he said.
