Six To Go - Rugby League Refereeing in PNG
Patrick Nomos | 18/9/2020
Photo: Match referee Graham AInui, 1988 Rugby League World Cup Final - Australia v New Zealand (courtesy of YouTube)
While several Papua New Guinea (PNG) rugby league football players have achieved international prominence since the 1970s, only two PNG rugby league football referees, Ambassador Graham Ainui and Mr Paul Wani, have made an equivalent international impact. Graham Ainui's international rugby league refereeing career comprised seven matches from 1986 to 1991, including major test matches in the 1985/88 and 1989/92 rugby league world cups.
Throughout his career as an international rugby league referee, Graham Ainui was a serving member of PNG's police force, the Royal Papua New Guinea Constabulary (RPNGC). He joined the RPNGC in 1970, was awarded the Queen's Police Medal (QPM) in 1988 for service to the RPNGC and rose to the rank of Deputy Commissioner Administration in 1993. In 1996 he left the police force and in 1997 was appointed as PNG's Ambassador to the Philippines, where he became Dean of the Diplomatic Corps before completing his appointment in 2003.
Thirty-two years after Graham Ainui's international refereeing debut, leading PNG referee Paul Wani was appointed by the Rugby League International Federation to officiate at the East Asia Cup International Test Match between Hong Kong and Japan on 16/6/2018. This match, won by Hong Kong, was played at the Inagi Central Park, Tokyo, Japan.
Having refereed rugby league matches in such diverse PNG locations as Rabaul, Wewak, Maprik, Kavieng, Arawa and Port Moresby, I can vouch for the intensity of feeling directed towards both referees and touch-judges. The Port Moresby Rugby League (PNGRL) stadium, the Lloyd Robson Oval, was the only rugby league venue where I felt relatively safe, due to a high barbed-wire fence between the spectators and the playing area. Even there, walking from the referees' changing rooms to my car in the PNGRL car-park provided some anxious moments.
On the positive side, despite the physical and mental toughness required for a successful rugby league refereeing career, there is nothing quite like the satisfaction of having refereed a rugby league match in which a result was achieved without serious physical harm being done to either the players or match officials. I warmly recall, while walking from the ground after an unofficial match between public servants in Maprik, being thanked by players from both sides for having refereed the most enjoyable rugby league match they could remember.
There have been several recent efforts to foster the development of rugby league refereeing in PNG. The Australian National Rugby League's (NRL) Beyond the Goalposts Program in PNG is run in partnership with the PNG Rugby Football League (PNGRFL). Aimed at boys and girls in upper primary and high schools, it's part of the NRL's capacity-building and development pathway for junior PNGRFL referees who will be officiating in the Modified Rugby League ("Mini Mod") Competition.
This ten-unit course, run by Australian NRL Referee Education Providers, teaches fundamentals of referees' involvement in the modified game. Course participants are expected to gain the skills and knowledge they will require to be fair and effective on the field of play. On completion of this course, participants receive a certification equivalent to Australian NRL Level 1 accreditation.
In 2019 the PNG Rugby Football League (PNGRFL) appointed two PNGRFL referees, Mekenzie Dokta and James Kundi, to officiate at the Confraternity Shield Carnival held at Bundaberg, Queensland, Australia. Their involvement in this public schools rugby league carnival was designed to hone their refereeing skills in events outside PNG.
The 29/8/2019 edition of "The National" newspaper reported that organisers of the Queensland-based Intrust Super Cup (ISC) had appointed PNG referees to officiate at ISC matches. Max Topani from the Lae Rugby League and Hanua Rupa from the PNGRL have both officiated as touch-judges in ISC-accredited matches played in Port Moresby involving the PNG Hunters rugby league team.
If these types of opportunities continue to be offered to junior PNG rugby league referees, it seems that rugby league refereeing has a bright future in PNG. Perhaps worthy successors to Graham Ainui and Paul Wani are already building their refereeing skills and experience in pursuit of their international rugby league refereeing careers.
Photo: Lloyd Robson Oval, Port Moresby, PNG. Courtesy of Australian Leisure Management.