By JOEL K ANDREW
ERIC Robin from Oiyarep village in Mendi, Southern Highlands province has been heavily participating in many local clubs in the country.
Going forward in his rugby carrier, if chance evolves, he aspires to follow the foot step of the country’s National Rugby League star, Justin Olam.
This 78kg young gun is now 21 years old while his height stands at 176cm.
Robin is fast, reactive, defensive, intelligent, disciplined since he comes from a Christian background and he is an energetic candidate that is up for a scout.
He has been playing as a flexible back in the game but prefers winger most times during matches in the Port Moresby Suburban rugby league.
Since coming to Port Moresby in search for quality education, Robin Erick decided to commit himself to on-leisure times by participating in off-season leagues throughout the city.
He started playing rugby back in 2021 at the school boys league under 18 division, although his career and passion for the league started back in his childhood days.
The young gun was first selected to represent Southern Highlands province in the National School Boys Championships at Minj rugby oval at Jiwaka province in 2021.
Robin diffused his opponents to score three blockbusting tries despite playing only two games in the championships with less time allocated to him to be on field by coach.
“My motivation and self-esteem to pursue this career ascended to a whole new level after seeing the achievements and the level of effort I dedicated in Jiwaka despite given less chances of time to showcase during the game,” Robin recalled.
And today, Erick Robin is the captain of the POM Wolurenaki Panthers, a registered club at the Hohola off-season league, comprising of a mixture of Southern highlanders in the city.
His rugby carrier continues and in the recent Governor’s Cup challenge in Port Moresby, young Robin starred as a flying winger, playing with the Port Moresby Menjails Rugby League club.
“I had a good exposure to enduring pressures, time management, ball handling, defense, consistency in performance and the importance of being a sportsman in general while participating in the Port Moresby Governors’ cup,” Robin expressed.
And just recently, Robin was scouted into Poroma Nuggets Rugby League Competition (RLC) to participate in the biggest rugby 9s tournament in PNG (Southern Highlands Provincial Nines Tournament) where he scored three tries in four games of the regular play-offs.
Mr. Robin believes that self-discipline, obligation, enthusiasm and full attentiveness is the key to unleash the untapped potential from within.
With all these principles, he aspires to advance further in his career as a young man competing against other talented footballers in the country.
Eric Robin also extended his encouragement to his fellow divisional squads.
“Despite certain situations that we encounter in the rugby league system of this nation, I believe there’s other opportunities besides that might come our way. To get there, it requires strict self-discipline thus, we must all take good care of our health and physical conditions in order to excel in our career.”
