The Papua New Guinea Rugby Football League (PNGRFL) has relaunched the highly successful PNG NRL Academy as the PNGRFL Academy.
The program now comes under the management and oversight of the national governing body, PNGRFL.
The Academy, which began in early 2024 as the PNG NRL Bid Academy, is funded by the Australian Government through the PNGAus Partnership.
Now in its third season, the Academy was identifying and coaching the next generation of talented male and female rugby league players through a structured, rugby league pathways program based on tried and tested Australian models and adapted for PNG.
It continues to be led by experienced Australian pathways coach Joseph Grima, who spent more than 30 years with NRL club Parramatta Eels and has been working in PNG since 2023.
The Academy is driven by teams of staff in eight locations across PNG (Port Moresby, Central, Goroka, Mount Hagen, Lae, Kerema, Kokopo and Wabag) who have been trained to deliver a structured, consistent 22-week program of coaching.
The 2026 Academy season, which began in November 2025, is in full swing with more than 900 male and female players training twice a week after school.
PNGRFL CEO Stanley Hondina said the Academy structure moving under PNGRFL is an important step as PNGRFL look to consolidate this successful program and plan for the future.
He said the PNG NRL Bid achieved its goal by admitting the PNG Chiefs into the Australian NRL competition and establishing these pathways, and now is the appropriate time for a name change and for the Academy to become part of PNGRFL’s structure.
“The Academy has already produced players for the National Youth Competition, Santos Cup, Digicel ExxonMobil Cup, Junior Kumuls and Junior Orchids teams and the Santos PNG Orchids – proving that a structured system for identifying and coaching talented players at a young age is working.
We thank Joey and his staff who have worked hard to build the Academy to where it is today, and who have now joined us at PNGRFL. We look forward to further aligning the Academy with our suite of pathway programs and competitions, including the men’s and women’s national youth competitions, and seeking to grow the pipeline of better people and better players coming through this pathway,” Hondina stated.
In each of the eight regions the Academy program is delivered to boys in the Year 7/8, Year 9/10 and open age groups and girls in the open age group. More than 100 staff deliver the program, 20 percent of whom are female.
On the field, players learn rugby league skills, both technical and tactical. They also learn important skills in teamwork, problem-solving, communication, adaptability, critical thinking, discipline and time management, which are crucial to being successful both as a rugby league player but also in their future careers. Off the field, players attend life skills education sessions on subjects including wellbeing, health,financial literacy and respectful relationships.
All participants in the Academy are school students who must be attending school and playing in PNGRFL-affiliated schoolboys and schoolgirls rugby league competitions to be considered for selection, underlining the important link between education and rugby league participation.
Academy selections are made by trained coaches watching schools’ competitions in the second half of the year.
In line with the Academy’s move under PNGRFL, the social media platforms hosting Academy content – the PNG NRL Bid Official Facebook and Instagram accounts – have now become the official PNGRFL Academy accounts. Follow them via these links: Facebook and Instagram. The PNGRFL Academy is proudly funded by the Australian Government to strengthen grassroots participation, player pathways and elite rugby league across Papua New Guinea. This investment builds on long-standing support through Team Up and PacificAus Sports.