Paula DAVID

France have pulled out as hosts of the 2025 Rugby League World Cup, organisers said on Monday, due to problems with government funding guarantees. The organising committee released a statement saying it could not guarantee the financial viability of the event and had therefore decided to forgo its hosting rights. “Despite all the work carried out by the organising committee, it hasn’t been possible to fully secure the risk of a deficit,” the committee said in the statement. “Despite the interest shown in this unique sport ... and accessible to all thanks to our ticketing rates, and despite the desire shown by several cities across France to host World Cup matches, the board had to decide to renounce organising this major international competition, which the International Rugby League had entrusted to France. “This difficult decision was taken so as not to threaten the robustness of the major international sporting event models that France now wishes to promote. “In addition, the state will reinforce the support it provides to the rugby league development plan supported by the federation to ensure that this sport has a better visibility and to make it shine again in France.” Australia’s Harry Grant, Jack Wighton and Cameron Murray after winning the Rugby League World Cup at Old Trafford on November 19, 2022.CREDIT:GETTY IMAGES In a separate statement on Monday, the International Rugby League said it expected to be able to inform member nations of planned qualifying matches and alternative fixtures by July. “The French government, particularly the Sports Minister Amelie Oudea-Castera, supported the bid team financially and granted additional time to meet benchmarks,” International Rugby League chair Troy Grant said. “I respect the French government’s decision amid the challenges they are facing, but I can’t hide my disappointment that I conveyed clearly to them in person. “Despite our focus having been on France, we will now accelerate our consideration of other contingency options.” France won the bid to host the 2025 World Cup in January 2022. The previous edition – the 2021 event – was held in England in October and November 2022 after being delayed due to the pandemic. Australia won both the men’s and women’s events, while England won the wheelchair title. The 2025 Rugby League World Cup is expected to feature four individual tournaments: the men’s and women’s events, as well as wheelchair and youth cups. France will host this year’s men’s rugby union World Cup from September 8 to October 28. Reuters

He has played 179 NRL games but Saturday will be the latest first for Dolphins enforcer Felise Kaufusi, who can't wait to clash with former teammates and the club that helped launch his career. All eyes will be on Kaufusi, along with Kenny and Jesse Bromwich, when the trio face off against the Storm for the first time since they departed the club last season to join Wayne Bennett's inaugural Dolphins. Having capped 173 games and two premierships for the club in an eight-year stint, Kaufusi's fresh challenge is now about taking down his old compatriots including the likes of Christian Welch, Nelson Asofa-Solomona and Harry Grant. “I don’t know if it’s a rivalry but playing against your older club, you want to get one on top of them," Kaufusi told NRL.com ahead of the clash. “I was at the club for a long time so I’m just looking forward to coming up against the boys, it’ll be interesting because they’re one of the last sides we’re yet to play. “We’ll just have to ride out the week. I’ve got a lot of mates in that team who I’ve had for a lot of years and your teammates are like a family down there so it will be an interesting one coming up against them. “I know it’s not just me but the Bromwich brothers as well, we’re excited to play against our mates, some of those blokes I’ve played with since I debuted back in 2015. “It will be good to see Craig (Bellamy) too and the whole coaching staff. It will be a bit of a reunion I guess to see them and the boys. Before the game it will be all business I imagine but when it's all done it will be great to say 'G'day'.” Having seen first-hand what the secrets of success are at the Melbourne powerhouse, Kaufusi said he will definitely be trying to give his Dolphins teammates “a leg up” for the reunion. “They do a lot of study, a lot of work and a lot of video so they’ll know where our strengths and weaknesses are and they’ll try and pick those out," Kaufusi said. “I’ll try to help the boys as much as I can, anything to help us win and get a leg up on them." One of nine children growing up in Bundaberg, the 30-year-old forward said he was relishing his decision to move home to Queensland and the opportunity to be closer to family. The passing of his father Taniela last year made his decision to leave Melbourne easier to reunite with his loved ones in the sunshine state. “Some personal stuff of the field happened last year and it just feels much nicer to be closer to family and it’s much easier for us to get together now,” he said. “I can see my mum every second weekend, my sisters live in Chermside so they’re up the road for babysitters if we need. “Usually it’s two flights from Bundy to get down to Melbourne so it’s awesome for my kids to see they’re aunties, uncles and cousins a lot more now. "That’s what I remember growing up, going over to cousins' house on the weekends and having barbecues at the park and that's what I want for my kids.” Source: NRL.Com

Wingers Jordan Rapana and Albert Hopoate have both put pen to paper on extensions which will see them remain with the Raiders beyond the 2023 season. The club announced on Wednesday that Hopoate, 22, has signed on for a further two years and will remain in the nation's capital until at least the end of 2025, while 33-year-old Rapana has extended his current deal through until the end of next season. The pair, who will line up on the wings for Canberra this Sunday against the Sea Eagles, were previously both only contracted through until the end of this season. The move follows the Raiders releasing outside back Semi Valemei to join the Cowboys earlier this month, while they also recently agreed to terms on an extension for prop Emre Guler through until the end of 2025. Source: NRL.Com

“It feels amazing. I was a bit shocked when I got the email because I wasn’t expecting it but I was so happy, excited, honoured and privileged to be nominated in that category as well as being amongst PNG’s incredible artist. Yeah, so happy!” That’s from Alyson Joyce, one of the nominees for Female Artist of the Year for the 2023 YUMI FM PNG Musik Awards set for the 17th of June 2023. Alyson is a proud Papua New Guinean /Australian multidisciplinary artist, with over 20 years of experience across the creative arts and entertainment industries. Alyson said, being separated from her country (PNG) and loved ones during Covid-19 has made her connect more to her culture and to write local music more. “It sort of instilled more fire in me to want to reconnect because I live overseas now and being forced to stay in Australia and not come back to PNG (during the pandemic) really hit me in my guts so, it filled a lot of creativity and it forced me to think about my identity as a Papua New Guinean and how I want to connect with our people.” Alyson said, the biggest highlight of that year was that she was able to reconnect with her identity as a Papua New Guinean and to channel that through creativity and create music. There’s no stop to what’s coming next and like Alyson, she has many plans ahead of her but for now, she says that she will be releasing her new single this week. “I’m having some really great conversations with some of our local artist about regulating the industry on how we can better support the industry and how we can also better support our artist through long term infrastructure, workshops and trainings and other things like that.” She added that she is looking forward to travel around the country to get to know the people and the music from each of the provinces. She is working on some exciting projects that will hopefully help to catapult PNG onto a global stage. Alyson further encouraged young and talented musicians out there to never give up because the music industry in our country can be very challenging because there is not much support. “Just be patient and innovative. Look for ways to get your music out there. There are so many new platforms out there and when you feel that creativity coming, just let it in and see what happens.” “And I also think that collaboration is a great way to create music because we rise by lifting others and that’s so important for us in our country.”

East New Britain launched its Supplementary Immunization Activities on on Monday at the Rabaul Provincial Hospital. This now kick starts the implementation of the SIA program, expected to run for 3 weeks, which will deliver Measles, Rubella and Polio vaccines as well as vitamin A nutritional supplement to children aged 5 years and below. Attending the launch was Governor Michael Marum, ENB acting provincial administrator Levi Mano, Rabaul District Administrator Benedict Mode, Rabaul Provincial Hospital Manager Dr Osiat Baining, Deputy Chief Pediatrician Dr Beryl Vetuna and other senior hospital officials. The occasion heard that the national target for a good immunization coverage should be 80%. Currently ENB has an average immunization coverage of 60 percent for all Vaccine Preventable Diseases. The key message shared by speakers is that a concerted effort is needed to improve the province's coverage and act now to protect every child in ENB from vaccine-preventable diseases. This also includes strengthening the routine programs after the SIA program is completed. ENB acting Provincial Administrator Levi Mano said health is everybody's business and teamwork is important. Mr Mano encouraged all families to bring their children to the nearest health facility to get vaccinated. Meanwhile, the Rabaul District Administrator Benedict Mode said the launching is also a time to renew public trust in the value of all vaccines and continue to build long-term support and awareness for immunization, as vaccines have proven to be critical in containing or limiting outbreaks of infectious diseases. The Rabaul District has committed K100, 000 to support the SIA program with logistics and fuel. The district will also support routine programs through health facilities in the district.

An unfortunate incident occurred for the Kimbe Cutters after experiencing the sudden landslide which blocked off the entire road at Wapenamanda, Enga Province making it hard for the team to travel back to Mt Hagen. PNG National Rugby League General Manager Leith Isaac said, once they received word that the team was blocked off due to the landslide, they immediately took action and booked a place for the team to spend the night there. “It’s an unfortunate incident and we cannot stop natural disasters, but arrangements have been made and the team is safe and travelled back to their home.” Isaac said, they are responsible for all travel expenses for all teams and his team took care of that. “We have a partnership with PNG Air for teams travelling to and from for their games, but we could not get bookings done after the draws were done because all the flights were fully booked.” He added that being proactive is high on their agenda and is his team is always in standby for such events. The Cutters team travelled back to Mt Hagen yesterday and boarded the next flight out for their home province. Mr Issac further stated that these delays will not disrupt the draws for this weekend’s matches.

Despite not winning any pool game at the Toulouse event in the weekend, the Fijians did enough to gain automatic qualification after beating Germany and Uruguay in the quarterfinals and semifinals for a ninth-place finish. The legendary, double Olympic gold medalist Jerry Tuwai then scored the winning try against Spain in the ninth-place final for Fiji to win 26-15. Coach Ben Gollings, who has not won any tournament with Fiji in the 2023 HSBC Sevens Series, said after the match that winning automatic qualification was important for the defending Olympic champions. "This is important for us and for Fiji. We did not do well in the pool matches but the players fought back and recorded wins to finish off strongly. Now we head to London and a chance to redeem ourselves." Source: RNZ.Com

Craig Bellamy has confirmed he will continue his record-breaking career as Melbourne Storm’s head coach for a 22nd season in 2024. The master coach signed a new five-year contract with Storm in 2022 that allows him to decide each year whether he will continue in the head coach role for the following season or transition into a coaching director role. Today, he informed the club he would remain in charge of the NRL squad he has led in 532 games with a winning percentage of just under 70%, for another year. “It took me a little while to make a decision to be honest. Six or eight weeks ago I was pretty certain I would be packing things up,” Bellamy said of his decision. “I spoke to a few people I know who have retired from different jobs and they spoke about the connection they have with people they see at work every day and that sometimes you miss that. Munster also came to me a couple of weeks ago and he said the players and leaders were keen for me to stay and thought I still had something to give the group. Craig BellamyHead coach, Melbourne Storm “I still enjoy turning up and mixing with the group and staff. Early in your career, it can be a little bit about yourself but now it’s about our group improving as individuals, and if we improve as individuals we will improve as a team. “Obviously we have a young crop and some of the guys we bought in have taken a while to adapt to our club, which often happens. But I am excited about how much improvement we have in us as a footy team and being consistent as a footy team. To come down here and be here as long as I have, has been a pleasure to be honest. We’re in a different situation to all other NRL teams because we’re not in a NRL town. Craig BellamyHead coach, Melbourne Storm “People like John Ribot, Chris Anderson, Mick Moore and Greg Brentnall set a wonderful foundation for our club. We have a caring club - all the people in the organisation really care about what the club stands for and are all supportive of each other. “Our members and fans are as patriotic as any supporters I’ve seen in any club I’ve been involved with. They really turn up and they love the footy team. It seems to be a very important part of their life. “I’ll never forget when we went through salary cap issues, and the week leading into the first game I didn’t think anyone would turn up given what had happened that week. I think we had 30,000 people there and that proved to me that they are really loyal to this footy team, and I’d like to think we are loyal to them as well.” Bellamy said. Storm Chairman, Matt Tripp, said the club was delighted Bellamy would again head up the coaching team in 2024. “This is the news I’m sure everyone connected with Storm - our players and staff, our partners, and our members and fans – wanted to hear,” he said. Not only is Craig the best coach in the NRL, but he’s also a hugely respected and much-loved figure in our club and the game in general. Matt TrippChairman, Melbourne Storm “His passion and desire to do the job hasn’t wavered and he is now bringing through an exciting young team here at Storm. Last week’s game showed Craig is up for whatever challenge is ahead and he’s clearly enjoying leading this new wave of players.”   Bellamy is one of only four coaches in premiership history to reach the 500-game mark and heads the list for most consecutive games with one club. He took on the senior coaching role with Melbourne in 2003, leading the team to a semi-final in his first year. Since that time Storm has played in a remarkable 19 finals series, winning the grand final on five occasions, the minor premiership seven times, and he has the best win-loss record of any current coach in the NRL. Along the journey, Bellamy has been awarded the Dally M Coach of the Year on six occasions and the Rugby League International Federation Coach of the Year twice. Source: NRL.Com

“We want to protect and promote life and peace”, These key phrases were echoed to human rights defenders, community leaders, and church leaders over a two-day intensive workshop in Wabag, Enga Province, emphasizing the centrality of human rights in addressing the ongoing impacts of election-related violence in the province, including sorcery accusation-related violence. This advocacy workshop was made possible through the partnership of the United Nations Population Fund Country Office and the Catholic Diocese of Wabag, with the support of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). Advocates discussed how best to identify and assist women and girls who have been displaced and raise awareness on gender-based violence, sexual and reproductive health and rights, and sorcery accusation-related violence in Porgera, Laiagam and Kompiam-Ambum districts. Women and girls displaced by violence in these areas have been seeking refuge in nearby communities. “Women and girls are more at risk of facing GBV and SARV when they are displaced and seek refuge in other villages,” said Dickson Tanda, Program Coordinator for Caritas at the Catholic Diocese of Wabag. “It is our job as advocates to protect the dignity of these women and this can only be done through proper awareness and educating our communities of the real issues that lie in our communities like sickness, malnutrition, unhealthy livelihoods, and other issues.” Catholic Diocese of Wabag Bishop Arnold Orowae thanked UNFPA for the partnership and acknowledged the work of the Diocese in combating GBV and SARV. “We are happy to have UNFPA facilitating this training because this fight against GBV and SARV is something the Catholic church in the province has been dealing with and trying to stop,” Bishop Orowae said. “We want to protect and promote life, peace, and harmony within our families and communities.” Reflecting on the challenge of ending SARV in Enga Province, Dickson Tanda stressed the importance of identifying where the idea of sorcery or “sanguma” comes from in order to understand it, and fight against it. Mr Tanda shared that this fight must focus on prevention. “We have two avenues when it comes to GBV and SARV; Prevention and Response. We want as much as possible to prevent GBV and SARV from happening in our districts, rather than responding to it when the damage has already been done.” These advocates will now work with communities across the three districts affected by election-related violence and raise awareness on GBV & SARV, with the aim of creating safe spaces for women and girls to seek shelter without the fear of abuse or accusations.

The Western Provincial Health Authority (WPHA) is one of the first PHA’s in the country to participate in the nation-wide NID registration for public servants through the Department of Personnel Management (DPM) and National Civil Registry. A mobile team is now at the provincial headquarters in Daru to conduct audit and registration for health workers and support staff at the PHA as part of GoPNG’s One Pay, Person and One Position (1PPP) Policy to register all public servants on the payroll system and reduce wage bill for the public service. “This exercise will enable good data cleansing for Western PHA records and stop over payments to unknown employees,” said Acting Organizational Development Officer Ms. Heleno Thomas. Meanwhile DPM’s Business Systems Development Manager Mr. Richard Awok said “This will benefit every officer and individual and make accessibility to other services like banking, travel, health and education easier.” Chief Executive Officer for Western PHA Dr. Niko Wuatai stated, “This exercise is to ensure that all WPHA officers are registered in time for the deadline of NID registrations in June 2023.” “We have taken the extraordinary step of requesting these officers from DPM and Civil Registry to come to Daru and met all their travel arrangements," Dr. Wuatai added. This NID rollout will cover South Fly and Delta Fly Districts as North Fly now has a newly established NID office servicing the district. All public servants from the 141 government agencies including teachers, nurses and members of the disciplinary forces serving across the country are required to register through the NID process.

A second half blitz led by Kalyn Ponga and Bradman Best has helped guide the Knights to an impressive 46-26 win over the Titans at McDonald Jones Stadium. Ponga, playing in his first game at McDonald Jones Stadium since July last year, responded to criticism received last month with a try and two try assists as the Knights ran in four tries in 15 minutes to blow the Titans away. The Knights trailed 12-6 before half-time until Ponga sprung to life and placed a kick for Tyson Frizell to cross. He then linked with Bradman Best on the left edge for a 22-18 lead and then broke through himself for the side's fifth of the afternoon. "To play at home like that after the last 7-8 months, it hasn't been all sunshine and roses the last eight months, so to put in a performance like that in front of a crowd I haven't played in front of for a long time... I am happy," Ponga said. "I have to back it up and be consistent and that's something I needed to do for the rest of the year and something I haven't done for the last couple of years... it's just one performance." A try to Dane Gagai shortly after Ponga's effort set up a 16-point advantage before David Fifita, who scored a double in the high-scoring clash, ran the length of the field to narrow the gap late. Best, who came under first for a mid-season trip to Bali during the side’s bye week, had an unfortunate start to the game when he allowed the ball to bounce from the kick-off. He had the final say throughout the afternoon, however. The Knights weren’t made to pay for the early error and managed enough field position early to enable Jackson Hastings to place a kick for a leaping Dominic Young to collect and plant the ball down nicely. A penalty goal to the home side put them 6-0 in front but their lead quickly evaporated with two tries in four minutes to Queensland Origin hopefuls Fifita and Phil Sami. Fifita made the Knights defensive line look non-existent when he finished off a Kieran Foran pass on the inside before Sami outleaped former teammate Greg Marzhew in the air for the visitors' second. Despite a try after the break through Jayden Campbell, it was all the Knights in the second half as Ponga and Best worked their magic down the left channel. The Titans appeared to have the final say through Alofiana Khan-Pereira on the left edge until an intercept try to Young, who ran 95 metres for the Knights' sixth try of the second half on the siren, ended a fortnight of scrutiny for the club. Source: NRL.Com

The Panthers dismantled the Roosters 48-4 at BlueBet Stadium on Friday night to send an ominous warning to anyone with designs on taking their premiership crown. With Jarome Luai staking an undeniable claim for the NSW No.6 jersey and Scott Sorensen producing the best game of his career, the Panthers put the match to bed by half-time with four unanswered tries. Having conceded the opening try in their previous four matches, Penrith ended that streak in emphatic fashion in the 10th minute when James Fisher-Harris put Sorensen over with a nice offload. A dropped ball by Jared Waerea-Hargreaves 20 metres out from his own line gave the Panthers a shot at a second try but the Roosters defence held firm and a penalty got them out of their own end. The Panthers extended their lead in the 22nd minute when Sorensen exploded into space on the left edge and found Tyrone Peachey who was tackled just short but got an offload away for Dylan Edwards to score. Luai showed his class with two try assists in the space of two minutes late in the half as the premiers really flexed their muscle. First it was Sorensen the beneficiary as Luai went across field and put the rampaging back-rower into a gap and then Peachey grabbed the 53rd four-pointer of his career courtesy of a dazzling Luai line break. The second half started the same way the first had ended for the Roosters with errors cruelling any chance they had of mounting pressure but their defence held firm until the 61st minute when Isaah Yeo turned playmaker with a cross field kick for Brian To'o to score. Nathan Cleary's conversion made it 30-0. The Roosters finally got across the line with 15 minutes to play when Billy Smith put Corey Allan over in the corner with a neat flick pass. With 10 minutes to play it was Sunia Turuva adding his name to the tryscorers list courtesy of some slick lead-up by Luai and Peachey. Luai then capped a magnificent game with a try in the 76th minute as the score blew out to 42-4 before Peachey grabbed a double after Jaxson Paulo made a mess of cleaning up a grubber kick. The Panthers have now won their past seven games against the Roosters, who also lost big guns Joey Manu and Waerea-Hargreaves to injury on a horror night at BlueBet Stadium, a ground they have not won at since 2017. Source: NRL.com