Grima Impressed with PNG NRL Academy Schools National Championship

The PNG NRL Academy hosted its Schools National Championship finals on Saturday, May 10th, 2025, at Santos National Football Stadium in Port Moresby.

Host teams, the NCD 9/10 boys and open women, claimed the championship following their gritty wins over the Lae and Goroka teams, respectively.

The PNG NRL Academy started two years ago and staged its inaugural national championship in Goroka, Eastern Highlands Province, last year. 

Just over three years of running, head of development pathway Joe Grima expressed satisfaction about the outcome of the finals, sharing his first-hand experience of seeing most kids traveling to the nation’s capital for the first time.   

“I’m just happy that it went the way it did. It’s always about the players - the 40 players who represented Central and Lae in the first game - Lae and NCD in the second game, followed by NCD and Goroka in the last game,” Grima stated.

“The pleasing thing for me is when you talk to the players who traveled from outside centers to Port Moresby, a lot of these young men and women have never been on a plane; most of them have never been to POM. So, for that alone, that’s a wonderful story for them to take back. 

“It’s really comforting that they slept in the hotels, they played in arguably the best stadium in PNG or Melanesia. So, for them, I’m really happy that they enjoyed it.

“It’s not always about winning - winning being everything - it’s about coming together. There’s a winning team and a losing team, but the way they embraced it at the end of each game just gave me confidence that this program that we are running is about building and instilling capabilities in young men and women.”

The PNG NRL Academy is gaining traction and picking up momentum every year. PNG will be ready to compete in the NRL by 2028.