KCK Rigo Rice Cup launched Season 2

The KCK Rigo Rice Cup officially launched its second edition of PNG’s biggest grassroots rugby league competition last Friday night, 21st November 2025, at Night Breeze Club in Port Moresby.  

Following a successful conclusion of the inaugural competition early this year, with more than 80 teams participating in Port Moresby, including a team each from Lae, Mt Hagen, and Alotau, the growing competition is gearing up to host the second edition this month.

Teams will compete across five legs for season 2. Legs 1, 3, 4, and 5 will have players all across the country battling, while leg 2 has been set aside for the Motu-Koita and Central boys only. The legs 1-4 will see Port Moresby-based teams compete, while players from outside of the capital city will compete in the Country leg. 

A few changes have been made for season 2 to improve the competition's standard, with the introduction of livestreaming of all matches from day one until the finals, as well as the inclusion of U12 & U14 divisions, coupled with stringent measures put in place to deter any form of violence against the match officials.

Some restrictions have also been placed on the Digicel-ExxonMobil Cup players. Only five players are allowed to take the field during the game, not more than that. The teams that fail to comply with this bylaw will be penalized.    

Rigo Rice Cup Managing Director, Jeffery Kennedy, expressed satisfaction with the outcome of season 1 and highlighted the reason for establishing the Rigo Rice Cup: “The whole idea behind starting the KCK Rigo Rice Cup is to create opportunities for our raw talents to showcase their skills. 

“When we hosted season 1, many people doubted us, claiming that it was a fake competition. This is far from the truth. We genuinely want to help grassroots people, especially emerging players, to expose their talents. 

“Not everybody will make it to the NRL, Digicel-ExxonMobil Cup, etc. For those who don’t have a chance to play at the elite level of competitions, the Rigo Rice Cup creates a second chance and provides opportunities for them. 

“We also saw some players from the Rigo Rice Cup being picked by the Digicel Cup teams at the end of season 1, while the others have been signed by overseas-based clubs, which is a big plus for us.”

Mr. Kennedy acknowledged the PNG Sports Foundation for providing a venue to host the games in season 1 and extended his appreciation to the Rigo Rice founder and Rigo MP Ano Pala, and Kendakali Lawyers, whose strong support enabled them to complete season 1 successfully.    

Rigo Rice Cup founding CEO, McSteve Polly, revealed that the competition had made partnerships with a few clubs in Australia to export some of the players abroad, aiming to not only provide cash incentives and expose the players’ skills, but also create pathways for them to further their careers. 

The KCK Rigo Rice Cup first edition ran for six months, which saw Port Moresby’s South Side Dolphins sink the Morobe Pride in the decider to be crowned the inaugural champions and walked away with K200,000 cash prize, while Morobe Pride received K60,000, and Mono Mutrus Brothers scooped K40,000.

With an increase in prize money for the second edition, the number of participating teams is expected to surpass the previous record, potentially reaching over 100 teams. The stakes are higher this time with the lucrative K500,000 grand prize money on offer - ranging from K300,000 (1st), K100,000 (2nd), K80,000 (3rd) and K20,000 (4th).

Meanwhile, season 2 of the competition will commence its leg one this weekend (29th November) at Bava Park, featuring 20 teams from Port Moresby’s North-West Electorate, with the other four legs to follow suit in the coming weeks. The competition will run until April next year.