Tsaka clarifies Womens team selection (Post Courier 05/01/17)

left PNGRFL Chairman Sandis Tsaka, Horta Boskey (NGI Confederate Director, Russ Kaupa (Northern Confederate Director), Chairman of SP PNG Hunters Graham Osborne, Gwaibo Mari (Southern Confederate Director), new CEO of the PNGRFL Reatau Rau and Joe Tokam (Highlands Confederate Director).

By FIDELIS SUKINA

Papua New Guinea Rugby Football League chairman Sandis Taska has clarified the process for the selection of the National Women’s rugby league

Taska said at the moment there is no women’s team because the team is selected in the National Championships when all teams from each confederate assemble their best players.

He added that to get the Women’s National team prepared for the World Cup this year the players would be on development programs like high performance training but would continue on with their respective competitions.

“We don’t select a team and get them into camp for a long period of time we have competitions running we do high performance training and clinics we identify potential players and bring them into camps but they go back and play in their normal competitions.

“Selections are made at the confederate championships where all the best players from the confederates come together for the trials.

“So our national team is selected at the national championships if you are part of high performance training and elite training camps doesn’t ensure a place in the team,” Taska said

Taska mentioned that since the inception of the current PNGRFL Board three years ago they have seen the growth of Woman in rugby league in Papua New Guinea.

“Women’s competition has been played through proper competition since this board came into place prior to that it was ad hock competitions been played.

“I n the past three years we have seen the progressive evolution of the game and the development of the skills and talents of our female athletes through coach Michale Marum and the Hunters program have brought together the identified elite women of the game to train with the Hunters in the Camp in Moresby and the camp in Goroka we have been doing that to improve their level of skills we have women playing in 44 leagues in the country which have women divisions so the standard is there,” Taska said

Taska said the inclusion of overseas players was on the cards which will see a mixture of Papua New Guinea based and overseas based players.

“Once the national team is appointed we are also looking into getting our top Papua New Guinean Women playing overseas especially in Queensland where we have a group of young ladies so how we merge the teams from the local leagues and from overseas is something the new coach will have to take up so we need to appoint a quickly so we can roll out the program of brining our best talent together and putting a team together that can win the world cup which I know we can do,” Taska said