Jason Demetriou makes call on coaching PNG team after $600 million entry into NRL confirmed

After two years of speculation and planning, the NRL's PNG team is expected to be rubber-stamped at a meeting next week in what former Rabbitohs coach Jason Demetriou has labelled "a huge milestone" for rugby league. The former NRL coach expects sold-out crowds, a stronger pathways system and a more competitive national team on the back of the announcement but played down his aspirations to lead the team.

"It's going to open the door for PNG rugby league to continue its growth," Demetriou told AAP. "They'll sell out that stadium. They'll probably have to increase the capacity because they'll sell that out every week. To see that (the announcement) is coming close, it'll be a huge milestone for PNG rugby league."

Previously only a handful of players from PNG's semi-professional local competition had made it to the NRL or Super League, including Justin Olam, Rodrick Tai and Sylvester Namo. However, Demetriou believes that the move to add a new NRL team and bolster the country's pathway system will see more opportunities for local talent while also turning their side into a serious NRL force.

"(PNG) is the biggest talent pool that the game can expand to without a doubt," Demetriou said. "It's going to have a huge impact on the Digicel Cup over there, which for me is a fantastic competition and can grow and arguably be as strong as NSW or Queensland Cup. I truly believe that within two or three years that competition will be as strong as both of those competitions and you'll have 12 teams feeding into one NRL side."

But as for coaching the NRL's PNG outfit, Demetriou was non-committal but said one way or another he will be helping the national rugby league scene. "I'm already involved in terms of coaching the Kumuls," he said.

"For me, it's about what I can do now to support the game's growth to rise the Kumuls. "The Kumuls will still be the number one team over there and if I can support that, we'll see where that takes us."

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NRL-calibre junior system to turn PNG into an international force

Demetriou believes the creation and development of an NRL-calibre junior system will help bolster the national team the Kumuls, who he began coaching this year. "These guys (currently) aren't coming into any type of system until they're 17, 18 years old, and (the Kumuls) are still ranked fifth or sixth in the world," he said.

"It's pretty remarkable when you consider their (limited) background of junior rugby league." He likened the Kumuls' potential to the growth of New Zealand rugby league after the Warriors entered the Australian Rugby League in 1995 - the Kiwis' first World Cup win, their biggest defeat of Australia and two of their three largest home crowds have all come since then.

"It's going to make the Kumuls stronger over the next couple of years," he said. "You've seen since the Warriors came into the competition how different New Zealand rugby league is now compared to before. That's the kind of impact it will have on PNG rugby league."

with AAP