The Arrival of the PNG Chiefs: A New Era for the NRL
From the start of November this year, the NRL open market will become more frenzied and unique than ever before with the arrival of the PNG Chiefs. With their inaugural season slated for 2028, it means what are right now far away talks about signing players will rapidly become not only a reality, but a necessity.
The expansion club has already landed some key off-field names, with Willie Peters officially signing on as coach and Michael Chammas the general manager of football. The league’s 19th team have also got a home base sorted in Port Moresby, with staff and players to be afforded luxurious resort-style living. But the biggest challenge will be attracting talent on the field.
Technically speaking, the Chiefs can already sign players for the 2028 season who are off-contract now, but it would require a stop-gap deal for whoever it is in 2027. Then there’s this year’s November open market period and while it has been stressed that no official discussions can take place with players off-contract at the end of next season yet, some very high-profile names have already been spoken about.
“The luxury of being appointed myself so early and then back it up with a coach in place by the start of April, it means we can actually talk to players now,” Chiefs general manager Michael Chammas told Wide World Of Sports last week. “The ones who are off-contract right now, at the end of 2026, we can sign them for 2028 as long as they do a one-year deal elsewhere or at their current clubs.”
Among the top talent who could still be available later this year are four-time premiership winners and Penrith Panthers co-captains Nathan Cleary and Isaah Yeo, as well as Melbourne Storm and Maroons superstar Cameron Munster. Cleary has already hinted he’s likely to stay with the Panthers, while it would be hard to imagine Yeo being anything other than a one-club player. Munster on the other hand isn’t out of the realms of possibility, especially given the fact head coach Peters is represented by Braith Anasta, who also manages the Storm gun and admitted it would be “common sense” that his client would entertain moving to PNG during a recent episode of BTFU’s 180 Podcast.
The 31-year-old’s current contract with Melbourne expires at the perfect time for PNG to pounce and offer him a monster contract, which would of course be tax-free. The champion five-eighth has spoken candidly about his career winding down sooner rather than later and it’s feasible that Munster could look to cash in before he retires.
Aside from those elite-level names being bandied about, there has also been a public desire from those involved with the Chiefs to have homegrown talent in the squad, but that will likely only grow in time after getting the club up and running. Chammas is adamant there will be PNG representation in the 2028 squad and it will only grow year-on-year as things progress and pathway systems are implemented.
“We’ve got a list of everyone on our radar that has Papua New Guinean heritage or was born there and we need to represent the people of Papua New Guinea,” he said. “In the short-term, what does that look like? I’m not gonna put a number on it, but there’s no doubt in the world we’re gonna be going after a lot of these PNG players to bring them over and play for their home country.”
Potential Targets for the PNG Chiefs
The recruitment blueprint has been set by the Dolphins, who are yet to reach the finals in three seasons but are clearly improving year-on-year, with the initial mix between youth and experience in their 2023 squad making them competitive for that inaugural season but also paying dividends in the long run and into the future.
“Dolphins have done a fantastic job and we actually caught up with them, myself and our CEO Lorna McPherson, we went out to Redcliffe and listened to Terry Reader and the executive team that built the club,” Chammas said. “While it’s a different model and they obviously had been established for 70-odd years … but the principles in building a football club from the ground up are the same.”
As pointed out by Chammas, the club can already sign players for 2028 who are off-contract now, but Wide World Of Sports has taken a look ahead to November and broken down a list of potential targets for the Chiefs, splitting it up into five categories.
MILLION-DOLLAR TALENT
James Tedesco, Tom Trbojevic, Kalyn Ponga, Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow, Latrell Mitchell, Herbie Farnworth, Cameron Munster, Nathan Cleary, Sam Walker, Isaah Yeo
While it’s not imperative to land a million-dollar player right off the bat, Chiefs officials have made their intentions clear and why not shoot for the stars?
REP-LEVEL PLAYERS
Scott Drinkwater, Xavier Coates, Josh Addo-Carr, Brian To’o, Campbell Graham, Xavier Savage, Bradman Best, Matt Burton, Blaize Talagi, Jeremiah Nanai, David Fifita, Hudson Young, Briton Nikora, Jacob Preston, Kulikefu Finefeuiaki, Samuela Fainu, Brendan Piakura, Terrell May, Stefano Utoikamanu, Moeaki Fotuaika, Xavier Willison, Victor Radley
In the tier just below those million-dollar players is a stack of representative-level stars who could potentially test the open market in November and be in the Chiefs’ sights.
EXPERIENCED FIGURES
Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad, Clint Gutherson, Alex Johnston, Dallin Watene-Zelezniak, Valentine Holmes, Jack Wighton, Luke Brooks, Mitch Kenny, Damien Cook, Jayden Brailey, Chris Randall, Nat Butcher, Euan Aitken, Jason Taumalolo, Jacob Saifiti, Daniel Saifiti, Jack de Belin, Corey Jensen, Josh King, Connor Watson
As mentioned, the Dolphins really showed the blueprint for recruiting an inaugural squad by bringing in experienced players – especially in the forward pack.
YOUNG GUNS
Heamasi Makasini, Mitchell Woods, Lyhkan King-Togia, Zane Harrison, Salesi Foketi, Jacob Halangahu, Cooper Bai, Loko Pasifiki Tonga, Ben Te Kura, Sam Tuivati
Looking at the current off-contract list at the end of next year and some of the game’s best young talent are unsigned, headlined by Mitchell Woods and Heamasi Makasini.
OVERSEAS OPTIONS
It’s not just the NRL where the Chiefs will be looking to attract talent and given the fact Peters has been at the forefront of Hull KR for the past few years, don’t be surprised if some Super League standouts find themselves making the move.
“Willie has obviously had success over there and has got respect over there, they looked him at for the England job as well,” Chammas said. “We know that we’ve got the right guy in Willie who can tell us if there’s anyone in England that we should be getting and given the fact he will still be over there for eight months, it gives him the opportunity to meet with some people.”
The latest expansion team could provide a pathway to the best competition in the world for guys like Mikey Lewis, Harry Smith, Jake Connor and Junior Nsemba while also re-opening the door for players such as Brodie Croft, Albert Hopoate, Tristan Sailor, Tyrone May and Maika Sivo to come back to the NRL and finish their careers.
Then there’s the solid contingent of PNG internationals currently playing in England. The most obvious name would be Lachlan Lam – son of national hero Adrian – who is playing under his father at Leigh Leopards. Lam came through the Sydney Roosters system and had limited opportunities in the top grade before heading over to the Super League in 2022.
Nene MacDonald is an experienced outside back who played more than 100 NRL games and 22 Tests for the Kumuls and would be a handy pick-up out wide. Other notable PNG internationals currently plying their trade overseas include Edwin Ipape, Rhyse Martin, Dan Russell, Jacob Alick-Wiencke and Gairo Voro.
While there’s no way the Chiefs are going to be able to sign every PNG international who might be available, they will want to have some national flavour on the books.
Chammas, Peters and everyone else involved with the franchise have their work cut out for them – but the challenge of building a roster from scratch is no doubt exciting too.
