The imminent announcement of a Papua New Guinea-based NRL team has been labelled by Jason Demetriou as a “huge milestone” for the nation.
Next week, the location of the 18th NRL side is set to be decided, with PNG expected to be rubber-stamped.
The former Rabbitohs coach is optimistic about what a top-level rugby league would do for the southwestern Pacific country.
“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.”
Demetriou is the current coach of the Kumuls – PNG’s men’s international rugby league side.
While he hasn’t directly stated his interest in taking charge of the potential 18th team, the 48-year-old plans to remain in the PNG rugby league system.
“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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