The PNG Chiefs will begin their inaugural NRL season in 2028 with a coaching staff that now includes former NSW playmaker Trent Hodkinson.
Hodkinson, 38, has reportedly signed a three-year deal to work with the team's halves after recently visiting the club's Port Moresby facilities. He is expected to relocate to PNG in December.
He played 179 NRL matches from 2010 to 2019 for Canterbury, Cronulla, Newcastle and Manly, retiring because of chronic knee problems. Hodkinson co-captained Canterbury in the 2014 grand final defeat to South Sydney.
His defining Origin moment came in 2014, when he scored the Game 2 winner for NSW, securing the series and ending Queensland's eight-year hold on the shield.
Hodkinson has worked in pathways at the Redcliffe Dolphins and served as an assistant with the NSW under-19s and Central Queensland Capras. Chiefs coach Willie Peters has also recruited Anthony Seibold as senior assistant, Luke Burt and football operations manager Rhyse Martin.
The club has secured a three-year Bank South Pacific sponsorship worth about $5 million per season, a record NRL deal. Its signings include Jarome Luai, Alex Johnston, Connor Watson, Brian To'o, Zac Lomax, Joey Manu and Matty Lees.
Luai will play for Parramatta next season before joining PNG in 2028, alongside Johnston, Watson and To'o.