LeagueNews.co | Jason Patrick
Former captains of Papua New Guinea's men's and women's rugby league teams are urging the NRL and the Australian government to include an NRLW team in any expansion of the league into their country.
They emphasize the potential for social change in the women's game and the importance of recognizing it.
Australia's minister for the pacific, Pat Conroy, has confirmed discussions about what resources the government could offer to support a PNG bid to become the 18th NRL club.
The government has already pledged $5.5m this year for rugby league pathways in the country, and a PNG NRL franchise is likely to need tens of millions of dollars of annual Australian taxpayer support.
The inaugural captain of the Orchids, PNG women's rugby league side, Cathy Neap, believes that the introduction of an NRLW team would "change totally the way people see women" and bring the same level of respect given to NRL players to the women's team.
"If we get the girls to play in an NRLW team, I know the same amount of respect they give to the NRL players they will give to the girls as well," Neap said.