Sport Kona

10/02/2025

K50, 000 for Mens Cup winner in JT Super 9s 2025

BY Fidelis Sukina

The atmosphere was buzzing at the Moresby South Stadium, as the fans turned up for the launching of the 2025 JT Super Nines rugby league tournament.

The tournament has attracted teams from Moresby South and across the city of Port Moresby with the tournament director also confirming a team from Miline Bay Province.

Before the start of the launch tournament director Bagelo Solien made it clear that the competition had very tough rules for the teams to follow.

Minister for Foreign Affairs and Member for Moresby South Hon. Justin Tkatchenko MP was present at the event which coincided with his Birthday.

The member of parliament was presented two birthday cakes for his 53rd Birthday, the two cakes were bought by the tournament staff and by the Lamana Group of Companies as well, they were presented to him on the podium and under the night sky on the open field he blew out the candles on one of the cakes.

On to the main course of the program, the JT Super nines for the year 2025 has a whopping 128 teams all combined, with the Mens A grade the womens division and the mens Under 20, a total of 17 teams are from Moresby South.

The teams lined up around the stage and provided the backdrop for the Minister as he gave his speech.

The tournament is setting a new prize money, this time the prize money is coinciding with the country’s 50th Independence celebrations and is set at K50,00 as the first prize.

Special Guest to the JT Super Nines launching was Governor of NCD Powes Parkop, who said he was very supportive of the tournament and its part to help develop the skills and talent of youths in the sport of rugby league.

The official launch was marked with a stunning 6 minutes of fireworks which lit up the nights sky.

The JT Super 9s is set to be bigger and better this year and teams will be surely looking forward to the next two weeks of competition.

30/01/2025

Keep up the good work KCK RIGO RICE CUP

24/01/2025

MONO MUTRUS BROTHERS WIN FINAL IN LEG ONE OF KCK RIGO RICE CUP

BY Fidelis Sukina

The Rigo Rice Cup on Sunday ended the first leg of their competition, with two of the teams Mono Mutrus Brothers and the D8 Mosquitoes playing in the final of the first leg.

The final match of leg one was a show case with the presence of Rigo Rice Managing Director Jeffery Kennedy Present for the final he was escorted by Rigo Rice Cup CEO Mcsteve Polly.

The two met with the two teams the Mono Mutrus Brothers and the D-8 Mosquitoes, the Mono Mutrus Brothers are based out of Hohola while the D-8 Mosquitoes is an acronym for Dirty 8-mile mosquitoes, having 8 mile as their home base.

It was a tough match and a showcase of toughness and skill, with both sides showing the crowd why they were the finalists.

But it was the Mono Mutrus Brothers that came out on top winning the match 12-6, The D-8 Mosquitoes despite the loss will advance to the final round along with Mono Mutrus Brothers.

The Mutrus Brothers received K10,000 for winning the first leg challenge while the Mosquitoes settled for K5,000.

the Mono Mutrus Brothers team owner Tonny Killi, was proud of his team’s performance, he also commended the competition hosts Rigo Rice.

Tony Kili mentioned that he had bought the team through the ranks through his own efforts and the team was to help his youths from his area in Hohola.

The Mono Mutrus Brothers and the D-8 Mosquitoes all advance to the final stage of the Rigo Rice Cup where they will challenge with other teams for the grand prize of K200,000.

There are three more legs that need to be played in each of the legs three teams will progress on to the finals, with 12 teams to play for the K200,000 grand prize.

For the first leg its Mono Mutrus Brothers, D-8 Mosquitoes and Koita Brothers that advance to the final stage.

22/01/2025

PRO BOXER JUNIOR KAUKO RAKA STARTS A NEW GYM.

BY FIDELIS SUKINA

Under the afternoon sun a sparring session.

These young men and women are training in the art of boxing.
Boxing is a popular sport globally and has a reputation for discipline and is considered a community-oriented sport.

These boxers are training under the watchful eye of Junior Kauko Raka one of Papua New Guineas Professional boxers.

Raka has fought professionally and has a commendable pro boxing record.
Raka makes time available to be at the Sir John Guise stadium at the carpark to teach Boxing.

But he has his gym at Koki.

Raka has a passion for training up and coming talent in the sport of boxing and with the help of his sponsors has opened a gym dedicated to train interested individuals in the sport of Boxing, but his main aim is to allow Children that are unfortunate to be part of the Gym.

Thus, he named the gym, the street kids boxing gym.

Apart from being a Boxing Coach and Professional Boxer, Raka is also the tournament director for the Port Moresby Armature Boxing Association.

The armature boxing association is where most of his students will be taking part and starting their boxing career, Junior mentioned that there were 17 different clubs across the city, and they all take part in tournaments to determine who the champions are in the armature boxing scene in Port Moresby.

For those that are looking to be a professional boxer than the pathway starts with an armature career before you can turn pro.
Raka mentioned that there are two locations that he makes time available for to train his students.

He trains his students at the Sir John Guise Stadium on Mondays Wednesdays and Fridays in the afternoons at 3:30pm to 5:45pm.

He charges K2 for those join in the sessions at the Stadium he also charges fees as low as K2 at his Gym at Koki.

You can find Junior Kauko Raka on Facebook to connect with him to join in the boxing sessions.

14/01/2025

PAIS WISIL BREAKS 60M NATIONAL RECORD

MEDIA RELEASE

The younger sibling of Pacific Sprint Queen Toea Wisil has broken the 60m national record.

Pais Wisil who's other sibling is Kupun Wisil a pacific games medalist, is the third Wisil in PNG to take up sprinting as a sporting career.

Pais Wisil has broken Peter Pulu’s 30 year old national record for 60m with a timing of 6.76 seconds in Brisbane yesterday (Sunday).

Pulu set the record of 6.79seconds at the 1993 World Indoor championships in Barcelona and went on to break the 100m national record later in the same year in a lead up meet in Germany prior to the outdoor world championships in Gothenburg.

He repeated the 60m record timing of 6.79secs time at the 2003 world indoor championships in Birmingham.

Wisil has been in great form lately , clocking several personal best timings in the 100m including a 10.49clocking at the PNG Air National Championships last month.

“Coach Tony Fairweather is sure that he can go much better in the 60m” said Athletics PNG President Tony Green, as he stumbled quite badly on his third stride. Wisil is hoping to be able to run at least two more 60m races in the near future to enhance his chances of qualifying for the World Indoor championships which will be held in Nanjing , China from March 21 to 23.

11/01/2025

MOTU KOITA COWBOYS EYE TOP SPOT IN RIGO RICE CUP LEG ONE CHALLENGE

MEDIA RELEASE

Competing in the inaugural edition of the KCK Rigo Rice Cup, Motu Koita Cowboys have displayed exceptional performance since the resumption of the tournament’s first leg in December.

As the tournament’s first leg heads into semi-finals on (Friday the10th January), the Motu Koita boys are on by for preliminary finals on Sunday 12th January with four consecutive wins.

With just one game away from the leg one’s ending, Koita Cowboys are keen with confidence to secure a spot in the grand final.

Five eight Haro Suve displayed an outstanding performance with 6/6 conversion kicks during their quarter final match with Kagua Woodmen last weekend, where Koita Cowboys trashed Woodmen 24 points to 10.

Speaking to the Sunday Bulletin, Suve expressed pure confidence and trust for his team, despite them being the youngest side competing in the tournament.

“I have faith in the boys and believe that we will fight hard to secure a spot in the grand final with mentoring from Kumul debutant Morea Morea.”

09/01/2025

Big things ahead for the small team FIdelis Multimedia we look forward to what the year 2025 will bring

As a small Multimedia Business Fidelis Multimedia that is slowly trying to make its way in the industry, small help like this from vivo PNG is always appreciated, we look forward to continued partnership with Busineses in Papua New Guinea as we continue to bring a different product to the market, it will be a great 2025 starting with this Partnership with vivo, we really appreciate the gesture, POM News KONA and Sport Kona will greatly benefit from this gesture of two Vivo v30 5g smart phones, we will be using these phones to collect content and upload content on our social media pages, thank you.

Frank Mogona of FIdelis Multimedia reciving two vivo v30 series smart phones from the staff at the Vivo Service center today.

07/01/2025

Sacked Bradford Bulls star ‘flees country’ hours after r**e charges

Former Bradford Bulls forward Keven Appo fleed the United Kingdom within hours of being charged with a string of offences including r**e.

03/01/2025

Former SP PNG Hunters player charged with r**e in UK.

BRADFORD Bulls have terminated the contract of Papua New Guinea international Keven Appo after he was charged with r**e.

13/12/2024

Media Release:

THE MOMENT HAS ARRIVED! PNG TO BECOME PART OF THE NATIONAL RUGBY LEAGUE

The longstanding relationship between Papua New Guinea and Australia has been taken to a new level with the announcement that PNG will enter the National Rugby League in 2028.

The announcement will not only unite the country in terms of sport but will also be of tremendous benefit to the country in terms of economic development in the coming years.

There is already a fantastic relationship between PNG and Australia, and this will only continue to go from strength to strength.

The announcement will now allow PNG to capitalise on opportunities that will include supporting underutilised sectors, building a sustainable tourism ecosystem, attracting talent to the country and growing overall national engagement through the game of rugby league.

Interest in rugby league within PNG is at an all-time high. The recent Kumuls versus the Prime Ministers X111 match attracted over 1 million views via the Digicel network.

These are incredible viewing figures when compared to weekly NRL figures on Fox or Nine. With PNG entering the National Rugby League in 2028, the potential is now limitless, both through eyeballs on the game and digital growth.

This will be a vital factor in growing the game throughout the country in the future. PNG Rugby Football League Chief Executive, Stanley Hondina, paid tribute to the incredible amount of work that had gone on behind the scenes to lead to this point: “I would like to firstly thank Prime Minister’s Anthony Albanese and James Mar**e for working so hard to bring this dream to reality.

“This NRL team to PNG is more just a football team, it is a powerful tool to not only strengthen the PNG Aus partnership and history but also provides other immense opportunities to building our country and its people holistically.

“This is a tremendous day for our people and this will now allow us to showcase this amazing country to the world. PNG is an amazing place to visit, and we now look forward to people getting a chance to learn more about this beautiful island through
the lens of rugby league.

“I would also like to take this opportunity to thank NRL Bid Chief Executive Andrew Hill and Chairman Wapu Sonk, for their brilliant work in bringing this bid together.

An enormous amount of hard work has gone into getting to where we are today, and I know everyone is now excited about what lies ahead for the game in this country.”

PNG Rugby Football League Chairman Sandis Tsaka, echoed the thoughts of all rugby league supporters:

“This is incredible news for the game in this country. It is a sport that is loved throughout the nation, and it is part of our fabric and what unites our people.

“It is played in the streets and on the fields. In schools and at clubs.

You see it everywhere you go and the whole country will be behind our team leading into that first match in 2028.

“This opportunity is a testament to the growth of the game and the tireless work and passion of our volunteers, partners, players and staff alike, who have been committed to developing the sport, but more importantly positively impacting the lives of the many
who are involved in rugby league in PNG.

“We will welcome all visitors and fans from other teams with open arms and we believe that people who visit will leave having had an amazing experience and seeing first-hand what the game means to people in this country.”

12/12/2024

Papua New Guinea to join the National Rugby League in 2028

The incredible story of the journey of rugby league in Papua New Guinea has received its ultimate end-result with the announcement that the country will join the National Rugby League in 2028.

The decision is an amazing boost not only for the people of PNG, but also the Pacific Natons as a whole.

Months of speculation were today confirmed with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Papua New Guinea Prime Minister

James Mar**e standing together in Sydney to announce the news that will thrill a nation of people where rugby league is the national sport and unites the country.

A tremendous amount of work has taken place behind the scenes to make this decision possible.

With an incredible talent pool of male and female players throughout the country a structure needed to be put in place to support the development of these players.

NRL Bid Chief Executive Andrew Hill and Chairman Wapu Sonk, were tasked with the job of putting the pieces in place that would create a structure that would be the envy of any club in the NRL.

This started with the appointment of the highly credentialled Joe Grima to head up the pathways program. An Academy program was created to nurture the best 15, 17 and 19 year old players and to expand the geographical reach to create training centres throughout the country.

An annual tournament was then created to allow the best players in the country to
showcase their skills on a national platform that was televised for the first time.

The success of the new structure was then highlighted when the Junior Kumuls were able to draw 22-all with the Australian Schoolboys side in Port Moresby in October, showcasing the
major steps forward that had taken place in the skills levels and fitness of the players.

With the structures and programs now in place, attention can move to creating a franchise that can thrive in the NRL.

NRL Bid Chief Executive Andrew Hill was delighted that an enormous amount of hard work by many people had led to this point:

“Rugby League in PNG is extremely thankful to both the Papua New Guinea and Australian Governments. There is no doubt that their support was a game changer.

We are also indebted to Peter V’Landys, Andrew Abdo and the ARLC for their vision and commitment to PNG and the Pacific.

“PNG is in the incredible position of being the only country in the world where rugby league is the national game. It brings together people from all backgrounds and locations under one
banner. When you have a population that can unite behind one cause, it is incredibly powerful, and we have the potential to create the largest fan base of any other current NRL
team.”

NRL Bid Chairman Wapu Sonk was equally as effusive about what the news would mean to
the people of PNG:

“We can’t wait for the world to see the beauty of this great country and everything that it has to offer. It is a chance for our country to showcase itself to the world through a sport that unites the nation.

“This is now the starting point for a lot of hard work. There is much to do to make sure that we are ready to go in 2028, but I am confident that when we run out for our first match we
will be ready and the whole country will be behind us.”

11/12/2024

PAPUA NEW GUINEA RUGBY FOOTBALL LEAGUE HAS STEPPED IN TO MEDIATE THE POWER STRUGGLE THAT IS TAKING PLACE AT THE PORT MORESBY RUGBY FOOTBALL LEAGUE, WHERE THERE ARE NOW TWO CHAIRMANS CLAIMING THEY ARE LEGITIMATE, PNGRFL HAVE NOW ISSUED A FEW ULTIMATIUMS

11/12/2024

HONK KIAP NOT HAPPY WITH SOUTHERN CONFEDERATE

The recently elected board of the Port Moresby Rugby Football League led by Chairman Honk Kiap, is not happy with the involvement of the Southern Confederate Director Jacob Ivaroa.

In a recent media conference Honk Kiap said that the Southern Confederate Director didn’t handle the situation in the first place, adding that there wasn’t a proper Annual General meeting for the past 8 years since 2016.

“The issue of contention here is that the Director of Southern Confederate, Mr. Jacob Ivaroa misled the PNGRFL on issues affecting Port Moresby Rugby League by covering his own mishandling of the PRL Board of Dr. Naipao occupying office illegally for eight years since 30th November 2016.

“Several calls by PRL club delegates to Director Ivaroa to direct Dr. Naipao to call an AGM and elect a new Board fell on deaf years and Dr. Naipao continued to occupy office illegally. On the 30th of April 2024 Southern Confederate by way of a letter suspends PRL Board,” Honk Kiap said

Kiap added that after the suspension notice by the PNGRFL Southern Confederate then Chairman Dr James Naipao disputed the Southern Confederates decision to suspend the POMRFL Board siting the Confederates legal standing on PRL’s operation having no legal standing thereby claiming the suspension defective.

“That meeting never eventuated, In a letter dated 07th November 2024 by PRL club delegates requested Dr. Naipao to convene a Special AGM and was ignored without response,” Kiap added

Kiap said that a follow up letter dated 12th November 2024 to request the special AGM was also not entertained and thus on the 24th of November 2024 the PRL Club delegates met and resolved to elect a new Board.

Seven of 12 clubs voted for new executives at an Annual General Meeting on Sunday, 24th November. The remaining five clubs didn’t vote.

The newly elected executives include; Honk Kiap (chairman), Ronnie Titie Junior (senior vice president), Bartler Otio (junior vice president), Patricia Urum (treasurer), and Udu Vai (secretary).

but Dr James Naipao and still claims his legitimacy as the interim Chairman of the POMRFL Board, and say that there must be a proper AGM to elect a new Chairman in the meantime he is the rightful Chairman.

The claim by two different parties to the chairmanship of POMRFL has led to the involvement of PNGRFL and once again the Southern Confederate.

Dr James Naipao sent a letter to the Southern Confederate Director Jacob Ivaroa, who has stepped in to mediate for a proper Annual General Meeting to take place.

A date has been finally set for the AGM to vote in a new chairman by the clubs that are part of the Port Moresby Rugby Football League.

In an urgent Club Presidents meeting last week Friday called by the Southern Confederate Director, Jacob Ivaroa he stated that both parties were wrong and that there will be an an AGM on January 19th 2025.

Honk Kiap and his board still hold together their legitimacy also and added that they will take the matter to court, and they will not be attending any AGM put forth by the PNGRFL Southern Confederate.

They are now calling for the suspension of the Director Jacob Ivaroa by the PNGRFL for mishandling the issue.

“We now call on PNGRFL to suspend Jacob Ivaroa as Director Southern Confederate and allow Port Moresby Rugby League Inc. to resolve its administrative issues through proper and legal means as soon as practical,” Honk Kiap said

25/11/2024

KCK RIGO RICE CUP LAUNCHED READY FOR KICK-OFF

BY Fidelis Sukina Journalist

The KCK Rigo Rice Cup was launched on Sunday the 24th of November at the Sir Hubert Murray Stadium.

PNG Music Artists Kronos, Estapacifica, Mal Meninga Kuri, and Jnr. Vigi Were the highlights for the day and took center stage.

At the Launch, Rigo Rice Managing Director Jeffery Kennedy presented KCK Rigo Rice Cup CEO Mcsteve Polly with a cheque for K500,000.

The competition is set to take place over five months, with teams from Port Moresby and Central Province playing at the District level. The top twelve teams at the district level will advance to the final leg, with all the teams in the final leg playing at the Sir Hubert Murray Stadium. The winner will receive K200,000, whilst the runner-up will take home K60,000, and the third-placed side will take home K40,000.