PNG Chiefs

The Papua New Guinea Chiefs join the NRL in 2028 as the competition's 19th club, and the first based outside Australia and New Zealand. They will be based in Port Moresby.

PNG Chiefs club file

Heartland

Papua New Guinea

Colours

Not yet unveiled

Home ground

Santos National Football Stadium, Port Moresby

Entering the competition

2028

Head coach

Willie Peters

Announced

12 December 2024

A club for a rugby league country

Papua New Guinea is the one country in the world where rugby league is the national sport, and it has sent players to the NRL for decades without ever having a club of its own. The Kumuls are a Test nation, the PNG Hunters have played in the Queensland Cup since 2014, and the annual Prime Minister's XIII match in Port Moresby regularly fills a stadium. A licence was the missing piece.

The entry was announced on 12 December 2024, underwritten by a long-term Australian Government funding commitment reported at around $600 million over ten years, tied to a broader Pacific rugby league partnership. It is a geopolitical arrangement as much as a sporting one, and that is unusual for an NRL club.

How the name was chosen

Papua New Guineans picked it. A public consultation narrowed the options and a non-binding public vote ran between Chiefs and Pythons, with Chiefs announced on 12 October 2025 ahead of that year's Prime Minister's XIII fixture. The club's colours, logo and jersey had still not been revealed as at August 2026. The name itself is not fully settled either: New Zealand Rugby holds the Chiefs trademark in Australasia through its Super Rugby club, and IP Australia had not allowed the NRL's registration.

Where they will play

Home games are planned for Santos National Football Stadium in Port Moresby, the ground that hosts the Hunters and PNG Test matches. It currently seats roughly 15,000, with an expansion planned before the Chiefs' first season. Port Moresby keeps the same clock as Brisbane all year, so a Chiefs home game lands in a normal eastern-states timeslot rather than an awkward one.

Building a squad

Willie Peters was appointed inaugural head coach in March 2026, and leaves Hull Kingston Rovers at the end of the 2026 Super League season. Recruitment has moved quickly for a club that does not play until 2028: Alex Johnston and Jarome Luai signed first, with Brian To'o, Zac Lomax, Connor Watson and Joey Manu following.

Following the Chiefs in Six Again

Six Again covers the full NRL competition, so the Chiefs will be in the app from their first round in 2028 - the draw converted to your local time, the live ladder, and lock-screen live scores for eligible matches as a Live Activity on iPhone or a Live Update on Android 16 and later.

Every NRL club, one quiet live score

Live scores on your lock screen, the live ladder and the full draw - free to download, with no gambling ads anywhere.

PNG Chiefs FAQ