The organizer’s of the SHP 9s tournament have pulled off a coup! Majority of the PNGNRLC coaches and three Franchise Managers are confirmed to come to Mendi in the Southern Highlands on invitation of the Organizers as guests to witness the third edition of the growing 9s tournament from 2nd -5th December, 2021.
The coaches will be in Mendi for the duration of the tournament at the Momei Oval in the heart of Mendi Town to watch and scout for potential talents for their 2022 Digicel Cup season.
Since tournament’s inception in 2019, it has grown every year. The first year only SHP and Hela teams took part. Then in 2020 teams came from as far as Morobe. This year teams such as Paga Panthers (Male and Female) of Port Moresby, Page Park Cowboys of Kokopo and Lae Biscuit Spiders (Male and Female) of Lae have shown interest.
ln effect teams from all corners of the country will come to compete in the third edition of the Southern Highlands Provincial 9s tournament. The presence of the coaches and league administrors will boost the image of the tournament in the Southern Highlands with plenty of emerging talents having the golden opportunity to be scouted.
The Southern Highlands Provincial Government have been the main backers of the tournament and they will continue to do so this year. But with the expansion of the tournament, organisers are calling on business houses to come on board as partners and sponsors to make the tournament even bigger and better to bolster the image of Mendi Town and the Southern Highlands.
Teams planning to take part must start their preparations and selections of their squads now so that they send quality teams to the tournament. We have seen quality rugby league matches in the first two editions and in the third installment it will go up to another level.