17 Aug 2012

Sport: Strong PNG lineup expected for Rabbitohs clash

10:42 am on 17 August 2012

Most of Papua New Guinea's best players are expected to be available for Feburary's pre season clash with the Rabbitohs in Sydney.

The fixture was announced earlier this week and will provide a valuable hitout for PNG at the start of a World Cup year.

Tas Batieri from the Rugby League International Federation helped to broker the match and says there will be a mix of players from the local Digicel Cup competition and NRL professionals.

"The majority of the team will be made up of local talent and I'm sure a lot of clubs will be keen to see some of the players coming out of Papua New Guinea. There will be requests made to some of the clubs - the Titans for example that have got young David Mead playing for them - they would release him for this one-off game. Every effort will be made to try and secure the best possible team."

The game will form part of the Kumuls build-up to the Rugby League World Cup at the end of next year, where they're in the same pool as New Zealand, France and Samoa.