Sport: West Papua Warriors eye USA

2:11 pm on 12 February 2016

The West Papua Warriors are hoping to spread their message to new frontiers.

The rugby league team, made up of players from Papua New Guinea and West Papua, was formed to raise awareness about the on-going human rights abuses in the Indonesian province.

They have competed in a handful of Nines tournaments in PNG and Australia in recent months and last week thrashed a Philippines development side 54-8 in a full 13-a-side match.

Captain Tala Kami said the team had received an invitation to compete in the USA Nines in May.

"We are seriously considering taking the team over there. It will just come down to funding and all that kind of stuff - if we can get all the sponsorship in time then it looks like USA Nines should be the next target. It's only an eight-team competition so four of them are the national clubs in America and the other four are international invitational teams: Canada, Jamaica, an Indigenous side in Australia and then we are the fourth. It should be a good level of competition."

Tala Kami said the team also planned to continue playing nine-a-side tournaments in PNG over the coming months, until the domestic competition began in winter.

The West Papua Warriors celebrate beating the Philippines development team.

The West Papua Warriors celebrate beating the Philippines development team. Photo: Facebook / West Papua Warriors