21 Mar 2013

Sport: Meninga excited about the untapped potential in PNG Rugby League

11:44 am on 21 March 2013

The Queensland Rugby League coach, Mal Meninga, says he's excited by the potential for rugby league in Papua New Guinea.

Meninga has joined the Kumuls coaching staff as performance director for the next five years, after being approached by national head coach Adriam Lam.

He will work alongside Lam at this year's Rugby League World Cup in the Northern Hemisphere and is predicting a bright future.

"It's sort of been in the doldrums a little bit the last few years with administrative problems but I've witnessed some really strong leadership in recent times from the PNG Government, from the Prime Minister down to the Sports Minister, and the PNG Rugby League have got their act together. 90-95 percent of the population either play it or follow it so I mean it's a bit of a sleeping giant in the rugby league world. It's not only a one year program but a five year program so, in five years time, I've got a lot of confidence that the national Kumuls side will be very competitive."