The head of Papua New Guinea‘s bid for an NRL license has denied reports the venture has been officially given the green light.
On Wednesday night, reports emerged the ARL had reached an in-principal agreement the the Australian federal government in a deal worth $600 million.
On Thursday, the bid’s lead consultant Andrew Hill said there had been “very little” formal movement for several months.
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“There’s certainly nothing in concrete,” he told Peter Psaltis on 4BC’s Wide World of Sports Radio.
“We’re constantly talking to both governments. The ARLC have gone through a formal submission process – I think we’re one of 10 or 11 submissions.
“We may get a little more profile from time to time, and you wake up to lots of media, but there’s nothing new.
“Do we keep talking to governments? Yes. Are both prime ministers actively engaged and working on this? Yes. Have we submitted everything to the NRL? Yes. Is there any official nod that we’re in? No, absolutely not.
“There is a lot of work still to do I think before the ARLC are ready to make a decision.”
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It’s not the first time reports have emerged the deal had been signed off, with similar rumours circulating in May.
Despite not yet having a formal green light, Hill said PNG administrators were pushing on with plans to grow the game internally.
But should that green light finally come, Hill said it would “unify the nation”.
He said modified rules competitions similar to the ones played by Australian kids have only been introduced in the past few years.
“Give the game a couple of years with some good development programs … there will be talent here,” he said.
“I have no doubt (it can be successful). Is there a lot of work? Absolutely.
“The corporate support, the support from the community, the membership, the merchandise programs will be second-to-none.
“I have no doubt this will unify the nation, and it’s very much a key strategy of the government here to unify PNG through their love of the number one sport in this region, rugby league.”
