Historic clash to showcase passion and culture

Author: Michael Hillier QRL Media
Timestamp: Fri 11 Feb 2022, 08:01 AM

A historic match between the Papua New Guinea Hunters and Fiji Kava Kaiviti Silktails has been locked into the Queensland Rugby League’s pre-season calendar.

While many pre-season games provide a well-worn opportunity for players and coaches to work on combinations, this game will be anything but a standard trial match for the respective teams.

Instead, the February 26 match at Runaway Bay’s Bycroft Oval will celebrate Melanesian and Indigenous culture, as communities come together through their shared love of rugby league.

The Hunters will once again have an entire nation behind them as they prepare to play in this year’s Hostplus Cup, while the Silktails will also be buoyed by a groundswell of support ahead of their third Ron Massey Cup season in the NSWRL.

The winning team will have the honour of lifting the PacificAus Sports Melanesian Bowl, a stunning new perpetual trophy sourced by league great Petero Civoniceva.

Civoniceva, a former Fiji Bati captain and current Silktails chair, will be one of many special guests and dignitaries who will attend a pre-game function.

This event will highlight how PacificAus Sports, in partnership with Australian sporting organisations, is creating opportunities for talented Pasifika athletes and teams to access Australian high performance coaching, training, facilities and competitions.

Representatives from the Australian Government, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) / PacificAus Sports, Queensland Government and both the Hunters and Silktails have been invited to attend.

Both the function and match will also provide an opportunity for the rugby league community and the southeast Queensland Pasifika community to raise funds and awareness for Tonga Recovery Appeal in the wake of the devastation caused by the eruption of Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha‘apai and the resulting tsunami.

Merchandise will be on sale for fans eager to contribute to the fundraising endeavours.

A First Nations Welcome to Country will set the scene for the inaugural clash between the Hunters and Silktails.

Hunters chief executive officer Scott Barker said there was already an enormous amount of interest surrounding the match.

“The Hunters have been in the Queensland competition since 2014 and the Silktails are looking to replicate that (in the New South Wales Cup),” Barker said.

“They’ve had a bit of a chequered start due to COVID-19 (interruptions), so we’re absolutely supportive of doing anything we can do to help them on their journey to get into the NSW Cup.

“And the cultural significance is not lost on our guys as well. We’re really proud to play for the Melanesian Bowl, and we want to make it a pre-season match every year.

“Moving forward, there is scope to add a women’s match, under 20s or under 18s, and expand the concept further by taking it to Suva, Nadi or Port Moresby.”

The Fiji Kava Kaiviti Silktails, who are known Australia-wide for performing traditional songs either before or after games as a way of celebration and thanks, will also play the Burleigh Bears at Pizzey Park in the week prior to the Melanesian Bowl match.

QRL staff, led by PacificAus Sports program co-ordinator Cassie Davis and government relations manager Arthur Eustace-Earle, are working with both teams and stakeholders, including City of Gold Coast, to facilitate the Runaway Bay event.