Ben O’Shea: NRL used to keep PNG onside

It goes without saying that the biggest story this week is Joe Biden’s decision to pull the pin on his presidential campaign.

The term “pull the pin” is used entirely metaphorically here, because Biden appears so infirm that pulling anything is likely beyond his capabilities.

But this is not a column about the shitshow that is American politics — we have a perfectly good political shitshow in our country to discuss.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was in Far North Queensland this week, trying to get some rest and recreation when Biden’s announcement dropped.

The PM wisely hit pause on his vacay and fronted the media in Cairns to address this situation.

Albo also used the press conference to reveal the Federal Government was working behind the scenes to facilitate the NRL’s expansion plans.

“We are working with PNG, as well as working with the NRL and there is no doubt that, if PNG is successful in putting a team into the NRL, that will be good news for Papua New Guinea, for its economic development,” the PM said.

“We are in negotiations about the range of issues when it comes to PNG entering a team into the National Rugby League. We will continue to have those discussions.”

Here in WA, there are two likely responses to Albo’s comments.

The easiest one to unpack is the response of WA league fans, and is best summed up with, “Oi, what about Perth?”

Perth has long been tipped to get an NRL franchise, and the game’s administrators in the West have worked tirelessly towards this goal.

Word has it the NRL could announce the formation of the Perth Bears sooner rather than later, but insiders believe the comp will have to prioritise Perth or PNG, with one getting the nod before the other.

Do Albo’s comments this week suggest PNG is getting the nod?

For West Aussies who don’t follow rugby league, the response is probably one of confusion as to why our Government would waste time and money to get involved in launching a foreign NRL team in the first place.

It is, objectively, an iffy proposal for the competition.

While Polynesian players are well represented in the NRL, with the region producing legit superstars, PNG is a country that is never far from turmoil.

Almost half the population live below the poverty line, violence in recent years has displaced thousands of people — a tribal massacre killed 54 people in February alone — and the political climate makes even America look like a model democracy.

The country is so poor, that any NRL team will need to be underwritten by Australia for years, which is partly why the Albanese Government committed to loaning the Pacific nation a whopping $600 million.

Does Albo really love league that much?

Well, yes, but that’s not the motivation here.

You’ve heard of panda diplomacy, right? This NRL push by our Government is just a shameless attempt to woo PNG away from the clutches of Beijing, which has invested heavily in the region.

Ball security is one of the most important skills in the league, but regional security is the name of the game here.