Why the PNG Chiefs should copy the Jonah Pezet blueprint to power their NRL recruitment drive
This week we revealed one of the most unique contract deals in rugby league history. It might be too late for the Perth Bears, but the PNG Chiefs should take notes, writes Brent Read.
Let’s hope Papua New Guinea officials were paying attention this week as this masthead revealed that Melbourne playmaker Jonah Pezet was locked in talks over one of the most unique deals in recent history.
For those who missed it, Pezet is planning to spend next season playing alongside Mitchell Moses at Parramatta before moving to Brisbane on a long-term deal to replace Adam Reynolds in the Broncos No.7 jersey.
The deal divided opinion.
Broncos fans were rejoicing at landing one of the most promising halves in the game. Parramatta supporters were seething at the suggestion they had become a transit lounge.
Meanwhile, we hope PNG officials were sitting back and taking notes.
The Chiefs are yet to land a chief executive, head of football, or head of recruitment, but what this week showed was that they need to move quickly.
Time is of the essence ahead of November 1 as the Chiefs and Perth Bears prepare to enter the player market.
For Perth, the objective is clear - sign players who are off contract at the end of next season.
The club’s powerbrokers already have a trip to Sydney planned for next week as they prepare to meet player managers and get a lay of the land ahead of November 1.
PNG, on the other hand, need to strengthen their football department and activate the Pezet plan as soon as possible.
They face a tougher task given they don’t need players until 2028 and they are selling largely a dream.
Any November 1 signings will need to find somewhere to spend the 2027 season before joining PNG for their introduction to the NRL.
The Pezet deal has provided them with a template. A battle plan for entering the market armed with tax-free dollars and a 30-man roster to fill.
Having spent time in PNG recently, they are not without hope. The accommodation will be five-star. The plans are audacious. The potential is endless.
The Clearys are their priority, and while they can talk to Ivan about being their inaugural coach, they will need to wait another 12 months to speak to Nathan.
In the meantime, there are a host of quality players about to hit the market and PNG has no time to waste.
The obvious candidates are players who have options in their contracts for 2027.
The likes of Jahream Bula and Jaydn Su’A could sign with PNG for 2028 and then take up their options at their existing clubs for the 2027 season.
Most players don’t have the sort of flexibility that Bula and Su’A have in their deals, which means the Pezet plan will need to come into effect.
PNG can go big and sign blokes for 2028 and leave their managers to find them a home for 2027.
When you’re talking blue-chip talent like Pezet, that shouldn’t be a problem. The good players will always find a place to play, even if it is for 12 months.
The tough part is the good players will also be in demand. They won’t be short of offers. They’ll probably have their choice of clubs.
PNG will need to put forward a strong case, no doubt built around money and the tax benefits, which looms as their most compelling carrot for prospective signings.
It won’t be easy, but Pezet has shown them the way forward.
RISIE OF PACIFIC NATIONS ONE OF RUGBY LEAGUE’S GREAT STORIES
A penny for Liberal Senator Jess Collins’ thoughts on Sunday when Tonga and Samoa square off at Suncorp Stadium.
It promises to be one of the highlights of the rugby league season as the nations lock horns in the Pacific Championships.
Suncorp Stadium will be a sea of red and blue.
Remarkable really when you consider that only last week, Senator Collins suggested rugby league was a poor cousin to rugby union in the Pacific.
“It’s all about rugby union,” she said in an article in the Australian Financial Review in response to the Australian government’s $600 million funding deal for the Pacific.
Senator Collins, it should be pointed out, is a Kiwi who made no attempt to hide her love of rugby union and, at one point in her life, the All Blacks.
No longer a NZ citizen, she remarkably suggested that her love for the Wallabies now “knows no bounds”. Oh dear.
But back to the Pacific.
For a nation where it is all about rugby union, Tonga showed a fair slab of love for rugby league recently when their national side went home and were feted like royalty.
A few days after that, the Samoan side pushed the might of New Zealand all the way. With a touch of luck, they could have beaten the Kiwis.
Not sure whether Senator Collins caught that one.
Probably not, given she so quickly dumped the All Blacks for the Wallabies. Would suggest her allegiance to the land of her birth is long gone.
The rise of the Pacific nations has been one of the great rugby league stories in recent seasons. Samoa and Tonga have become legitimate international teams, something they will demonstrate again no doubt this weekend.
When the Wallabies played Samoa at Suncorp Stadium a few years back, only 16,000 people attended the game. The Samoa-Tonga Test on Sunday will double that. Maybe even triple it.
Not bad for the poor cousin in the region.
Rugby league is surging in the Pacific, in large parts thanks to the international game and the way players like Payne Haas and Jarome Luai have opted to represent the land of their heritage rather than the country of their birth.
It has become a tidal wave and yes, the federal government investment will help maintain the momentum. If rugby league continues on its current trajectory, there is every chance it will become the code of choice for Pacific Islanders.
Rather than bemoaning how the federal government is spending money in the Pacific, perhaps she should jump on board.
Embrace rugby league and the way it is changing lives in PNG and the Pacific by encouraging children to attend school and educating them on making the right decisions.
So Senator Collins, can we give you a tip?
Tune in on Sunday arvo and watch a classic. You have already flipped from the All Blacks to the Wallabies. Any chance we could interest you in Samoa or Tonga?
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Originally published as Why the PNG Chiefs should copy the Jonah Pezet blueprint to power their NRL recruitment drive
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