Prime Minister Anthony Albanese rescues Mackay Cutters-PNG Hunters fixture after boycott threat

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has soothed a potential Queensland rugby league civil war after convincing Mackay Cutters to backflip on their refusal to travel to Papua New Guinea.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has rescued rugby league in Papua New Guinea after the Mackay Cutters backflipped on plans to abandon playing the Hunters in Port Moresby.

The Queensland Rugby League had threatened to kick the Cutters out of the state’s top competitions following the club’s refusal to travel to PNG for a Hostplus Cup game on Saturday.

The final round fixture was slated to be the PNG team’s first game on home soil since 2019 given the Hunters have been based in Australia for two years due to Covid travel restrictions.

More than 10,000 tickets have been sold for their homecoming game in the rugby league-mad nation, however the Cutters had indicated they would refuse to board a flight to PNG due to safety concerns.

But the match has been saved and will go ahead after Albanese became involved on Thursday afternoon, offering security assurances to the Mackay team.

Albanese said he is “very confident” the scheduled fixture on the weekend “can go ahead”.

He asserted it was safe for the Cutters to travel to the PNG and confirmed he spoke to PNG Prime Minister James Marape “a short while ago” and the freshly elected Pacific leader confirmed he would personally attend the match in support.

The Prime Minister has moved to save the fixture.

Mr Albanese said the government’s official travel advice to PNG — at the second highest level due to recent unrest in the country — applies to independent travel, and the visit by the Cutters was specific and just like sport during Covid-19 can be made safe.

“If there’s anything that the Australian government can do to get them across the line and to provide them with comfort… I’ve said to the QRL that that we would be very pleased to provide whatever support within reason, of course, that is necessary,” he said on ABC Tropical North.

“But I do hope that it can go ahead.

“I have discussed with the Defence Minister and conveyed directly to the QRL that the Australian Government will support any request for security for this match.

“The people of PNG are passionate in their support for rugby league and our relationship is of critical importance to Australia,” Albanese said.

The Cutters have since agreed to travel and will board a flight to Port Moresby on Friday as scheduled.

With political unrest in the country in recent times, the QRL relocated two scheduled Hostplus Cup games in PNG in the past month.

The Cutters game was given the green-light following a risk assessment by the QRL, however Mackay indicated they did not want to travel and would forfeit the match.

The Cutters are sitting outside the top eight and are next to no chance of qualifying for the finals, but the club was facing major sanctions across multiple competitions and a fight to retain their licence.

After receiving further assurances from the government and QRL, the Cutters agreed to play the game.

The PNG Hunters are set to play at home in Port Moresby after two years on the road. Picture: Brian Cassey

“The Cutters had concerns around the safety of travel,” QRL CEO Rohan Sawyer said.

“We had completed independent research around that and upped the security measures. We had gone through protocols and procedures to make sure it was as safe as possible.

“Our board approved it and now the Prime Minister has offered any additional support required to make the game happen.

“We had a conversation with him and the government and the Mackay Cutters have reassessed and said they’re happy to travel now.

“The key for us was to support the Hunters, who have given up two years to be here. They get to go home and the fans in PNG are massive fans of rugby league and the Maroons.

“To be able to take a game back to Port Moresby is really important for us.”

The Cutters are the top club in Mackay, a town that has produced NRL stars like Daly Cherry-Evans, and have an affiliation agreement with the North Queensland Cowboys.

If they were kicked out of Queensland’s top competitions it could have had major ramifications for pathways in the region, but a crisis has been averted.