International: Prime Minister's XIII vs PNG Kumuls

[DIEHARD]

http://www.postcourier.com.pg/

Lae mayhem

THE Lae Rugby League gates were ‘invaded’ as early as 2am yesterday morning as thousands of die hard rugby league fans from the Highlands and Madang joined the local Lae residents waiting to get in early for the game.
By dawn, the queue for tickets was kilometres long and many Lae residents found it impossible to buy tickets to get into the grounds for the game.
As the sun rose so did the numbers swell as people converged on the Lae Rugby League grounds from all corners of Lae and the Highlands and Madang.
PMV buses from the Highlands arrived in Lae after midnight and headed straight for the rugby league gates where the passengers disembarked and camped there for the rest of the night, waiting for day break. No one moved. Post-Courier rugby league writer Haiveta Kivia and photographer Teremi Legei entered the league grounds after 8am only to find the grand stand and surrounding areas packed to capacity with more people still trying to get in. The early games provided good entertainment for the crowd but their focus was on the big game between the PNG Prime Minister’s 13 and the Australian Prime Minister’s 13.

THE big guns staring each other from across the Torres Strait were still in their respective hotels – the PNG team at the Melanesian Hotel and the visiting Australian side in the Lae International Hotel.

Their travels in special coaches were under the escort of police and private security personnel to ensure their safety.

At 3pm, the starting whistle went off the game got underway.
But it was soon marred by frustrated people from outside the fence throwing in stones, many of which landed on the field, forcing the referee to stop the game while the missiles were cleared.

Stone throwing was continuous throughout the afternoon.
People even cut through the fence to get into the fields.

Police, some Defence Force soldiers and private security personnel tried their utmost best to control the crowd but their efforts did not deter the large crowd who kept forcing their way in to watch the game.

Police expressed concern, saying that PNG Rugby Foot League did not give adequate attention to security resulting in the chaos that reigned throughout the day.

By the time the final whistle went, they invaded the field, heading straight for the players who had to be taken away quickly.

During the course of the afternoon, police were forced to fire teargas, a few times to control the behaviour of the crowd, especially outside the grounds.
Acting Prime Minister Belden Namah and Sports Minister Sali Subam were present throughout the afternoon. Both leaders met the players and officials from both teams and then watched the game observing everything that went on around the league grounds.

The size of the crowd made the Lae Rugby League ground look like a kindergarten playgrounds. It sends a message to authorities that Lae now needs a much bigger and better stadium or rugby league field. Population growth has outgrown sporting infrastructure and it is time to start giving some serious thought to the future. As the game ended and the crowd invaded the field, many went for the players. One Australian player was ‘visited’ by six strangers who tried to grab his boots, jersey and whatever else they could lay their hands on. Thankfully police intervened and saved the Aussie player.

[DIEHARD]

This is outrageous, as much as I love PNG RL. We can't send our players over there and place them in harms way. We have a duty of care and we see annual stories of tear gas, dog attacks and riots.

PNG need to build a proper stadium of a decent capacity with a high level of security with self contained access and accomodation for visiting teams.