Mcb777 LoginPNG Orchids, Pacific Championships, PNG v Kiwi Ferns, women's rugby league, NRLW 2024

The PNG Orchids face off against the Kiwi Ferns today with the weight of expectation and the hopes of a nation on their shoulders.

For injured Orchids player Shellie Long, the game presents not only a challenge for her countrywomen, but an opportunity to showcase the rapid pace of progress experienced by the women who play the game of rugby league in the country.

Coming into the match after an 84-0 loss to the Jillaroos in the opening week of the Pacific Championships, there is no denying there is still work to do before they can consistently challenge the likes of top tier nations Australia and New Zealand, but with increased support from governing body PNGRFL and the strengthening of development pathways in the country, the Orchids time to bloom is coming.

Gloria Kaupa passes the ball during PNG Orchids training in Port Moresby. ©Scott Davis / NRL Images

“I think when you see the struggles that the women have gone through especially here in PNG and you look at what progress Australia has made – they were like us at one stage – and now you see their competition, the NRLW is growing every year, you see the Women's State of Origin that continues to grow, it's now a three game series and it just gives you so much hope for what PNG can do in the coming years,” Long said.

“That is in our scope that's in our grasp.

“I think it goes to show like, yes, we are at our infancy, but we will get there eventually and that come with time and with progress and we're doing that every step of the way, every year we get better.”

What many people didn’t realise following the result of the first match in Suncorp Stadium was the reason why the Orchids had been grouped in the more difficult Pacific Cup division, with the Orchids having to face the top two ranked teams.

Jillaroos v Orchids – Week 1, 2024

With their historic semi-final berth in their last Rugby League World Cup appearance, PNG have already qualified for the next international tournament in 2026, while the other Pacific women’s teams have not yet qualified for the World Cup.

“We played Australia in the World Cup semi-final, 82 points to nil, that was two years ago. We versed them this year, 86 points to nil,” Long said.

“But in that time, they've added four new teams to the competition of NRLW. They get better every year, they've increased the Origin series, so every year that we play them, they are getting better and it just goes to show that we are getting better as well, the score is not blowing out even more.

“I think that's a very important thing to remember is yes, we're out of infancy, but we're still growing and we're slowly closing that gap.”

What you need to know about the 2024 Women's Pacific Championships

Coming into the team staff for the Port Moresby leg of the side’s Pacific Championship campaign as a cultural co-ordinator after suffering an ACL injury in the last game of the NRLW season with North Queensland Cowboys, Long would have been one of the few members of the side with NRLW experience, with many players coming from the newly-established PNG national women’s competition, the Santos Cup, which is another big step forward for the game.

Shellie Long (right) with player Sera Koroi at Santos National Football Stadium. ©Scott Davis / NRL Images

Long – who debuted for the Orchids in 2022 – was thankful for the opportunity to stay connected with the playing group she hopes to re-join next year in the Pacific Championships.

“It’s very different … as staff, you're focusing more on the players and helping them get through the week so that on the weekend, they can perform to the best of their ability, so a very different role,” Long said.

“It's not me thinking about myself and trying to make sure that I'm the best I can be on the weekend, it’s a bigger picture, a very big broad picture now.

“It was very exciting to know that I could come into camp in PNG.

“As soon as I did my injury, I actually called Tahnee [head coach Tahnee Norris] and let her let her know the following day and I said ‘mate, I've probably got some bad news for you’, and from then on, they were in the background trying to get me into camp in some capacity.

“I'm very fortunate that that capacity is being a staff member, being a player mentor and being able to do that here in PNG, my home country, so I love it.

Shellie Long in action for the PNG Orchids in the 2023 Pacific Championships. ©Scott Davis / NRL Images

“Being an Orchid, it means a lot. For me, it means I get to represent my country, I get to represent my people, my family, but I also get to represent a lot of the younger generation and the little boys and girls that want play footy or even have big aspiring dreams.

“A big saying is if you can't see it, you can't be it and that's something that I really hold close to me because for a lot of people in Papua New Guinea, they don't get to see these faces very often, so when they do, it makes a very big impact on their lives and they then know that they can have the potential to do anything they want.

“So it's a lot more than a game of footy, a lot more than getting to play rugby league and represent your country.

“It's about the bigger picture … about the future of our players coming through the ranks.

“I've seen the strength that these women have, the amount of adversities that they face growing up here in PNG.”

Hall of Fame inductee, most capped Jillaroos and current Queensland Maroons coach Tahnee Norris has signed on to coach the PNG Orchids in 2024. ©Scott Davis / NRL Images

One of the women who have helped pave the way for the Orchids is Cathy Neap, the inaugural captain for the PNG women’s national team who guided her side in their first World Cup in 2017.

Serving as an assistant coach under Norris, Long said Neap – who also works as a country manager in PNG for the National Rugby League – was an inspiration.

Cathy Neap is interviewed at a recent school visit. ©Colleen Edwards / NRL

“It's been a very special moment being with the Orchids for the last couple of years and you look at someone like Cathy, pioneer Orchid, Orchid number one, the challenges that she's gone through are incredible.

“You hear stories of back when they played England and you hear about them having rubbish thrown at them to see how far they have come to now, where you get a cheer when you're on the field.

“I think that just goes to show the amount of strength that someone like Cathy and the pioneer Orchids have to keep playing footy and to make sure that eventually the pathway continued and it allowed us to come through and have the support that we have now because without them, we wouldn't have it.

“It took a lot of strength for someone like Cathy to continue to do what she does.

“Outside of being a player, she now has a very strong presence within the community where she does a lot of work educating and promoting women, not just in rugby league but also outside of it.

“It's a lot of credit to her because she's such a good person and she's such a good role model.”