SEPIK's RUGBY LEAGUE BREAKTHROUGH

By Sylvester Gawi NBC Sports: 

In a soccer dominated province, rugby league was a game that you will never hear about or see being played in rural East Sepik. But the small town of Maprik is living its dream of seeing rugby league being played in the district.

Bradly Simon, the son of Maprik MP John Simon is living his dream in his district. The Agmark Rabaul Gurias forward is gathering young men to try out his beloved sport in Maprik.

Bradley Simon Gurias Forward

Maprik United Rugby League team

“It is a soccer dominated area and you wouldn’t get three or four individuals to join you for a game,” an elated Simon said.

It was the 13^th of January 2016 when a large group of young men turned up at the Maprik oval to give in their names to train and learn about rugby league.

“They crossed rivers, walked for miles and even climbed mountains as these rugby enthusiasts came to train for the first time. I was overwhelmed by their stories and their goals and aims to play in the Digicel Cup and representing the country wearing the red, black and gold,” said Simon.

Bradley Simon played four seasons with the Agmark Gurias 2012-2015 and won two premierships. Even though he didn’t make it into representative duties, he learnt a lot of discipline under the guidance of PNG’s super coach Michael Marum.

“He thought me a lot to be disciplined and be committed to training inorder to be successful. He didn’t make me a Kumul player but made me a fighter and a strong man to play rugby and teach it to my community which has never played rugby in their entire lives.”

As weeks of training passed, Bradley managed to secure a space in the Wewak Rugby League Association and registered a club which is now called “MAPRIK UNITED”. Their first taste of footy was the preseason Nines which was terrible for the boys.

“We were mocked by other clubs in Wewak and were told to go and train hard for proper season. We took it positively and went back to our paddock and started working on our structures and defense.”

Maprik United started off their proper season campaign on a high note winning their first games convincingly. With modern structures and hard hitting defence the Maprik men muscled their way into the competition with four consecutive wins. It was the story in Wewak town and every weekend their supporters travelled out from Maprik to cheer them.

 Every Friday, they have camps and travel at around 2am on Saturday mornings into Wewak for their game.

Travelling into Wewak

“Not often the boys have dinner. Food is not compulsory and the mosquitoes at night too doesn’t help, as everyone had the passion to play better rugby and winning.”

Season came to an end this year and Maprik United bowed out of the in the preliminary finals going down to an experienced Meni Sharks.

“I have only seen them playing this year. I have seen them improving every day and I have no doubt I have discovered future rugby league stars in my district. It may seem hard to believe but God has brought this boys a long way to be where they are now.”

Maprik United is now gearing up to play in the NGIP Agmark 9s, but Bradley says it is not about taking a slice of the whopping K40,000 prize money, but it is about giving exposure and experiencing the bigger playing stage.

“Playing against some of the best Digicel Cup players and professional players will be a big milestone for this boys, who once thought they would never achieve this. I have faith and belief that we are up for the battle and we are happy to go in as underdogs.”

The Maprik United are still looking out for sponsors to help them make the trip possible and carry the flag of East Sepik.

“We are writing a great story which we want you to be part of. Help us reach out to rural areas. If we can make it then in the long run it will help to create a pathway for our future stars especially in East Sepik,” Simon concluded.