Papua New Guinea national Australian rules football team
Encyclopedia
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea , officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands...
in the team sport
Team sport
A team sport includes any sport which involves players working together towards a shared objective. A team sport is an activity in which a group of individuals, on the same team, work together to accomplish an ultimate goal which is usually to win. This can be done in a number of ways such as...
of Australian rules football
Australian rules football
Australian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also called football, Aussie rules or footy is a sport played between two teams of 22 players on either...
.
The Mosquitos represent the best PNG born and bred players from the clubs and teams of AFL PNG
AFL PNG
AFL PNG is the peak promotional body for the sport of Australian rules football in Papua New Guinea.AFL PNG organises the national championships tournament and selects the national team, the Mosquitos.The governing body is the PNG Rules Council....
and is one of the nation's most successful sporting teams, currently ranked 2nd in the world behind Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
.
Beginning as a state representative team in 1973 (when it participated in the Teal Cup), it debuted internationally against Australia Under 17s in 1977. The team has won three gold medals at the Arafura Games
Arafura Games
The Arafura Games is a Multi-sport event held every 2 years in the Australian city of Darwin, in the Northern Territory. It is an international event which draws its competitors from around the world. First held in 1991, the most recent Games, held in 2009, involved over 30 nations and over 3,000...
and won their first Australian Football International Cup
Australian Football International Cup
The Australian Football International Cup is an international sport competition in Australian rules football...
in 2008.
Identity
The team's nicknameNickname
A nickname is "a usually familiar or humorous but sometimes pointed or cruel name given to a person or place, as a supposedly appropriate replacement for or addition to the proper name.", or a name similar in origin and pronunciation from the original name....
is the Mosquitos or "Mozzies" (aka Binatangs - local PNG name for small insects, similar to a mosquito
Mosquito
Mosquitoes are members of a family of nematocerid flies: the Culicidae . The word Mosquito is from the Spanish and Portuguese for little fly...
).
The Mosquito's guernsey has the kumul (Raggiana Bird of Paradise
Raggiana Bird of Paradise
The Raggiana Bird-of-paradise, also known as Count Raggi's Bird-of-paradise, is a large bird in the bird-of-paradise family Paradisaeidae....
, a national symbol of PNG (and element of the national flag
National flag
A national flag is a flag that symbolizes a country. The flag is flown by the government, but usually can also be flown by citizens of the country.Both public and private buildings such as schools and courthouses may fly the national flag...
of Papua New Guinea), in the national colours of red, black and yellow.
History
In the early 1970s, Australian clubs began touring PNG to compete against selections of local players but it wasn't until 1973 that the national team first began to form.1977 was a historic year for Papua New Guinean footy. The year saw the first ever international matches involving Australia at under 17 level between Australia and Papua New Guinea. The Australian Under 17 squad toured Papua New Guinea, and the PNG team reciprocated in Adelaide, with Australia dominating the game and taking the honours.
Subsequent decline in the sport in PNG and growth of the sport in Australia did not see the Mosquitos compete again until 1995, when Aussie Rules was first played at the Arafura Games in Darwin, Northern Territory
Darwin, Northern Territory
Darwin is the capital city of the Northern Territory, Australia. Situated on the Timor Sea, Darwin has a population of 127,500, making it by far the largest and most populated city in the sparsely populated Northern Territory, but the least populous of all Australia's capital cities...
. That year PNG won the gold medal
Gold medal
A gold medal is typically the medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture...
of the International division defeating New Zealand
New Zealand national Australian rules football team
The New Zealand national Australian rules football team nicknamed the Falcons, is the national team for the sport of Australian rules football in New Zealand. The team is selected from the best New Zealand born and developed players, primarily from the clubs of the New Zealand AFL. New Zealand-born...
. In the same competition, PNG also competed against sides from Nauru, Japan, Singapore and Hong Kong.
In 1996 the Mosquitoes played a curtain raiser to an Australian Football League
Australian Football League
The Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...
match in Perth
Perth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....
overwhelmingly defeating the Central Desert Eagles.
In 1997, PNG successfully defended their Arafura Games title again defeating New Zealand.
In 1999 won the gold medal again at the games, once again defeating New Zealand in the final.
In 2000, the Mosquitoes were invited to play New Zealand in a curtain raiser to a pre-season AFL match in Wellington, but were unable to raise the funds required.
In 2002, Papua New Guinea competed in the International Cup in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
. PNG went through the competition undefeated only to lose to Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
in the Grand Final
Grand Final
Grand Final is a predominantly Australian sport term used to describe a match that decides a league champion.It originated in Victoria and South Australia and has become specifically significant Australian culture...
.
A minor setback to the representation of the Mosquitos was the cancellation of the 2003 Arafura Games due to SARS fears.
Prior to the 2005 International Cup, AFL legend Mal Michael
Mal Michael
Malcolm Roberto "Mal" Michael is a former Australian rules footballer. He is notable for his successful professional Australian Football League career. Following a career spanned 238 games and three clubs in two Australian states he is best known as a triple premiership full-back with the...
offered to play for the PNG side, but was ruled ineligible by the AFL. Although he was born in PNG, he did not satisfy the criteria since he had moved to Australia at too young an age. Despite Michael not being involved in the side, he tipped PNG to win the competition, hailing the strong growth in the local competitions.
In the 2005 International Cup, PNG again went through the competition unbeaten only to lose the Grand Final
Grand Final
Grand Final is a predominantly Australian sport term used to describe a match that decides a league champion.It originated in Victoria and South Australia and has become specifically significant Australian culture...
to a much improved New Zealand national team. Papua New Guinea's best and fairest player (from the 2005 International Cup) is Navu Maha
Navu Maha
Navulani Maha is an all-round sportsman who has represented Papua New Guinea in cricket and Australian rules football. He is the son of the ICC's Chairman for Papua New Guinea....
. Navu also won the award for the best player in the 2005 International Cup series and captained both the 2002 and 2005 teams.
In early 2008, the national team secured its first major sponsor - Telikom PNG - which helped to fund the junior squads competing in Australia and the senior squad's International Cup campaign.
In the 2008 International Cup, PNG, captained by Alister Sioni again went through the competition unbeaten, this time defeating New Zealand in a thriller. 2 points up at the final siren, 17 year old Amua Pirika kicked a goal after the siren. Donald Barry was best on ground in the Grand Final. Overa Gibson was best and fairest in the 2008 International Cup. 4 Mosquitos were named in the All-International team - Donald Barry, Overa Gibson, Joe Lla and Stanis Susuve.
International Cup
- 20022002 Australian Football International CupThe 2002 Australian Football International Cup was the inaugural international Australian rules football tournament held in Melbourne, Australia in 2002....
: 2nd - 20052005 Australian Football International CupThe 2005 Australian Football International Cup was the second time that the Australian Football International Cup tournament, an international Australian rules football competition was held....
: 2nd - 20082008 Australian Football International CupThe 2008 Australian Football International Cup was the third time the Australian Football International Cup, an international Australian rules football competition, has been contested....
: 1st - 20112011 Australian Football International CupThe 2011 Australian Football International Cup is the fourth edition of the Australian Football International Cup, an international Australian rules football competition run by the Australian Football League....
: TBC
2008 International Cup Senior Squad
| Player | Club |
|---|---|
| Stanis Susuve | Zillmere Eagles (Australia) |
| John James | Zillmere Eagles (Australia) |
| David Evertius | Coolangatta (Australia) |
| Emas Wartova | Coolangatta (Australia) |
| Donald Barry | Coolangatta (Australia) |
| Joe Ila | Coolangatta (Australia) |
| John Vincent | Port Moresby |
| Willie Asai | Port Moresby |
| Alistair Sioni | Lae |
| Alan Kauma | Lae |
| Jimmy Logha | Lae |
| Desmond Nalong | Lae |
| Henry Henry | Port Moresby |
| Bruce Savara | Port Moresby |
| Alois Baleko | Port Moresby |
| Boas Keu | Port Moresby |
| Mesa Dorogori | Port Moresby |
| Raga Raga | Port Moresby |
| Peter Milaure | Coolangatta (Australia) |
| Sylvester Mangoea | Port Moresby |
| Nicky Appalamono | Port Moresby |
| Rex Leka | Port Moresby |
| Ali Pinda | Port Moresby |
| Overa Gibson | Port Moresby |
| Eliza Barowai | Mount Hagen |
| Desmond Waluka | Coolangatta (Australia) |
| Zachary Rava | Kimbe |
| John Bosko | West New Britain |
| Julius Malila | West New Britain |
| Augustine Dede | Coolangatta (Australia) |
Junior Team
PNG's national junior team also competes Under 14, U16 and U18 levels in the QueenslandQueensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
Country Australian Football Championships and more recently, the Queensland State Australian Football Championships.