PNG leader says bid to join Australian rugby league 'very strong'

Papua New Guinea's bid to break into Australia's rugby league competition is "very strong", the Pacific nation's prime minister told AFP on Tuesday, with an announcement expected imminently.

The National Rugby League has declined to comment on reports of a deal under which Australia would provide up to Aus$600 million (US$380 million) over 10 years to help Papua New Guinea field a team in the NRL.

Australia's backing is widely seen as an attempt to use sport to help fend off China's expanding diplomatic reach in the Pacific region.

Prime Minister James Marape said in an interview in Sydney that his rugby league-mad country's bid to join the NRL would reach a "milestone" on Thursday.

"Certainly our bid looks very strong," he said, with all signs indicating that "our bid stands every chance of being successful".

The NRL's "affirmation or otherwise" will be announced in the presence of Marape and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, the Papua New Guinea leader said.

The mooted rugby league deal was a "two-nations unity strategy", Marape said.

At the same time, it gives Papua New Guinea "an opportunity for one team to rally the diverse nation into one nationhood".

Albanese has said Papua New Guinea's entry into the league would be "fantastic", indicating that the country's team would be based in its capital Port Moresby.

In September he said the two countries were working through the "final details" of a funding agreement.

Australian media have said a Papua New Guinea team would join the NRL in 2028, becoming the second foreign side after New Zealand's Warriors.

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