Dolphins News - July 2014

REDCLIFFE LEAGUES CLUBHOUSE NEWS NEWS
• THE staff at Kokopo Beach Bungalow Resort showed
who they were barracking for.
PNG trip will stay in memories
THE trip started early Friday
morning when the squad jumped
on a bus to the airport from the
Leagues Club at 6am.
After breakfast at the airport and a bit of
duty-free shopping, the travelling party,
which included Moreton Bay Regional
Council Mayor Allan Sutherland and Cr
James Houghton, headed off to Port
Moresby.
We had a two-hour stopover in Port
Moresby, having a bite to eat before boarding
the connecting flight to Rabaul.
From the airport the squad boarded a
bus and headed straight to Kalabond Oval in
Kokopo for a light training session.
On our way to the ground our bus passed
a number of locals, each of them with a
broad smile on their face and a wave for us.
As we arrived at the ground there were
a dozen or so children running barefoot
beside our bus all the way to the ground
entrance where security were waiting.
We watched the local side the Agmark
Gurias wrap up their preparation for the
weekend before having a session of our own
in front of about 100 locals.
After training we headed to our
accommodation for our stay at Kokopo
Beach Bungalow Resort, not really knowing
what to expect.
We checked in and headed for dinner
THE Village Motors Dolphins last
month travelled to Kokopo in the
Papua New Guinea province of New
East Britain for the round 15 clash
with the Hunters. It was a weekend
that will stick with the young
Dolphins squad for a very long time.
where we were greeted by friendly staff
who left no stone unturned to ensure we
were well looked after - as we would find
out time and time again over our short stay.
Our players will remember the people
more than anything else.
Day 2
A group of 28 players and staff made the
trip on Saturday morning to the East New
Britain markets.
Locals meet in this central location to
sell hand-made handicrafts and fresh
produce. The market vendors were not
pushy and seemed to have very little interest
in selling us their products as long as we
stopped for handshakes or to simply say
hello.
While the players were at the markets,
the rest of the travelling party headed out
to have a look at the Tavurvur and Vulcan
volcanos.
It was an unusual game-day preparation
for the side. Again, the hospitality of the staff
at Kokopo Beach Bungalows came to the
fore as they allowed us to take over the
hotel function room and create a makeshift
dressing room.
The bus trip to the ground was also
unusual as we travelled in full playing kit as
there are no dressing shed facilities at
Kalabond Oval. It was straight from the bus
to the field for warm-up.
The game didn’t go as we wanted it to
and unfortunately we came out on the
wrong side on the scoreboard.
Immediately after the match on field the
players met a group of local rugby leaguemad
school kids who made our boys feel
like NRL stars.
You couldn’t wipe the smiles off the shy
locals’ faces at times when they were each
given a Dolphins cap and the chance to
meet our players.
A few of our players even gave their
boots to junior players after the match and
for the kids it was like they won the lotto
they were so happy.
After the game it was back to the resort
where the players mixed with the locals
before hitting the road at 5am on Sunday for
the trip home.
We can’t thank the staff at Kokopo Beach
Bungalows enough for how they treated us
during our stay, even going to the extent of
washing our playing kit.
Day 3
On our way back to Australia we had
another stopover in Port Moresby, but this
time instead of staying around the airport
we travelled to the war cemetery.
What a truly special place this is with a
number of our party being visibly moved. It
didn’t go unnoticed that a number of the
fallen were on unmarked graves or were the
same age if not younger than the players in
our team. It was a very humbling experience
that put a lot of things into perspective for
our group. After spending time at the
cemetery we headed to the Holiday Inn for
a bite to eat before boarding the plane for
the return trip to Brisbane.
Despite not winning the match – our
main objective – the whole experience was
very rewarding for our travelling party.
For the majority of our players they have
said the trip was the best life experience
that they have received through rugby
league.
To all the people we crossed paths with
in Papua New Guinea, all we can do is say
thank you for welcoming us into your
community albeit for only a short time.
They are very enthusiastic about life in
general and fully appreciate all the little
things in life that we take for granted. It was
a trip that most of us won’t forget in a hurry
if at all.
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