With less than three months to this year International Cup Title, defending Champions, the PNG Mosquitoes will conduct selection trials for the southern Zone this weekend at the Colts Oval.
Senior Football Operations Manager, Rex Leka, travelled around the country last month to visit various zones to conduct selection trails, to scout potential contenders.
Rex said, selections made for the two sides will be just and fair and that players chosen will be marked on certain criteria. These are based on behaviour, attendance, fitness level and players who have valid travel documents in both the men’s and women’s teams.
While outside centres have had their fair share of the trail matches, this weekend’s competition in Port Moresby will also be used as an opportunity to eye out talented prospects to make up the Mosquitoes and Flames team before the final train on squad can be named.
Despite missing out on the 2014 International Cup Title, this year the National women’s team, Flames will be going strong to challenge the women’s 2014 defending champions, Canada.
With ITC competition hosted every three years, Rex said, PNG Mosquitoes will be hitting hard as defending champions for the men’s competition and AFL PNG will do the best it can to select top players.
PNG will send a large contingent of sixty players, thirty men and thirty women to this year’s ITC tournament.
The 6th International Cup will be held in Melbourne from Saturday August 5th to Saturday August 19th, 2017, including both the men’s and women’s competition.
In 2014, there were 25 teams (18 men’s and seven women’s teams) that represented 18 different nations.
Papua New Guinea won the men’s final while Canada won the women’s final.
