Every Papua New Guinea representative who will play in Super League next season
From left to right: Papua New Guinea stars Edwin Ipape, Rhyse Martin and Nene Macdonald will all remain in Super League next season
The tally of Papua New Guinea representatives plying their trade in Super League next season continues to grow, with eight confirmed so far across five different clubs.
One of those is a new arrival to the UK having been recruited by a top flight club ahead of the upcoming campaign, while another will has made the move across Super League, switching clubs ahead of 2025.
Below, we’ve taken a look at all eight Kumuls aces, detailing a little bit about their career to date and how they’ve found their way to Super League. They are alphabetised by surname.
It’s worth noting that eight will likely shortly become nine, with Castleford Tigers believed to have signed Judah Rimbu. As and when that’s announced, we’ll update this article.
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Liam Horne (Castleford Tigers)
Port Moresby native Horne linked up with Castleford back in July 2023, and has made 32 appearances for the Tigers to date. He is one of two PNG stars currently in the squad at the Jungle. That number will become three when Rimbu’s signing is confirmed.
The hooker, 26, has three caps to his name for the Kumuls having made his debut in June 2022 against Fiji. Horne is contracted to Cas until the end of the 2026 season.
Edwin Ipape (Leigh Leopards)
Fellow number nine Ipape, who hails from Mount Hagen, has established himself as the best hooker in Super League over the last couple of seasons having first joined Leigh, then Centurions, ahead of the 2022 season. Helping the club to promotion in his first year at the Leigh Sports Village, Ipape has now made 74 appearances for the Leopards.
Lifting the Challenge Cup with Leigh in 2023, Ipape is contracted until the end of 2025. The 25-year-old has ten PNG appearances on his CV having made his international debut in October 2018 against the England Knights.
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Lachlan Lam (Leigh Leopards)
Ipape’s team-mate Lam also joined Leigh in 2022, and has been a pivotal part of the club’s rise over the last few years. The 26-year-old is contracted until the end of 2025.
Born in Sydney, his connection to PNG comes through dad – and Leopards boss – Adrian. Lachlan has played 71 games in a Leigh shirt to date and ten in the colours of the Kumuls, first featuring on the international stage against the USA in November 2017.
Nene Macdonald (Salford Red Devils)
Macdonald, 30, is another who has been in the British game since 2022, when he joined then-Championship outfit Leigh. Helping the then-Centurions to promotion, the powerful centre moved on to Leeds Rhinos and then onto Salford ahead of 2024.
A terrific first year with the Red Devils, which saw him feature 26 times, saw the Port Moresby native make the Super League Dream Team, with his Red Devils contract running until the end of 2027. He will add to his 18 caps for PNG in this autumn’s Pacific Championships having made his international debut back in October 2013 against France.
Rhyse Martin (Hull KR)
17-time Kumuls international Martin, 31, made his international debut against Tonga in October 2014. Born in Cairns, he qualifies for PNG through his father, who hails from Hula in the Central Province.
The back-rower has been with Leeds since midway through the 2019 campaign, amassing 132 appearances in the Rhinos colours and scoring more than 1,000 points in the process. He will link up with Hull KR in 2025 though having signed a two-year deal at Craven Park.
Sylvester Namo (Castleford Tigers)
24-year-old Namo linked up with Castleford ahead of 2024, penning a two-year deal at The Jungle. The forward featured 15 times for Craig Lingard’s side in his first campaign with the Tigers as well as playing one game on loan for League 1 outfit Newcastle Thunder.
Namo has four international caps to his name, which all came in 2022. After making his debut in June that year against Fiji, his other three appearances for the Kumuls came in the delayed 2021 Rugby League World Cup.
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Dan Russell (Warrington Wolves)
Russell was the first confirmed new arrival into the UK from PNG’s ranks, with the utility signing a two-year deal with Warrington from 2025 after departing NRL outfit St George Illawarra Dragons.
Born in Queensland, the 28-year-old’s eligibility for PNG comes through father Mark, who was born in Port Moresby and raised in Madang. His first appearance for the Kumuls came in November 2019 against Fiji, with ten caps earned to date.
Rodrick Tai (Warrington Wolves)
Russell will link up with fellow Kumuls ace Tai at the Halliwell Jones Stadium. The centre arrived in Super League ahead of 2024 on a one-year deal, and played his way into a 12-month extension for 2025 across the 23 appearances he made for the Wolves.
Born in Mount Hagen, 25-year-old Tai has six international appearances to his name to date. The first of those came in October 2022 against Tonga during the delayed 2021 Rugby League World Cup.
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Other Papua New Guinea internationals plying their trade in England
PNG’s flag isn’t just shown in Super League, but the Championship too.
As far as we’re aware, all of the players listed below will compete in the second tier in 2025, alphabetised by the name of the club they play for.
Keven Appo (Bradford Bulls)
Emmanuel Waine (Bradford Bulls)
Jason Tali (Doncaster) – To be confirmed.
Watson Boas (Doncaster)
Wellington Albert (Featherstone Rovers) – To be confirmed.
McKenzie Yei (Oldham)
