Here in Papua New Guinea, rugby league is king, but there’s a new game in town – Aussie Rules - and it’s taking off from juniors right through to the elite level.
A handful of PNG players are even playing in the top competition in Australia and the national side brought home the world cup.
And now, for the first time the Australian Football League has come to Papua New Guinea with its all indigenous Under 16 team, the Flying Boomerangs.
Tania Nugent: For the 22 boys in the Flying Boomerang squad, their big moment has arrived. They're about to run on the field here in Port Moresby, for the first of two International Games - against Papua New Guinea's U18 side - the Kapundas.
Mark Yettica-Paulson, Flying Boomerangs leadership coach: Now you guys are boomerang kurkur... napangaya ... Boomerang Kur Kur... Napangaya ngaya.. Boomerang kurkur... so you wear this now with different pride.
Tania Nugent: They've been selected from states and territories across Australia, and this will be only the second time they've ever played as a team.
Scott Wilson, Flying Boomerangs player: I guess we are versing Papua New Guinea representative team, so its gonna be a challenge for us boys.
Tania Nugent: This is the 4th Flying Boomerangs Tour, run by the AFL's Kickstart program, which aims to develop the skills of young indigenous Australian players. The boys on this tour are aged from 14 to 16.
Jason McCartney, Flying Boomerangs coach: This tour is as much about football as it is about leadership.
Tania Nugent: It's crammed in small rooms like this late at night and not just on the field that much of that development takes place.
Jason McCartney: There is no doubt that these boys are extremely talented, but talent alone doesn't get you in this program. We are looking at guys who have character and who are the best potential leaders in the group, so it's a mixture. One of the key criteria is the education factor. They need to be in school, you can't be in the program if you're not in school.
Tania Nugent: At this leadership session, the night before their first game against PNG, their task is to choose five of their teammates to select the starting side.
Mark Yettica-Paulson: There is a very strong correlation between on field performance and off field participation and engagement and contribution.
A lot of it is done around the leadership capabilities, instilling in these young men the kind of patterns of behaviour that are geared towards success for them, and for some of them that means success in the AFL, a small number of them, but for others it just means a path of success and their opportunity to continue to develop themselves.
Patrick Nandy, Flying Boomerangs player: We play the PNG people this afternoon and hopefully there will be a lot of people there watching us.
Walter Yangomina, AFL PNG National Manager: It's usually a lot our touring sides go overseas, to Australia and tour and it's the first time we've brought an international fixture back here. So it's certainly a big deal for our young lads to play in front of their home crowd as a national team.
Patrick Nandy: Every time I play a game I like to make it entertaining, like if its a big hit, a big tackle or something. I just like to put on a good show if there's a lot of crowd.
Girl in crowd: All my friends here they admire the Australian boys. The way they play.
Tania Nugent: Do you like watching it or do you like playing it?
Girl in crowd: I like to play it. Watch it and play it.
Tania Nugent: You play it as well?
Girl in crowd: Yes.
Gagu Kaiyage, PNG Kupandas captain: The game was pretty tough, the aboriginal boys gave us a really good game, but the boys we just kept on pushing.
Tania Nugent: Before a home crowd, the PNG Kapundas defeat the Flying Boomerangs by just one point, and the sport of Aussie Rules wins many new fans in Port Moresby.
