The West Papua Warriors rugby league team made a statement both on and off the field after running out resounding winners 54-8 against a Philippines development side in Sydney.
The team was made up of players from Papua New Guinea and West Papua and formed to raise awareness about the on-going human rights abuses in the Indonesian province.
The West Papua Warriors celebrate beating the Philippines development team. Photo: Facebook / West Papua Warriors
There was a big turnout of both rugby league supporters and political activists in the crowd and team captain Tala Kami said the day and game couldn't have gone any better.
"That was actually the first 13-a-side match this group of boys played together. We were a bit nervous before going onto the field, because we hadn't had a proper 13-a-side trial match before but all the boys are experienced players so it came together on the day. It was a tough game - I think the scoreline doesn't reflect the quality of opposition the Philippines was but the boys really did dig deep and they played with a lot of passion. We managed to get on the scoreboard pretty early, which kind of helped us eventually get the win."
Me Kami said the team plans to continue playing nine-a-side tourmaments in the coming months and have also been invited to compete in the USA.
The match was about more than simply rugby league. Photo: Facebook / West Papua Warriors
