The 2012 Australian Prime Ministers XIII team has been announced. They will face off against Papua New Guinea in Port Moresby on September 23rd.
This game is not just about giving Papua New Guinea a good hit out, it is also about promoting healthy lifestyles in Papua New Guinea and the players in the side are ambassadors for the game.
Because of this wider role that players have, some of the selections are made not just along footballing lines, but players who have shown they enjoy working with the community and taking part in charity work get rewarded by being part of this team.
I think selectors also have a bit of an eye on giving some players more rep experience, seeing what other players can do at a higher level and testing players out in different positions.
Below if the official Prime Ministers XIII lineup:
1. Darius Boyd
2. Akuila Uate
3. Jamal Idris
4. Chris Lawrence
5. Michael Jennings
6. Lachlan Coote
7. Scott Prince
8. Aaron Woods
9. Andrew McCullough
10. Ben Hannant
11. Matt Gillett
12. Feleti Mateo
13. Corey Parker
14. Peter Wallace
15. Tim Mannah
16. Josh McGuire
17. Ben Te’o
18. William Zillman
As a footy fan, I hope this game give Jamal Idris a kick start he really needs. It is great to see Lachlan Coote get a run too.
Feleti Mateo’s selection wouldn’t normally worry me (He was born and raised in Australia) but you can be almost certain that if he is left out of the Australian Kangaroo’s World Cup team next year, he will end up playing for Tonga or maybe even New Zealand.
THAT doesn’t sit well with me.
I would love to see the use of the Prime Ministers XIII expanded. Imagine if every off season they went on to play in Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Tonga, Fiji, The Cook Islands and the like. It would be fantastic for the game and you could even rotate the squad so player burnout wasn’t an issue.
Lets hope this is a great game between Papua New Guinea and the Australian Prime Ministers XIII.
