EIGHT-YEAR-OLD Sai Kil lives in the village with his parents at Tambul, about an hour’s drive from the thriving Mt Hagen city. Yesterday morning, the eight-year-old was among hundreds of young and not-so-young people who streamed into Mt Hagen as early as 6am. He wasn’t in town for school or any other business.
Neither did he come with his parents. He and many others like him came into town just to feel the hype and excitement of State of Origin, the annual Australian rugby league spectacle that drives hundreds of thousands of league-mad fans crazy throughout PNG. He is a mad Reece Walsh fan.
Believe it or not, that fanaticism came about after watching just one State of Origin match, in which his Queensland hero was carried off the field just seven minutes into Game one three weeks ago. The Post-Courier saw him and others his age, engaging in face-painting, and general banter about last night’s Origin match, and pulled him over for a quick chat. “I want to become a rugby league player when I grow up,” he told the Post-Courier.
“I love rugby league. It’s my dream sports, and one day, my dream of playing the game will come true.” “Tonight (last night) my favourite player Reece Walsh will score more tries and stop the Blues from scoring,” Sai confidently predicted.
In the crowd of youngsters was another mad league fan, 12-year-old Kingston Wanpis, a NSW Blues supporter. He is sad that his Blues hero James Tedesco is not in last night’s game, but that won’.